First, some key facts:

In February 2005, over 2 million people were employed in the region - that's over 75%. 1.44 million of those are employed in small and medium sized companies. 26% of those who are self-employed are women. Just 4.2% were unemployed, most of these being in the north of the region and in the cities. The region has employment variations throughout - for example, 11% of people in Lincolnshire are employed in agriculture, whereas 2% are in the region overall.

Sectors to watch:

Where is significant employment growth expected? According to the EMDA, six sectors expect to enjoy such a feat, and these are:

• Business services
• Education
• Hotel and Catering
• Other services
• Communications
• Transport

Only 3.5% of the workforce is situated in high technology services. The public sector accounts for 55% of employment in the region's high knowledge sectors with most contributed by education, health related and public administration.

The East Midlands Development Agency recognises that in terms of "knowledge intensive services," the region is even less well served and this must be addressed. It is setting the target that the knowledge industries by 1% between 2005 and 2010 and that there will be an increased average of weekly earnings of towns and cities to within 2% of the national average by 2010.

The East Midlands Development Agency has set as a target to increase employment in the newer technological industries to 45% by 2010.

There is a fairly high reliance on manufacturing in the region. Most businesses in the traditional sectors will need to tackle diminishing markets by steps such as adding value to their operations - perhaps through better use of technologies or greater understanding of the new customer opportunities if they are to improve their profitability and boost their productivity.

That said, many of the businesses which will be operating in 2010 don't exist right now - so keep your eyes open for new start ups. They could offer you a great opportunity. An overwhelming majority of people in the region work for small firms, so if this is you, make the most of the opportunities and services provided by your local Business Link and the Development Agency. In 2002, the percentage of employer sizes was:

1-49 employees	96.8%
50-199 employees	2.6%
200+	0.6%

Rural areas, in particular, can expect to receive particular support as they have a higher level of self-employment and recently experienced a decline in growth performance. Overall, the East Midlands Development Agency want to enable a further 4,000 businesses to start up before the year 2010.

Where are the sectors strongest?

27% of the region's employment is in clusters, and the site http://www.englandseastmidlands.com/ has a terrific interactive map which enables you to see where the following sectors have bases:

• Food and drink
• Healthcare Technologies
• Transport Technologies - Rail
• Transport Technologies - Aerospace
• Transport - Motorsport
• ICT & Creative industries
• Environmental Technologies
• Technical Textiles
• Finance and Business Studies
• Business locations

The site tells you more about the employers in each sector and key locations and is well worth a visit.

Where do office professionals fit in?

According to projections the Labour Market Survey produced by the Office of National Statistics, in the spring of 2004, the breakdown of working-age people went like this:

Higher managerial and professional	9.7%
Lower managerial and professional	21.6%
Intermediate occupations	9.6%
Small employers and own account workers	7.4%
Lower supervisory and technical	10.5%
Semi-routine occupations	13.8%
Routine occupations	11.9%
Never worked, unemployed	15.7%

According to a report produced by the Institute of Employment Research and Cambridge Econometrics on behalf of the SSDA in 2003, the numbers of administrative and secretarial occupations is not likely to rise, in fact it may decrease very slightly. The key for you is to ensure that you build your skills base, as forecasts suggest that the region will see an increase in higher tier occupations and away from low-skills based jobs. Keep learning!

Actions to take:

1. The region has one of the lowest levels of ICT usage per employee in the country - how do your IT capabilities compare with others in your company? Consider how your expertise enables you to make a difference?



2. There is evidence of a low productivity, low page, low skills equilibrium in the region. Let's do a skills audit will help you assess your skills base. Use Maximise Your Potential to help you develop the skills you need. Find out what's happening in your area to help people boost their skills base by visiting your local Learning and Skills Councils in the East Midlands.



3. Look forward and talk to your boss about where your career is going with your company - how does he see your role developing in the next three years? Does it match with your own view?

For further information: Visit www.emda.gov.uk - the web site for the East Midlands Development Agency with lots of invaluable information and links. Check out www.emfresa.org.uk, the web site for the East Midlands' FRESA.