• The North West consists of the counties of Cheshire and Warrington; Cumbria; Greater Manchester; Greater Merseyside and Lancashire.
• The region is the 4^th largest regional economy in the UK and it is one of the most diverse in Europe, having undergone a significant period of adjustment.
• 350,000 companies are located in the North West, 1,700 of which are from overseas. 75% of the top 100 companies have bases in the region, including AstraZeneca, Siemens and Jaguar.
• The region has appeared as the top location for quality of life in the Reward's Group cost of living survey for the last 2 years! It enjoys affordable housing, easy commuting and childcare costs are the lowest in the country.
• It's an area of fantastic natural beauty with huge scope for outdoor activities such as walking, sailing and mountain climbing; 80% of the land is rural. If you prefer city life, you've got Greater Manchester and Greater Merseyside to explore; and remember that things are really bustling as Liverpool prepares to take its role as European City of Culture in 2008.

So what challenges does the region face?
The region faces a number of challenges as it works to boost its productivity and competitiveness, such as the needs to:

• Improve the transport and communications infrastructure, enhance access to broadband and create more employment sites to support economic growth.
• Address a skills deficit and establishing a learning culture among employers and employees; the region needs skilled staff to compete in world markets and gain that competitive edge.
• Improve the quality and delivery of business support services.
• Enhance the image of the region in the UK and abroad to encourage businesses and talented individuals to make it their region of choice.
• Tackle problems of poor health, housing and deprivation, and social integration.
• Tackle issues such as land reclamation, waste management, protecting and improving the richness of the landscape and improving air and water quality.

So what is the North West doing about such challenges and opportunities?
The Northwest Development Agency is working with many partners in the region to tackle these problems and its Regional Economic Strategy has 10 strategic objectives covering:

1. Business development
2. Regeneration
3. Skills and employment
4. Infrastructure
5. Image

Each objective has a number of key activities which will all help ensure that the objectives are met. But what do these objectives mean? How will they affect you and your company?

Business Development
The objectives here are to:

1. Exploit the growth potential of business sectors
2. Improve the competitiveness and productivity of businesses
3. Develop and exploit the region's knowledge base
   
   

   What does this mean for you and your company?

   More business support and back-up, whether you are considering starting a company or your company needs extra assistance to improve its performance, tap into expertise, solve a problem or implement a new idea. The region will continue to attract key companies and talented individuals who want to tap into the resources the region has to offer, enhancing growth. The end result will be greater employment opportunities for you and a higher standard of living.

   RESULT! Since it's establishment, the NWDA has created or safeguarded over 132,000 jobs; created 8,006 new businesses; reclaimed nearly 3,000 hectares of brown-field land for re-use; and levered in £1.8 billion of private investment!

   Regeneration:
   The objectives here are to:

4. Deliver urban renaissance
5. Deliver rural renaissance
6. Secure economic inclusion.
   
   

   What does this mean for you and your company?

   Companies will find it easier to transport goods and people and to access support. There will more employment opportunities for you if you live in market towns, rural or coastal areas. Make sure you're constantly updating your skills so you're in a good position to take advantage of them! Broadband will be on the increase, thus making it easier for people to work from rural areas. This could mean you have more opportunity to work from home and greater choice of employment.

   RESULT! Together with its partners, NWDA is supporting the regeneration of selected market towns, rural and costal areas to stimulate business growth. Money from the NWDA's Broadband Fund is being used to help remote communities in Cumbria cross the digital divide. Over 5,000 small and medium sized businesses in Cheshire and Warrington, Greater Manchester and Greater Merseyside have been helped to gain broadband access or advice.

   Skills and employment:
   The objectives here is to:

7. Develop and maintain a healthy labour market.
   
   

   What does this mean for you and your company?

   Your company will have the skilled workforce it needs to compete globally and enjoy employing staff who are well motivated and trained. Keep a close eye on opportunities to train and learn in your region and make sure you know what your training needs are to boost your effectiveness in your current role and take your career in the direction you want it to go. Take responsibility for your own career progression and learning. Keeping your skills up to date will be more important than ever so that you can take advantage of the many employment opportunities; Consider how taking on a graduate could help your company and keep a talented individual in the region!

   RESULT! Interactive events built around a Skills Festival concept were staged in each county to give young people experience of the skills and training needed for a number of occupations. The Careers Northwest web site was launched in February (see Useful Information) which has customises labour market intelligence and sets out future employment opportunities across the region.

   Infrastructure:
   The objectives here are to:

8. Develop the strategic transport, communications and economic infrastructure;
9. Ensure the availability of a balanced portfolio of employment sites.
   
   

   What does this mean for you and your company?

   Thanks to ICT, it is easier than ever to work from home or in isolated areas. If your company is in an isolated position, find out what help is available to assist you. Easier transport links, including high quality bus networks in urban areas, better rural public transport and trunk road improvements will help companies who need to move people and goods faster around the region and in or out of it. More career opportunities will be available as more companies set up and continue to grow.

   RESULT! The NWDA has identified 25 sites to boost business growth opportunities and encourage knowledge based industry to develop within and close to areas of regeneration need. These will build on the region's existing knowledge assets, including universities and cluster groups.

   Image:
   The objectives here is to:

10. Develop and market the region's image.
    
    

    What does this mean for you and your company?

    There'll be more opportunities in the leisure and tourism sectors as these sectors continue to grow. A positive image highlighting strengths will increase interest in investing in the region, both in terms of new companies and talented individuals - all good news! If you don't live in the region, why not take a weekend break and go to see for yourself how beautiful it is?

    RESULT! Liverpool is the European City of Culture in 2008, benefiting the tourism industry. A new structure for the tourism industry has been created led by the Regional Tourism Forum. A TV short breaks campaign promoted the region as England's Golf Coast. The region is developing a regional major events strategy building on the Commonwealth Games held in Manchester in 2002.

Find out more by visiting these sites and check out what other plans are afoot, as we can only mention briefly here the work being done to make the North West confident and dynamic!

Where to go for Help..?

Introducing RDAs

Introducing Business Link

What a university can do for your company

This Month's feature: The North West

Recruitment Agencies in the North West

Business Link

The North West: Confident and Dynamic!

Employment Prospects in the North West

Learning and Skills Councils in the North West

Linking up to Know-How and Universities in the North West

Networking Groups in the North West

Salaries in the North West