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Workforce Skills

Professional People Ashford is home to a working population of over 46,000 employees, with up to 783,000 adults of working age within a 40 minute drive of the town centre, and one million within an hour.

Ashford has a significant representation of 'Wealthy Executives', some 70% more than the national average. 45% of working age residents are qualified to NVQ level 3 or above, compared to a national average of 40%.

Average salaries are 20% less than in London, and 10% lower than the rest of the South East - an attractive cost-saving for growing businesses.

With a predicted 28,000 new jobs over the next 25 years and the population set to double, there is growing availability amongst a large pool of skilled labour. Ashford has a strong employment pull, attracting workers from more than 40 km (25 miles) away.

The proportion of workers who travel more than 40 km to work in Ashford is more than twice the national average, which when combined with the 20 minute drivetime indicates the relative ease of accessibility that Ashford can demonstrate.

This will be a key feature in the development of Ashford’s economy.

Ashford offers businesses tremendous flexibility in the local labour market – full-time, part-time, temporary, self-employed and shift workers - are widely available within and around the town centre.

Workforce Overview

Population	Currently at 111,000 and it is set to grow by approximately 2,000 a year providing an expanding pool of labour to prospective investors. Already business and employment growth rates in the district have exceeded population growth. Ashford’s population grew by an estimated 12% between 1998 and 2005, more than twice the rate of growth for Kent as a whole (5%).
Economically active workforce	46,000 employment in Ashford has risen by 22% between 1998 and 2005 compared with 17% in the Kent County Council area and 10% across the South East as a whole.
Access to potential employees within a drive time distance	20 minutes – 69,738 40 minutes – 534,341 60 minutes – 1,207,335
Employment Rate for working age people in Ashford	81% - significantly higher than Kent or the South East.
Labour costs	60% less than London, Ashford has one of the lowest workplace-based average gross weekly earnings figure in Kent and Medway.