The South East contributes 13% of employment to the sector. This is the only region in which employment levels are projected to increase between 2004-2014 by 2,000. The number of operatives is expected to increase its share to 20% and the number of people in management occupations is also to increase by 2%. Replacement demand for the next 10 years is very high at 24,000 which is indicative of an ageing and mobile workforce. Total requirement for the sector is an estimated 26,000 employees which will comprise 20.3% of the sector’s UK requirement.

There are around 2,550 employers in the region accounting for 14% of employers in the sector. 67% of employers have fewer than 10 people, which is much lower than the overall regional figure of 85%.

Each of the industries, in the sector, are significant employers in the region. There is a petroleum refinery, storage and distribution centre and Dungeness A and B nuclear power stations are located in the region. In addition, the largest onshore oil field and refinery is in the region. Large storage farms are in the South East as the region has the highest demand for road fuels, plus the UK’s major airports are in South East requiring fuel. A gas plant in the region is predicted to become a major gas input point for the national grid. A cluster of companies in the polymer industry are located on the Isle of Wight.

Data on the region’s sectoral workforce, from the Labour Force Survey, are limited so some caution is required for the following workforce profile data:

• 10% of the workforce is aged 16-24 years, compared to 14% of the overall regional workforce
• 40% of the workforce is over 45 years, compared to 39% of the overall regional workforce
• 66% of the sector workforce is male, compared to 54% of the regional workforce
• 93% of the workforce is white, compared to 95% of the region’s workforce
• 60% of the workforce in the region have a Level 3 or above qualification, compared to 54% in the overall regional workforce

The gender split in the sector’s regional workforce is expected to shift in the future with an increase of 3.5% in the number of female employees. The number of part-time workers is also expected increase as is the case in many of the other regions.

Source: Cogent Sector Skill Needs Assessment 2006