Jobs in Norwich | Pictures of Norwich

Sir Richard Branson described Norwich as “a city that can deliver results”, adding that “I would recommend it to anyone who wants their business to thrive in a friendly, forward-thinking environment”. High-praise indeed from arguably the most prolific entrepreneur of our generation. Branson chose to locate the headquarters of Virgin Money in Norwich and it seems that his vote of confidence has led to a number of other high profile organisations following suit.

Norwich has a significant cluster of creative industries, it is home to one of Europe’s leading research centres, it is one of the top ten retail centres in Britain and it is the UK’s largest general insurance centre. In other words, there is more to Norwich than tractors, canaries and Colman’s Mustard, much more.

Then and now
The history of Norwich can be traced back over a thousand years, but its golden age was during the Middle Ages when its isolated position in the north-east of Anglia saw it forge close trading links with other parts of Europe, notably Belgium and Holland. This resulted in a mass influx of Flemish weavers who brought with them new technologies that were to dramatically transform the city’s woollen industry to the extent that by 1700, Norwich was the second richest city in England after London.

The textile industry enjoyed something of a boom in the 17th century and the city suddenly found it had an awful lot of wealthy merchants looking for somewhere to store their cash; cue the introduction of one of the earliest banking sectors in the country.

A plethora of specialist banks sprang up to cope with the influx of cash. Indeed, one Quaker banking family married into the Barclay family of London, laying the foundation of Barclays Bank, soon to be followed by Norwich Union.

But owing to its geographical seclusion the onset of the Industrial Revolution saw Norwich lose economic ground to the newly developing industrial centres such as Bristol, hitherto Norwich’s closest economic competitor. Not even the introduction of the railway could help the city become more competitive and it was sometimes quicker to sail to Amsterdam that it was to travel by train to London.

By the middle of the twentieth century, Norwich’s economy was chiefly founded on shoemaking, clothing, jewellery and a limited manufacturing sector. And by the close of the last century, Norwich was forced to seek out new economic drivers.

Today, the city is a major regional service centre and the largest economy, in terms of employment, in the eastern region. In fact, 14 per cent of companies in Norwich report annual turnover in excess of £1 million, which is significantly higher than the national average of 10.2 per cent. And with more than 1 in 3 of all jobs in Norfolk being in Norwich, the city continues to develop as a service-based economy. And one of the biggest employers is the banking, finance and insurance sector.

Indeed, this sector employs more than one-third of the Norwich workforce with a number of leading organisations having their headquarters of regional offices based here, including Norwich Union (now part of the Aviva Group), Virgin Money, Moneysupermarket.com, The Money Centre and Central Trust.

And being the administrative centre for Norfolk, it follows that the public sector is responsible for a substantial proportion of employment opportunities in Norwich. Overseeing a city with a population of around 132,000 and a wider administrative centre of 230,000, Norwich City Council is the biggest employer in the public sector, followed by the Health Authority. Overall, this sector employs around 20 per cent of the workforce which is lower than what it once was – the reason being that the main hospital (one of the main employers) was relocated outside the city limits a few years ago.

Often suggested as having a church for every Sunday in the year and home to what can best be described as a myriad collection of medieval structures, coupled with a £1bn regional regeneration budget that is boosting the city’s retail offering, it is not surprising that the wider tourism and retail sector is one of the most important industries for the Norwich economy. The retail and tourism sectors provide employment for 12 per cent and 8 per cent of the working population respectively.

Employment in the media industry is higher than the national average. Indeed, Norwich is home to Archant, the UK’s largest independently-owned regional media group, as well as BBC East, ITV Anglia, Town House TV and several local radio stations.

All of these sectors above may provide the majority of employment opportunities, but they help to support and sustain a number of other industries, such as manufacturing, engineering and construction – which is seeing a gradual increase in demand with a number of redevelopment projects earmarked over the coming years.

Other important business sectors include professional services, retailing, construction, specialised engineering, manufacturing and tourism. This broad business base has helped maintain a strong and sustainable economy.

Norwich offers a compelling investment opportunity for companies of all sizes within the health and life sciences sector. Norwich Research Park is one of Europe's leading clusters of research and development into health, food, plant and microbial science, the environment and computing sciences.

Key business districts
Norwich Research Park (NRP) is one of the leading centres in Europe for research in health, food and environmental and computer sciences, employing over 9,000 people.

Norwich Enterprise Centre is, as the name suggests, a virtual one-stop-shop that is home to a growing number of creative industries and small businesses within a high-profile city centre location.

Meridian Business Park, located on the A47 southern bypass east of Norwich City Centre, is one of the leading business districts in Norwich and home to a number of organisations, including Pinnacle Consulting, Joseph Siebel, Norfolk County Council, Clydesdale Bank and HSBC.

If you're thinking of moving to the area, take a look at some of the current property available to buy or let in Norwich.

Take a closer look
A picture is worth a thousand words. You can see some images from in and around Norwich below.

Looking for local vacancies? See all current jobs in Norwich or find out more information on the local area.