Jobs in Sutton Coldfield | Pictures of Sutton Coldfield

Located at the northern tip of West Midlands heartland, the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, to give it its full title, is widely regarded as the most prestigious location in the region. With some of the lowest unemployment rates in England, the town has become a symbol of prosperity at a time when much of the Midlands has been struggling to come to terms with the dramatic decline of its staple manufacturing industries.

Largely undisturbed by the industrialisation that consumed its neighbours, Sutton Coldfield was one of the earliest protagonists of the new era of service based economies.

Then and now
Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Sutton Coldfield became a leading centre for the manufacture of spades, spade handles and axes in addition to being one of the biggest producers are armaments for the British Army making blades, gun barrels, knives and bayonets. And as the Industrial Revolution came to town cotton mills soon followed.

However, the development of new sources of power in the rapidly expanding towns of the area soon meant that water powered industry was unable to compete and the mills slowly went out of business and Sutton Coldfield was compelled into establishing itself as a post-industrial service economy long before many of its Midland neighbours. And it is paying dividends.

Indeed, employment levels in the town are forecast to increase by 3.2 per cent from its 2005 figure by 2020, compared to a 1.3 per cent increase forecast for neighbouring Birmingham. And central to this growth is Sutton Coldfield’s thriving retail industry.

Employing over 12,000 people, the retail, distribution and hotels sector is the biggest employer in the area, accounting for more than 1 in 3 jobs - most of who work at The Mall shopping centre, formerly known as the Gracechurch Centre. And this is closely followed by the fields of public administration, education and health.

Since the town became a municipal borough in 1974, Sutton Coldfield is its own administrative centre and currently employs over 11,000 people (31 per cent of the workforce) across its various departments with the likes of Sutton Coldfield College - the sixth largest FE college in the UK – being one of the main employers in the area.

And bringing up the rear is a modest, but growing, financial sector which is responsible for approximately 16 per cent of all employment opportunities in the town within a number of regional banking, financial and insurance services organisations.

But one of the most important economic drivers in the area is growing number of business start-ups. Indeed, Sutton Coldfield’s new business sector accounts for around 8 per cent of the overall start-up economy throughout the Birmingham region – quite an impressive achievement when you consider that Sutton Coldfield’s workforce is just 36,000 compared to Birmingham total workforce of over 410,000. Not only that but, around 9 per cent of the workforce in Sutton Coldfield is self-employed whilst fewer than 5 per cent across the Birmingham region are.

Making up the rest of the employment spectrum in the area are manufacturing (8 per cent), construction (4 per cent) and the transport and communication sector (3 per cent).

Key business districts
Sutton Coldfield is a relatively compact town centre with no single defining business district per se, except for the retail sector at the heart of the town centre.

Elsewhere, there are a number of business parks close to the town, including Minworth Business Park, Fairview Business Park and CFS Business Park.

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

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

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