AGRICULTURE, manufacturing and administration jobs will decrease across Wiltshire by 2022 as demand for IT and health and social workers increases.

Figures released by Wiltshire Council indicate that between 2012 and 2022, there will be 19,000 more jobs created in the county, with rises in IT, professional services and health and social work roles.

However there will be a predicted 2,000 fewer agriculture roles, 1,000 less manufacturing roles and 2,000 fewer administration roles in the county by 2022 compared with a decade before.

Growth and decline figures were produced by the Institute for Employment Research and Cambridge Econometrics on behalf of the UKCES in their Work Futures 2012-2022 publication.

Unemployment in Trowbridge is currently at just four per cent and senior recruitment consultant Gary Mcgauley from Direct Response Employment Services believes that there is a skills shortage in the area as businesses try to find people to fill vacancies.

He said: “I don’t see any less roles available in administration or manufacturing sectors in the future.

“Unemployment has been low in the area for the last 18 months. Agencies have hundreds of vacancies that they cannot fill. We have a difficulty in finding reliable staff as they are probably all working. The ones who are looking for work are not always the ones who want to work.

“There is a skills shortage at the moment. The sector that is struggling is retail, if you look in a town centre like Trowbridge or Bath you will see empty buildings, but in terms of manufacturing and administration there are plenty of roles out there and not enough people to fill them."

Wiltshire Council has launched a website dedicated to getting people into employment and provides information on career and training opportunities in different sectors.

It is expected that more skilled workers will be needed by 2020, as employers look for people to have a minimum of A-levels to fill roles.

Launching in the new Local Market Intelligence bulletins, Laura Mayes, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for education and skills, said: “These documents are a valuable resource, especially for newcomers to employment and training.

“They explain what industry sectors there are in your local area, what qualifications are needed to work in those industries, relevant apprenticeships, how they recruit, examples of salaries, growth prospects, masses of information about Wiltshire employers, and where you can study.

“They are incredibly useful in giving young people and the wider public a better understanding of the labour market in their area.”

Find out more about the Wiltshire Council service by visiting: https://workwiltshire.co.uk/lmi/