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Bracknell has the best jobs market in the UK and is in a prime position to grow against the background of the recession, says a new study.

A report produced by independent business expert The Work Foundation puts Bracknell and Reading together right at the top of a list of UK towns and cities earmarked to experience considerable growth in the jobs market.

It puts Bracknell ahead of London, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Oxford which all occupy spots in the Work Foundation’s top ten.

he future is looking bright for the borough and the surrounding areas because of a combination of factors including an abundance of private sector industries, a good working relationship with nearby towns like Reading and Wokingham, and a big ‘knowledge economy’ full of people  are technically qualified and innovative.

The news comes despite an announcement from local employer Hewlett Packard that it is planning on shedding some of its workforce in a restructure and the news that pharmaceutical firm Quintiles is set to leave town.

Bracknell is part of the ‘Reading Diamond’ – a local economy which takes in Bracknell Forest, Reading borough, Wokingham borough and parts of West Berkshire.

The report highlights 36 per cent of people in Reading and Bracknell have a degree, higher than in many areas of the country, and 32 per cent of the employment, in the area is in sectors where growth is predicted.

It also says just 20 per cent of the area’s employment – the lowest proportion in the country – is in the public sector, which is a good thing because the public sector is forecast to shrink.

Richard Haynes, Bracknell’s head of regeneration and enterprise, said: “There is a vibrant economy in Bracknell.

“The findings of the survey fit well with one of Bracknell Forest Council’s priorities which is to sustain economic prosperity.

“Bracknell is recognised as a knowledge economy – we have a highly educated work force and real skills in professional activities.

“We also have big names like Dell and Boehringer Ingelehim and if you’ve got large businesses you get small and medium-sized businesses which are part of that clustering.

“Bracknell is part of the Thames Valley but it is unique in a number of ways. There’s a higher than average start-up rate for new businesses, there is available space and there’s a big investment plan for the town centre.

“It makes it a great place to do business and it is affordable.”

Philip Montague, of the Bracknell Forest Chamber of Commerce, added: “Innovation is at the heart of the Bracknell business community.

“Over the last two years an increasing number of organisations are working collaboratively when they wouldn’t have considered it previously – this has resulted in reduced costs and increased growth.

“This rapidly developing feeling of unity within the business community, riding the waves of change together, has encouraged an open palm culture where sharing best practice, ideas and opportunities will create the very high growth potential this report has identified.”

The Reading Diamond is one of eight local economies identified by the South East England Development Agency and is recognised as being the most successful.

Tim Smith, executive chairman of Reading UK CIC, Reading’s economic development company, said: “Report after report has recognised the diamond’s strategic location and infrastructure as being the best in Europe.

“What we’re doing now is making an assessment of the economy for the future. We know what we’ve got is good and we want to look at what we can do.

“We want to turn our knowledge economy into a green knowledge economy  – we could see our area being a leader in green knowledge which will put us on a very good standing.”

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