Employment In Burton Upon Trent-00-7634

Burton's crossing point is the reason why an abbey was sited here in medieval times, bringing wealth and providing the first Burton business aside from food production. The monks had not just come to pray, as the waters of the Trent were perfect for making one essential product; good old English beer. In those days, with water often unsafe to drink without boiling, beer was both a daily beverage and calorie intake and the Trent's water was ideal because it contained high levels of dissolved salts such as gypsum, enabling Burton brewers to use extra hops that extended the beer's life. The river also gave Burton business another bonus, providing a watery highway to other areas at a time when the horse was the main vehicle and roads were just muddy tracks.

Employment opportunities in Burton today

The number of Burton breweries might have shrunk from 20 in its heyday (when half the working population worked in the industry) to a depleted six but they still provide a hard nucleus of employment for the 65,000 people in the town. Today's breweries include Marston's, Burton Bridge, Molson Coors, Cottage Brewery, Tower Brewery and White Shield microbrewery.

The last National Census showed that people working in elementary occupations in Burton was higher than the national average, reflecting its origins as a town that produces things. Unfortunately, Branston Pickle (named after a Burton suburb) moved out in 2004 but there are still many other Burton businesses. Marmite, for instance, is a by-product of brewing and has a factory in town; and Pirelli tyres also has a large workforce there. Burton College attracts 13,000 students annually and provides work as well as educational opportunities for local people.

On the retail and leisure side, there are a number of shopping centres such as Cooper's Square, the Octagon Centre and Burton Place, again providing many jobs locally, and there are employment opportunities at the newly refurbished Meadowside Leisure Centre. There are also several conference centres on Burton's outskirts, again providing service sector jobs for locals. A recent measure to boost Burton recruitment and Burton business was the relocation of Business Enterprise Support Ltd into town to encourage new business start-ups in the area.

New job opportunities

Burton recruitment is getting a significant boost from the establishment of the National Forest, as it is effectively the capital of this green swathe of seven million new trees. There are a number of schemes to boost visitor numbers, all of whom will need feeding and watering by a new generation of tea rooms and cafes, not to mention the Burton pubs with all that locally made refreshing beer. There are also new businesses developing forest products such as logs for the fire, charcoal etc. as well as spin-off extra income for outlets such as fuel stations, outdoor clothing stores, cycle shops and other Burton businesses.

So, in spite of the persistence of the recent recession and the potential threat to UK jobs after government cutbacks, Burton businesses still have much to offer future job seekers.