Future growth for Britain

A new study suggests that Britain will achieve a science and technology boom over the next two decades. That would create around 2.7 million new jobs and generate billions of pounds’ worth of output.

The Market Leaders Report Mapping the UK’s post-Brexit growth was commissioned by the French bank PNB Paribas. It wanted to look beyond the short term impact of Brexit. There has been far less research into Britain’s return to prosperity after leaving the EU.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research carried out the work to identify and examine those industries most likely to grow. It conducted surveys of more than 1,500 businesses, mapping the results onto models of output and employment.

Growth

Scientific research and development, engineering and architecture are the sectors predicted to experience the greatest growth in output. For example an ageing population creates a need for advanced medical and pharmaceutical solutions.

Transport, storage and communications will also prosper. Technological innovations in artificial Intelligence, big data applications, machine learning, automation and robotics will contribute to increased output. The greatest growth in employment is predicted in these sectors, particularly in programming and other computer related work.

Construction is also likely to see strong employment growth according to the report. It also forecasts that environmental sustainability will be a key growth driver for construction and the automotive industry.

Nationwide

This growth will be spread across the whole country, with hotspots expected in Greater Manchester, north-east Scotland, and north Yorkshire. Also mentioned are north Wales, where a number of high-growth fintech start-ups are creating jobs and investment, and the east of England, centred on pharmaceutical and life sciences around Cambridge.

Anne Marie Verstraeten, the French bank’s UK country head, said, “The UK economy has always been a broad and deep economy with key sectors that have done well. When we look at the forecast this shows more of the same.”

The report finds that a key external factor affecting predicted growth at different enterprises is Brexit. Businesses which experienced above average revenue and employment growth for the past three years are much more likely to say that they have benefited from Brexit.