Table 2 provides a detailed profile of the occupations of the resident working population of Milton Keynes as at 2005 – and compares it with the South East and Great Britain.

Table 2 – Occupational Profile

Source: Milton Keynes Population Bulletin 2005/6

A number of new initiatives are now available in the city to further develop and improve the skill base of Milton Keynes and to support businesses to develop their own workforce.

Flagship activities include:

• The establishment of  University Centre Milton Keynes – a partnership involving a range of Higher Education providers in the sub-region including Milton Keynes College. The University has an explicit focus on meeting the needs of local employers – characterised by delivery that is “targeted, high-quality, modern, forward-thinking, and responsive to local demand”

• The substantial investment in new infrastructure by Milton Keynes College – that has seen the recent opening of a new campus at its Bletchley site, and a new centre focused on the needs of the local construction industry. The latter being one of the College’s five Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs), the other four being:

• Information Communication Technology
• Logistics and Freight Transport
• Motorsport
• Supervisory Management

CoVE status is awarded by Government in recognition of a centre of excellence in the provision of high quality, employer focused and flexible training programmes tailored to the needs of local employers within a specific occupational sector.

• An increasing vocational focus within Milton Keynes Secondary Schools - with the majority now having ‘ Specialist College’ or ‘Academy’ status - providing centres of excellence in a wide range of areas including:

• Languages
• Science
• Maths and computing
• Business and enterprise
• Sport
• Construction and the built environment