Shropshire Star

Shropshire 'brain drain': Concerns as brightest youngsters desert county of birth

Young people are continuing to desert Shropshire in search of better education or career opportunities, new Government figures released today reveal.

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Teenagers in particular are moving away from the county in droves, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

While Shropshire loses its younger people, the largest numbers of people coming into the county are those who are just reaching their pension age.

It leads to continued concerns about the 'brain drain' affecting Shropshire as skilled young people leave their home to find a new life elsewhere in the UK or further afield.

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Areas covered by Shropshire Council, which are largely rural, suffer most. The problem also exists in Telford & Wrekin, but is not so acute as the borough is experiencing an influx of 30-to-40-year-olds, while the population of younger people is almost static.

The outward migration of young people is an issue leaders are aware of and it is hoped the development of Wolverhampton University in Telford and the new University Centre Shrewsbury will help keep talent here. The Ladder for Shropshire has also been set up to create apprenticeships for young people in the county.

Internal migration figures for local authorities in England today reveal that 1,450 15-to-19-year-olds gave up a life in Shropshire in the year to June 2015, with only 670 moving the other way, to leave a net deficit of 780 older teenagers in the county.

The county experienced a net gain of 10 people aged between 20 and 24, but the population aged from 25 to 29 fell by 80.

Meanwhile, the biggest net addition to the population was among those aged between 60 and 64, with 240 people either at or on the cusp of pension age making their home in the county

The figures suggest that a potential skills shortfall in Shropshire could be set to emerge in the next few years, although the county's population of 40-to-60-year-olds is also growing which could help fill existing employment gaps.

Richard Sheehan, chief executive of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "It has long been recognised that we need to provide good reasons for our talented young people to remain in Shropshire and to attract talented people into the area to support the growth of our businesses.

"Much work has gone on, including the introduction of a university into Shrewsbury, with the development of the business community across Shropshire, and with some exciting new initiatives in Telford where we are creating opportunities for higher-skilled jobs.

"There's still a lot of work to do, but there is joined-up recognition of the need to focus on making sure that we keep the very best that Shropshire has to provide."

One of those leaving her Shropshire home for opportunities elsewhere is student doctor Natasha Sutherland, 26.

She left her home of Shifnal to study at the University of Manchester and has just been taken on by York Hospital .

The former Idsall School student said her home county is seen as too "sleepy" by many, adding: "Shropshire is a beautiful and secure place to grow up through childhood, but there is very little diversity.

"I wanted to break out of the insular environment, and experience that diversity."

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