The Thames Gateway is changing

The Thames Gateway area in Kent stretches from the Dartford Bridge to the Isle of Sheppey and includes Thameside, Medway and parts of Swale.

Much of this area has been losing its traditional industries over many years, such as dockyard and factory work and some of the town centres have become dreary and lacklustre.

The Thames Gateway has huge potential as it is in one of the most dynamic economic regions of the country and has great transport links with the rest of Europe.

There are plans to build 50 000 houses in the area and create thriving communities with their own jobs, leisure facilities and town centres.

The Thames Gateway initiative is based on government plans to attract billions of pounds into the area over the next 20 years.

Some of the major changes are already happening.

In Kent Thameside, there will be 7000 new houses in Ebbsfleet Valley (Eastern Quarry), a new business community around Ebbsfleet International station and major improvements to Dartford and Gravesend town centres.

In Medway, plans include the new Universities at Medway Campus, improvements to Rochester and Gillingham riverside and Chatham town centre.

In Swale there will be major regeneration in the Queenborough and Rushenden, Sittingbourne town centre and Kent Science Park.

Regeneration will create 85 000 new jobs in Thames Gateway and this means you will have a huge range of opportunities to do exciting new jobs that were not available before. For most of these jobs you will need qualifications. Many of the jobs you can get now that don’t need qualifications are likely to go abroad soon.

One growing area will be building and construction. The plans for the Thames Gateway mean that there will be a lot of building work for the next 20 to 25 years. Some of these jobs will be in traditional areas like plumbing, bricklaying and carpentry. Many of them will involve new skills. A lot of them will be office based jobs for managers and technicians, already employing as many women as men.

Another growth area will be health care, because there will be another 80 000 people to look after. There is a lot more to health care than just doctors and nurses - almost every occupation can be found in the health service. In the future health care is likely to concentrate on sending people out into the community rather than taking them into hospitals and clinics.

There will be an increase in the number of jobs in public services, in everything from education to fire and rescue.

Some of the more highly technical industries in the north of Kent and Medway will expand. Science and Engineering are likely to be growth areas, producing high value products that cannot be made elsewhere. Kent already has a lot of companies who specialise in biotechnology, making drugs, medicines and other products and some of the small businesses in this area are likely to grow.

IT skills will be important too in many of the new occupational areas, and will also provide a career path in its own right.

Because the Thames Gateway area links the UK to continental Europe, transport, by road, rail and sea, will employ many people. An increasingly important set of jobs will be in logistics, which involves planning the most efficient way of moving goods around.

Jobs in business and finance will increase as new employers move into North Kent. Some areas, such as Ebbsfleet, will be particularly attractive to industry, because of the easy links to London and the continent.

Creative Industries, which include arts, design, media and performing arts, account for around 1 job in 10 in London and the South East. There will be particular demand for people who are able to combine computing or technical skills with artistic ability, in areas such as website design and backroom work for the film industry.

Tourism, sport, leisure and hospitality will all offer jobs as the population becomes more prosperous, travels more widely and has money to spend on leisure activities. The ability to manage sporting and leisure activities will be attractive to many employers.

If you are thinking about your future in the Thames Gateway, you need to make sure that you have the kind of qualifications that will be in demand.

This site is designed to help you plan your future in the Thames Gateway. The careers section lists occupations which are expected to grow in number over the next 20 years. What to study suggests courses which might lead to your chosen careers, and links to the information sites provided by colleges and universities. There is also information on money, getting help and other useful links.