What information do you need?

• information on local employers
• information on local employers who may be recruiting
• sectoral and occupational information showing the overall industry trends and the sorts of jobs available within the sector
• general overview of the labour market locally, regionally or nationally

Where do you find it?

1. Information on which employers are present locally

• internet sources such as http://www.yell.com >> for employers of a selected type, http://www.royalmail.com >> will give you details of employers in a postcode area (you need to register)
• yellow pages and other directories
• local industrial directories available from county, unitary and district councils (or through their websites)
• Cornwall industrial directory and Devon commercial directory (should be available through public libraries)
• newspaper stories, e.g. Western Morning News on Thursdays or through the www.thisis group (e.g. http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk >>)
• census information from http://www.statistics.gov.uk >>
• networking and local knowledge

2. Local information on employers who may be recruiting

• current job vacancies at Jobcentre Plus, in local newspapers or on the internet (e.g. http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk >> , http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk >>)
• newspaper stories e.g. Western Morning News on Thursdays, or through www.thisis group
• recruitment agencies (see yellow pages)
• for graduate vacancies http://www.gradsouthwest.com >> or http://www.prospects.ac.uk >>
• networking and local knowledge

3. Sectoral and occupational information showing the overall industry trends and the sorts of jobs available within the sector

• reports from the Learning and Skills Council South West available from http://www.lsc.gov.uk/regions/SouthWest/ >>
• national trends can be found at http://www.statistics.gov.uk >>
• http://www.nomisweb.co.uk >> allows access to a range of statistics from the labour force survey which can be used to find out more about employment in different industries and trends over time
• Sector Skills Councils have been set up to provide information and intelligence about different industries, some have very comprehensive labour market information. You can find a full listing at http://www.ssda.org.uk >>
• professional bodies – see http://www.learndirect-advice.co.uk >> (job profiles), http://www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u >> or http://www.prospects.ac.uk >> for listings. This information is also available in paper based formats.
• http://www.prospects.ac.uk >> has information on employment prospects in different sectors at graduate level (try Industry Insights)
• employers and employees within the industry

4. General overview of the labour market locally, regionally or nationally

• Government websites including http://www.statistics.gov.uk >>, http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk >>, http://www.dti.gov.uk >> , http://www.dfes.gov.uk >> , http://www.lsc.gov.uk >> include research about the economy and the labour market
• the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion ( http://www.cesi.org.uk >> ) publish Working Brief, a monthly newsletter
• regional and local information can be found at http://www.swslim.org.uk >> (Skills and Learning Intelligence Module of the South West Observatory, their helpdesk number is 01392 264850, they host a database of relevant research), http://www.southwestrda.org.uk >> , or http://www.herda-sw.ac.uk >> (for higher education and graduate information)
• local information can be found at http://www.lsc.gov.uk/regions/SouthWest/ >>
• district and county councils and unitary authorities hold information about their local areas, contact numbers in yellow pages or through the internet (websites end in .gov.uk)
• Labour Market Trends – priced publication from National Statistics (0870 600 5522)