post-industrial economy

• Apple (technology) employs nearly 6500 people in the UK whereas a lot of manufacturing (e.g. Marks & Spencer) has moved overseas to places such as India and China where labour costs are cheaper.
• Approximately 80% of the UK's workforce are employed in tertiary and quaternary industry.
• Service industries: retail employs approximately 4 million people in the UK.
• Finance: The UK (& especially London) is home to many global financial institutions e.g. HSBC have their global headquarters in the UK.
• Information technology: Almost 70000 people work in IT for companies such as IBM & Microsoft.
• Research & development is increasing, making use of the UK's skilled university graduates - In 2016 over £30 billion was spent on R&D in the UK.
• Why are science parks becoming increasingly important?

  • There are approximately 100 science parks in the UK, all of which work with technology & research
  • Jobs are provided for talented university graduates as science parks work closely with them
  • 75000 people in the UK are employed in science parks
• Characteristics of business parks:

  • Outskirts of towns & cities with easy access (e.g. by road/ train)
  • Includes shared amenities (e.g. car parks, catering, shops
• 1400 companies in the UK are located in business parks which directly employs 41000 people
• Cambridge business park:

  • An attractive place to work with open space
  • Companies such as the BBC (TV), Ernst & Young (accounting) and Redgate (software)