Mayoral Summary

As Mayor of the West Midlands, I have written a guide to the West Midlands Combined Authority’s new Growth Plan. This guide explains what the Growth Plan means to people in the West Midlands, in clear, accessible, straightforward terms.

The West Midlands is full of potential – brilliant people, proud communities and a long history of invention and industry. But too many are getting held back by low pay, insecure jobs and underinvestment.

I want to change that.

This Growth Plan is our blueprint for a better West Midlands: good jobs near to where people live, affordable housing, reliable transport, and a future to be excited about.

The new UK Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term vision, backing key industries that are already thriving here. We’re not waiting for investment – these sectors are delivering now, with strong business, leaders, and skills.

The West Midlands Growth Plan connects national strategy with local delivery, turning ambitions into real outcomes: jobs, skills, transport and regeneration where they’re needed most.

Inclusive growth means more good jobs close to home, better wages, affordable housing, greener homes with lower energy bills, faster and more reliable public transport, real opportunities for young people and training to help people move forward, and support for small businesses and public services that really works.

We’ve focused our Growth Plan on our people, business, place, and story. These priorities are the building blocks of a stronger West Midlands and under each one, work is already underway.

We want to ensure everyone can get the training, support, and jobs they need. This is how we’ll do it:

• Guaranteeing training and work support for young people. So everyone has a clear next step.
• Creating a College Compact. So colleges offer courses that match the skills local employers need.
• Launching a Green Skills Plan with new Retrofit Hubs. So we can upskill people for jobs that cut bills and emissions.
• Rolling out a new Integrated Employment and Skills System. So jobseekers get support across housing, health and work.

The West Midlands economy is built on local businesses which need help now to grow, scale and innovate. We will help provide:

• High Growth Business Programmes. So successful firms can scale up.
• Expanding cluster development plans. So businesses in clean tech, health tech and creative industries can grow.
• Delivering an Access to Finance Action Plan. So local businesses have better access to loans, grants, and investment.
• Supporting Made Smarter and Create Growth programmes. So firms can adapt to fast-changing markets.

We need housing where people want to live, transport that works and thriving high streets. Here’s how we’ll connect the West Midlands:

• Developing a Capital Investment Pipeline. To unlock land for investment in homes and businesses.
• Starting Metro extensions. To connect communities to jobs and bring inclusive growth to new areas.
• Rolling out bus franchising by 2027. To give people more reliable, affordable public transportation.
• Publishing a Spatial Development Strategy. To implement housing, jobs and infrastructure that benefit communities.

Inclusive growth happens when people, businesses, and government pull together in one unified direction.

As Mayor, it’s my job to be the voice of the West Midlands, unlocking investment and securing backing to deliver things like:

• Launching the annual West Midlands Growth Summit. To stay accountable and keep stakeholders focused on results.
• Global West Midlands Partnership. To promote our region on the world stage and bring in jobs and investment.
• Building up the West Midlands Growth Company. To clarify what we offer and make it easier to secure investment.

Growth means more than numbers on a spreadsheet. We believe growth should be:

• Fair – so everyone can benefit.
• Inclusive – so your background doesn’t hold you back
• Place-based – so towns, cities and neighbourhoods all get a chance to thrive
• Green – so we cut bills and carbon at the same time

This is about growing our businesses and the kind of economy that supports all our people – not just hitting economic targets.

The West Midlands has talent, ideas, enterprise and opportunity like nowhere else.

This region has brilliant colleges, world-class universities, a £77 billion economy and a central location at the heart of Britain – connected to motorways, mainlines and millions more people. We’ve got nationally leading 5G, clean energy and low-carbon infrastructure, plus one of the youngest and most diverse populations anywhere in Europe.

This is what makes the West Midlands special. Not just our history – but what we’re doing with it, together, now.

We’re backing five key sectors with big growth potential: green tech and clean energy, advanced manufacturing and electrical vehicles, health tech and medical innovation, digital, tech and creative and professional and financial services.

We’re backing local businesses to grow, create jobs and strengthen local communities with simpler business support through Business Growth West Midlands, High Growth Programmes to help scale-ups expand, improved access to finance through new co-investment funds and new business spaces and support networks – making the West Midlands the best place in the UK to start, grow and succeed.

We’re backing real projects in real places that people can see and feel in their communities – building more affordable and social homes, improving transport, reviving high streets and creating green, connected neighbourhoods so every part of the West Midlands can share in the benefits of growth.

We’re making sure people have the skills they need to get on in life and earn a good wage, because a growing economy means nothing if local people are left behind. We’re creating a system where universities, FE colleges, training providers and employers work together to create real pathways into secure, skilled jobs.

We’re pushing for more local control over skills funding, so we can:

• Guarantee support for every young person to access work, training or education,
• Help people with health issues, caring responsibilities or long-term unemployment get back into work,
• Support green skills, digital training and apprenticeships
• Help those already in work to reskill, retrain or move up in their chosen career

We’re building the future of the West Midlands. Behind it all is a joined-up plan, led by strong local leadership and driven by our businesses and communities.

This includes:

• The Sports Quarter in East Birmingham – creating jobs, opportunities and community spaces.
• The Birmingham Knowledge Quarter – driving innovation.
• Digbeth – a new capital of screen production, with local talent creating content for the world.
• The West Midlands Investment Zone – powering clean growth and future-proof jobs.
• HS2 – the biggest rail project in Britain.
• The Metro network – expanding across the region, connecting people to opportunities.
• Thousands of new homes – creating communities where people feel safe, secure and stable.

We’re not waiting – projects are being funded and delivered now, new services and infrastructure are underway, a yearly Growth Summit will track progress, and this Growth Plan will be updated regularly to stay focused and flexible.

This is your region. Your community. Your future – we want residents to see real, local change, businesses to grow with confidence and young people to build their future right here in the West Midlands