Jobs and Sectors in Stockport

Find out about jobs and sectors in Stockport with an up-to-date Labour Market Insight (LMI), download our infographic about the borough’s biggest employers and in-demand growth areas. Learn why understanding different industry sectors matters in order to navigate your future career path and match your aspirations to the realities of the jobs market, whilst hearing from local professionals talk about the power of their first ever jobs.

This lesson plan can be used for students of all ages to learn more about the local jobs market. It’s an ideal tool to help young people understand what jobs exist now and are likely to grow for the future to help them make realistic career choices.


Learning Objectives

As you start to think about your future career, it’s important to explore and understand various job sectors. Each sector has its own unique characteristics, job roles, and impacts on the world around us. By gaining insight into these sectors, you can make informed decisions about your career path, whether it’s your dream job or an alternative route.

In this lesson plan, students will:

  • Learn about the local economy here in Stockport
  • Understand high growth sectors and what jobs will be needed for the future
  • Explore how jobs are related and what different sectors mean

Teacher Guide

You can use the PDF lesson plan to deliver a targeted session lasting 30-45 minutes or break it down into smaller chunks to be used during form time, within a careers lesson or embedded within the curriculum in specific subject area.

Our suggested delivery for this lesson would include:

  1. Introduction (5 mins): Start by introducing today’s topic and key learning objectives. You could ask students what they know about working in Stockport or show a short video clip about what makes Stockport a great place to live and work.
  2. Jobs and Careers (10 mins): Encourage students to start thinking about why understanding about our local economy and jobs outlook may be important for their future career choices. Use the discussion points on slide 2 to test their current level of knowledge and raise a flipchart or use the whiteboard to record their answers. Talk through some of the ideas and responses given, using slide 3 as a prompt for any you may have missed.
  3. Sectors and Job Families (10 mins): Explain that there are thousands of jobs to choose from and that they can be grouped together into sectors/industries/job families that often share some of the same characteristics. Use the discussion points on slide 4 to test students’ knowledge of different sectors and what they do, as well as which sectors they think are growing or in decline both locally and nationally. Talk through some of the ideas and responses given, using slide 5 as a prompt for any you may have missed.
  4. In-Demand Sectors (10 mins): Use slides 6-10 to provide students with an LMI update about the local jobs market. This includes explaining what in-demand or ‘high growth’ sectors are (and factors which can affect them like Covid-19, the conflict in Ukraine, technological advances etc.) and giving an outline of the in-demand sectors in Stockport and across GM. Introduce the concept of skills shortages to explain which sectors are in need of candidates for the future.
  5. Summary (5 mins): Recap on what students have learnt about sectors and how they are connected, using the discussion points on slide 11 (and prompt answers on slide 12) to test their knowledge.

Follow-Up Activities

After the lesson (or if you have extended the lesson into multiple sessions), you could ask students to complete the following tasks:

  • Research their future career or chosen industry sector using our Career Guides or other online tools, such as the National Careers Service or Prospects.
  • Find out more about working in Stockport and visiting the One Stockport website to learn about the Borough Plan and Economic Plan which explain more about future investment and priorities.
  • Explore the impact of national and global events on the future world of work, using news sources and online articles to research what trends and other key factors may affect their future sector choice.

Games, Activities & Worksheets

The following printable materials can be used during lessons or sent home with students as follow-up activities:

Individual Activity – Job Family Trees

Interested in a career in Marketing or IT but not sure what jobs actually exist? Use our Job Family Tree worksheet to learn about your chosen sector, find out about different pathways and job roles, explore their entry requirements and career prospects.

Group Activity – Higher or Lower Sector Game

Use our Higher or Lower Sector Game Flashcards to guess which sectors in Greater Manchester employ the highest percentage of the workforce. This game is ideal for a 15 minute activity in lessons or at home, and can be extended by using our Career Guides to explore what different sectors include or research local employers or training providers.

Sector Game

Bitesize Videos

View our range of 2-3 minute bitesize videos to include in your lesson or send the link to students to watch independently. Hear from local employers in Stockport talking about what skills are important for the future or their first ever job and where this took them.


Daily Reel (15 min video)

If you need to deliver a shorter session to students, try our Daily Reel video on this topic. It outlines why it’s important to stay informed about trends and the latest LMI (labour market insights) so you can invest in developing the right skills for the jobs of the future and have realistic career expectations of what employers could offer you.

In this 15 min summary, you’ll learn:

  • What Stockport has to offer compared to Greater Manchester and the North West
  • What are largest employment sectors are and about the borough’s biggest employers
  • The outlook for future growth and investment according to the One Stockport Plan
  • The importance of labour market insights and how to stay informed

Useful Resources on Jobs & Sectors in Stockport

We’ve produced a range of tools to help teachers, careers advisors and students understand the latest trends and growth areas here in Stockport. Use these articles and resources to prepare for your lesson or to signpost students to help them expand their knowledge and make informed decisions about upcoming job choices, available training pathways and future career options.

Stockport LMI Infographic

To give you an overview of local LMI, we’ve produced an infographic with some of the key stats about employers and employment here in Stockport. Print and display around the classroom or provide students with a copy as a starting point for their conversations and research.

Quick Guide to Job Sectors 

Don’t know the difference between engineering and logistics? Not sure what jobs exist in Leisure or Public Services? Want to know what that means here in Stockport? Check out our quick guide to Job Sectors and what they mean, with some little known facts about Stockport’s biggest employers.

Matching Aspirations to the Realities of the Local Job Market

It’s essential to recognise that some jobs are more popular than others and some industries are set to grow, whilst others may shrink in the years ahead. Find out what jobs you can do here in Stockport, the most popular jobs in 2023, the biggest employers here in Stockport and what sources you can use to access LMI as part of your research.

The Power of your First Job

Landing your first job can be exhilarating and a tad nerve-wracking but even the most successful individuals started at the bottom. Find out where it all began for some of Stockport’s business leaders and get top tips of where to start with part-time jobs, work experience and volunteering. Plus download a free CV template to get started.