Ref. 27955-22Although we have a higher average wage than most, the picture is not as rosy as it may seem. Following a report revealing that workers in this area on average command higher wages than almost anywhere in the country, BHAVANI VADDE looks at the financial side of life in Wiltshire.

SWINDON is a cut above the rest when it comes to wages. A survey conducted by the GMB show the workers here earn an average salary of £26,320, which is the second highest in the south west and above the national average of £24,741.

This doesn't mean that all employees in Swindon are earning more than their counterparts in the rest of the country.

The union claims the large proportion of skilled workers employed on high salaries by big firms has boosted the average in the town.

Public sector workers are at a disadvantage in prosperous Swindon where house prices are high.

That's because professionals such as nurses and teachers are paid on the same salary scale throughout the country.

Young people, just starting out on their careers, are also finding it difficult to get on the property ladder because of the boom in house prices over the last couple of years.

Andrew Prendergast, spokesman for the GMB in Swindon, said there were still people whose salaries are well below the national average.

He said: "Swindon is well-known for having quite well-paid jobs. It is an area with a lot of highly technical and professional jobs.

"It brings the level of the average wage up significantly.

"But there are plenty of people employed in less skilled jobs that is the area where we are fighting for higher wages.

"You have to bear in mind that large numbers of people earn less but live in the same community where the cost of living is quite high."

The Evening Advertiser contacted companies with a reputation for paying higher than average salaries such as Motorola, Nationwide and Zurich Financial services.

The firms declined to disclose the amount earned by a cross section of their workforce, claiming that the details are confidential.

But Reed, one of the country's largest recruitment agencies, provided the details of salaries of professions in work in Swindon companies.

A qualified accountant earns around £ 32,000 although a survey conducted by Robert Half Finance and Accounting found more than half in Swindon are paid in excess of £37,000.

Software engineers start on around £25,000 and a financial adviser with two years experience has a basic salary of £31,000, possibly with substantial commission on top.

The top earners in the town are financial directors with salaries of £115,000 or more.

Crawford Warnock, a spokesman for Reed, said: "Competition for the top jobs is intense but the benfit packages and salaries form the cornerstones of expectations among the top candidates in the field." On the lower end of the pay scale, a graduate teacher gets around £17,000 and the salary for an auxiliary nurse is between £10,000 to £12,000 although a charge nurse can earn between £19,500 and £24,500.

Dick Mattick, from the Swindon branch of the NASUWT, said: "It would take teachers six years to earn the average salary which is top of the pay scale.

"The local authority has made attempts to help by reserving accommodation for key workers.

"There is a teacher shortage in the town and so if house prices are high, people are likely to go where the cost of living is much lower."

Swindon Council is one of the town's largest employers with around 8,000 workers.

Manual workers such as cleaners earn the lowest wage of around £10,000 with middle managers who specialise in their profession earning between £20,000 and £45,000.

The highest earner would be the chief executive on around £125,000 a year.

Hellen Barnes, spokeswoman for Swindon Council said: "Salary levels for the majority of employees are set through national regulations that are then applied through the grading system."

Bhavani Vadde