Newton Abbot is a market town of around 25,000 people in the Teignbridge district of south Devon, at the head of the Teign estuary between Dartmoor and the coast. It grew up as a railway and clay town, and both still shape the job market: manufacturing and engineering on the industrial estates, alongside a large share of retail, care and tourism work tied to the surrounding rural area and Torbay.
Two of the larger employers sit next to each other on Shaldon Road (TQ12 4SQ). Centrax builds industrial gas turbine generating sets and employs over 250 people. The neighbouring turbine-components plant, which makes machined aero-engine and gas-turbine parts, now trades as MB Aerospace Newton Abbot, part of Barnes Aerospace, and runs to a few hundred staff. Clay is the other long-standing industry: Sibelco operates the ball-clay deposits at Kingsteignton, and Imerys also works the Devon ball clays across several sites and processing plants. Trago Mills' Stover store (TQ12 6JD) is a large retail and warehouse employer, and Newton Abbot Community Hospital on Jetty Marsh Road provides NHS work under Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. Most other vacancies come off the business and industrial estates — Heathfield, Brunel, Decoy, Wharf Road and Bradley Lane — where firms tend to be SMEs in precision engineering, food production, fabrication and trade supply.
Transport: Newton Abbot is on the Great Western main line, with the fastest trains reaching London Paddington in about two hours twenty, Exeter St Davids in roughly 20 minutes, and frequent CrossCountry and GWR services on to Plymouth. The A38 Devon Expressway runs along the northern edge at Drumbridges, linking Exeter (M5) and Plymouth, and the A380 South Devon Highway drops down to Torbay from the Penn Inn junction. Postcodes: TQ12 covers the town and surrounding villages including Kingsteignton and Heathfield; TQ13 takes in Bovey Tracey, Chudleigh and Ashburton on the Dartmoor side.
Jobs in Newton Abbot
Finance Business Partner
Health & Safety Administrator
Reliability Technician (Days) - Mars Wrigley
Reliability Technician (Days) - Mars Wrigley
Groundworker
Production Operative
Retail Security Officer
Yard Operative
Head of Infrastructure and Security
Relief F&B Assistants
Education Support Worker
SEN Maths Teacher / Tutor
Office Manager - 35 hours per week
Head of Application Management
Assistant Site Manager
Retail Store Manager
Floor Screeder
Temporary Client Support
Retail Shift Manager
Frequently asked questions
Who are the biggest employers in Newton Abbot?
Two of the larger employers sit on Shaldon Road: Centrax, which builds industrial gas turbine generating sets and employs over 250 people, and the neighbouring aero-engine and turbine components plant now run as MB Aerospace Newton Abbot, part of Barnes Aerospace. The ball-clay industry (Sibelco at Kingsteignton, Imerys across the Devon sites), Trago Mills' Stover store, Newton Abbot Community Hospital, and a cluster of engineering and food-production SMEs on the Heathfield, Brunel and Decoy estates account for much of the remaining local employment.
What sectors have the most jobs in Newton Abbot?
Manufacturing and engineering are stronger here than in most Devon towns, on the back of the Shaldon Road turbine and aerospace plants and the clay industry. Retail, health and social care, and tourism and hospitality also account for a large share of vacancies, because Newton Abbot is the main shopping and service hub for a wide rural catchment and sits close to Dartmoor and the Torbay coast.
Is Newton Abbot a good base for commuting to work elsewhere in Devon?
The station is on the GWR main line, so Exeter St Davids is roughly 20 minutes by train, with regular CrossCountry and GWR services to Plymouth. By road, the A38 Devon Expressway runs to Exeter and the M5 in one direction and Plymouth in the other, while the A380 South Devon Highway from the Penn Inn junction reaches Torquay and Paignton in about 20 minutes.