WHEN they're good, Derby's three big sectors are very, very good – but when times get tough, the rail, car and aerospace industries are hit hard.

A new report has revealed just how rosy things could look for Derby if the industries perform at their best.

They could create an extra 15,700 jobs in the city by 2019, pumping millions more into the economy.

But it also highlighted their weaknesses and what that success is dependent upon.

If Derby is to get those extra jobs, the industries need a major image overhaul, Government backing, stability and a turnaround in the current economic climate.

Without those key ingredients, the good could turn ugly. The worst-case scenario predicted is that the rail industry could see close to an 80% drop in employment within a decade, the aerospace industry's economic output could slump by 35.2% and the car sector could see employment and output drop by 19.5%.

According to the Planes, Trains and Automobiles report commissioned by Derby City Council, East Midlands Development Agency and the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce, the common weakness across all three industries is their image.

And looks do matter when it comes to the success of these influential areas.

"These sectors generally suffer a poor image and are seen as 'oily rag' trades," the report states.

"This is having a negative impact on the recruitment of graduates to work in the aerospace, automotive and rail sectors.

"This is despite local businesses in all three sectors identifying that there is a variety of good, long-term career prospects within these sectors that people are not aware of."

Rail-training company Catalis is all too familiar with the "oily-rag" image, something it has tried to banish.

Craig King, technical director at Catalis, which has a major training base in Derby, said the reputation was unjustified.

"We don't just teach the 'oily rag' end of it, as they have termed it. We teach the design engineers and testing engineers. We do a lot of training at technician level all the way through to senior designers."

Catalis has links with universities to train graduates in the skills the industry demands but Mr King said Government work to encourage people to see the vast opportunities within the sector would be welcome.

Perhaps a glimpse at the salary ranges for engineers would be enough to tempt youngsters to reconsider their career paths.

A junior salary would start at around £30,000, with senior posts getting around £120,000 a year.

For the rail industry, Government investment is just as important as training.

Many of the contracts for new trains are now coming directly from Government, meaning the sector is relying heavily on future orders and investment from them.

Michelle Craven, vice-chairman of Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum, said: "The rail sector is quite different in that the purse strings are really held by central Government and the figures for this are largely to do with the buttons being pushed on massive pieces of work like Thameslink."

Lobbying Government to ensure that contracts come to Derby is, therefore, crucial for the rail sector and was what prompted the Derby Telegraph to launch the Change Track campaign following the Government's decision to award the £7.5bn Intercity Express Programme contract to Japanese firm Hitachi instead of Bombardier.

But lobbying is also important to other sectors, including the aerospace industry.

That is why Derby led a project to set up the Aerospace Communities Alliance, bringing together politicians in cities which have a strong aerospace industry presence. They then lobby the Government to keep orders in the UK.

Current chairwoman of that alliance is Derby City Council leader Hilary Jones.

She said: "The whole point of that grouping is to aid, not just ourselves, but also other smaller local authorities, to lobby to make sure work is not going out of the country."

She said the council was also working with companies, colleges and universities to improve links and make sure the training being given was relevant to what the companies needed.

"Those links are already there, they have just got to be strengthened and we need to make sure we are putting on the sort of courses locally that people from the industry actually want."

Director of regeneration at the council Richard Williams said the authority was also looking at the results of the report to see how it could help smaller companies.

"We will be using the funding we have as a council, plus external funding, to develop projects which help us to deal with those issues the research has identified, such as future skill needs and appropriate training," he said.

The bright predictions and best-case scenarios can be hard for the city and the manufacturing sector to imagine, however.

And that is because they are struggling to see the end of the current recession.

Particularly hard-hit by the downturn has been the car industry.

For that sector to see the 21.9% growth forecast, it will need a massive change in the global economic climate.

Karen Blount, spokeswoman for Toyota at Burnaston, said: "In terms of growth, we're not looking at that right now.

"I'm not doubting the report, but the motor industry it is referring to is not just manufacturing, it's not just Toyota.

"While in some sectors, sales might be doing well as part of the scrappage scheme which was introduced, in terms of Toyota and car manufacture, our volumes have been significantly lower during 2009. Although we can't say what future volumes will be, we don't see it being so different this year.

"It is hard for us to comment about the growth in our industry right now.

"The motor-manufacturing industry is so volatile we can't predict how quickly the market could improve but what we need to have is consumer confidence, so that consumers start buying the cars."

But Emda say the report is important in taking a more medium-term view and said there was a stabilising pattern establishing in the car sector.

Michael Carr, executive director of business services at Emda, said: "Generally, things are not getting worse, they are getting slowly better, although it will take a while to build up to where we saw the output of the manufacturing sector two years ago. It involves a lot of confidence building."

He said Government was helping companies work with banks to sort out their finances and look at innovative ways to become more efficient. "Government has worked to help companies survive the tough economic times and now it is about helping them to thrive."