Universities in England contribute around £95
billion* to the economy and support more than
815,000 jobs** across England, new findings by
Frontier Economics [attached] today reveal.
In terms of GDP, the higher education sector in England has also
grown by around a quarter over 5 years to over £50 billion.
As well as direct employment, universities support these jobs
through their purchases of services and goods from other sectors
and through employee spending power. Universities also attract
substantial numbers of international students, and visitor
spending associated with international students runs in the
hundreds of millions.
This significant economic impact runs alongside the huge
contribution universities make to the economy through
life-changing research and educating tomorrow’s workforce,
including public sector workers. A predicted 191,000 nurses,
84,000 medical specialists and 188,000 teachers will train at UK
universities over the next five years.
The new research by Frontier Economics, commissioned by
Universities UK, falls just ahead of the official deadline for
submitting evidence to the government’s Comprehensive Spending
Review [CSR] on 30 September.
Shining a light on the powerful impact of universities in those
regions that the government is targeting in its “levelling up”
programme, figures show that from the jobs universities support
in the North East (32,000) to the South West (85,000), to the
overall contribution universities make to the economy in the West
Midlands (£8.6 billion) to the East of England (£9.4 billion),
the positive impact of universities is felt in every region.
UUK’s submission to the CSR [full publication attached] will
include the following recommendations to government:
- Sustainable funding: maintain the available spend per student
to make sure the quality of education is not compromised and
ensure the premium for supporting those from disadvantaged
backgrounds is maintained.
- Research: maintain the UK’s position as a global research and
development superpower, recommitting to spending 2.4% of GDP on
research and development alongside the associated commitment to
£22 billion in public investment in research and development by
2024/25.
- Developing the Lifelong Loan Entitlement: support a broader
group of people to benefit from higher education by growing new
initiatives such as pilots offering access to modular “bite-size”
learning opportunities, and removing the qualification rules
which can be a barrier for mature learners, those in work and
those looking to upskill.
- Supporting transformation: providing targeted funding for the
most innovative projects aiming to achieve sector-led change,
such as supporting collaborations which increase course provision
to better meet local skills needs and support levelling-up.
Professor Steve West, President of Universities UK and
Vice-Chancellor of UWE Bristol, said: “Universities have
been celebrated for being front and centre in the fight against
coronavirus, but it is also important to recognise the
livelihoods they support through creating and supporting jobs and
businesses across the country.
“The economic and cultural contribution of our universities is
vast and benefits communities across all parts of the UK.
Universities can be central to speeding up the UK’s recovery from
the pandemic.
“Now is the time for government to capitalise on the strength of
our world-class universities, working with us to ensure
universities have the right funding environment to drive economic
growth, create new jobs and improve opportunities for people of
all ages and backgrounds.”
Notes
*This is a measure which refers to the revenue generated in the
economy including intermediate inputs from other industries used
in the process of producing the gross output.
**Frontier Economics has updated previous estimates with the most
up to date information on university employment, revenue and
spending, which at the time of the analysis was carried out was
HESA data from 2018-2019.
