To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of graduate skills on the North West economy.
Answered on
3 December 2024
English higher education (HE) providers generate around 300,000 first degree UK graduates each year, and over 100,000 post-graduates.
These graduates generate significant economic impact: working first degree graduates in 2023 earned on average £6,500 more than non-graduates, which represents a proxy for their additional economic productivity. Graduates are also more likely to be employed, with 87.7% of working age (16 to 64 years old) first degree graduates in employment in 2023, compared to 69.7% of non-graduates. Further, graduates are critical in meeting skills shortages in priority areas, with 67% of working age first degree graduates in high-skilled employment in 2023, compared to 23.7% of non-graduates. Universities UK has estimated that the total economic impact of graduate skills from HE teaching and learning in 2021/22 will be £95 billion spread across the UK.
Over 35,000 of these first degree graduates generated each year, and over 15,000 of the post-graduates, live in the North-West. Universities UK has estimated that first degree graduates in the North-West earn on average 36% more than non-graduates by age 31, and that the economic impact of teaching and learning from the North-West’s 18 HE providers has an economic impact of £9.85 billion annually.