Universities play a vital role in supporting business and communities, promoting local and national economic growth and innovation, and supplying highly skilled and employable graduates.
We encourage collaboration and the exchange of knowledge between universities and businesses, local authorities, professional bodies, charities and a wide range of other stakeholders to ensure that businesses and employers are supported to grow, become more innovative and productive, and can access the skills that they need.
Supporting and promoting universities' contribution to innovation, growth and skills
Our work on innovation, growth and skills covers a range of areas and projects. In all of these we seek to support and promote the significant efforts universities are already making.
- Skills
- Degree apprenticeships
- Level 4 and 5 higher education
- Collaboration with sector bodies
- Knowledge Exchange Concordat
- European Structural and Investment Funds
Skills
We support the development of strong links between universities and employers to boost the employability of graduates and improve recognition of the value of graduate skills.
Degree apprenticeships
We are working to support the development of degree apprenticeships in England and the development of wider apprenticeships policy across the UK. Our report,
The future of degree apprenticeships outlines how to ensure degree apprenticeships fully meet employers' skills needs, provide opportunities and contribute to productivity and economic growth.
Level 4 and 5 higher education
We are supporting efforts to increase the flexibility of higher education provision at level 4 and 5. This will help meet employer demand, increase options for learners and develop provision that better suits the future shape of work. This work includes the development of technical education at level 4 and 5. We have
responded to the most recent government consultation on this topic.
Collaboration with sector bodies
We engage with sector bodies that are identifying higher level skills needs and seeking to increase and improve their engagement with universities. We have been working with the digital sector, the film and television sector and the financial services sector.
Knowledge Exchange Concordat
We are leading on the development of the Knowledge Exchange Concordat in collaboration with GuildHE and Research England. The concordat seeks to both enhance knowledge exchange within universities through the exchange of good practice, highlight the good practice that exists and act as a catalyst for collaboration between universities and with employers.
European Structural and Investment Funds
In England we represent the sector in the European Structural Investment Funds Programme, which universities use to help them collaborate with businesses, charities and local enterprise partnerships on innovation, skills development, and business support and advice.
England has been allocated €6.9 billion from the European Union's European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) between 2014 and 2020. We are working closely with the government on the placed successor to the ESIF Programme the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
