Universities, skills and growth

Universities are keen to maximise their role in providing the graduates we need for economic recovery, the growth agenda and addressing the skills gap. Universities UK (UUK) looks forward to working closely with the Secretary of State to achieve this.

Key statistics

Degree apprenticeships

• In the first three quarters of 2021–22 (August–April), there were 37,800 apprenticeship ‘starts’ at degree level (equal to 13.1% of all apprenticeship starts). This was a 10.3% increase on 2020–21. (GOV.UK, 2022)
• The number of degree-level apprenticeships has grown year-on-year from 2015–16 when they were introduced, including at least doubling every year between 2015–16 and 2019–20. (House of Commons Library, 2021)
• Degree apprenticeships represented 60% of all level 6 and 7 apprenticeship starts in 2018–19. (House of Commons Library, 2019).
• There are approximately 100 universities on the register of apprenticeship training providers. UUK are now working closely with the Department for Education on developing a growth strategy for degree apprenticeships (UUK, 2022)

T-levels and Higher Technical Qualifications

• 520 T-level students made applications to university through the UCAS cycle in 2022 and, of those, 510 (98%) students received at least 1 offer, and 410 (78% of those who applied) have now been placed onto a university course. (UCAS, 2022)
• Approximately 75% of the new Higher Technical Qualifications have come from universities and other degree awarding bodies. (Department for Education, 2022)

Graduate employment

• In 2021, the employment rate for graduates was 86.7% (compared to 70.2% for non-graduates) and the unemployment rate was 3.7% (5.5% for non-graduates) (Graduate Labour Market Statistics, 2021)
• Graduates earn on average £10,000 more per year than non-graduates (Graduate Labour Market Statistics, 2021)
• 80% of working graduates were in high-skilled employment 15 months after graduation. 87% of these graduates agreed that their current activity was meaningful and 79% agreed that it fits with their future plans. (HESA Graduate Outcomes Data, 2019–20)
• Degree apprentices and graduates are meeting key skills needs. The five most commonly reported jobs for degree apprentices (Prospects Luminate, 2022) are:
  • Information Technology Professionals: 14%
  • Engineering Professionals: 12%
  • Nursing Professionals: 12%
  • Architects, Planning Officers, Surveyors and Construction Professionals: 6%
  • Health Associate Professionals: 5%

Universities and graduates – contributing growth and skills

• Graduate supply still does not meet demand. There were 15,053,100 people with degree or equivalent qualifications working in the UK at the end of 2020, but 15,978,200 employees in SOC categories 1 to 3 in the same year. The gap is almost a million jobs. (UUK, 2022)
• Almost all of the new jobs created by 2035 will be in ‘professional’ and ‘associate professional’ occupations (2.2 million out of 2.6 million, or 85%). All of the top 20 roles in terms of fastest growth of opportunity to 2035 are professional level jobs. (NFER/Nuffield Foundation, 2022)
• A pilot evaluation of University Enterprise Zones (UEZs) – England only – found that additional funding equates to £4.50 GVA was leveraged for every £1 of funding (Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, 2015)

Universities working with businesses

• 84% of businesses have links with universities – higher than colleges (77%) and schools (74%). (CBI/Birkbeck, 2021)
• It’s estimated that UK universities will provide over £11.6 billion of support and services to small enterprises, businesses and not-for-profits over the next five years (UUK, 2021)
• Despite the pandemic, in 2020–21, UK universities generated 4,936 new businesses as start-ups and spin-outs. These businesses employed 95,503 people and attracted over £7 billion of external investment. In the same period, these firms had an estimated turnover of nearly £13 billion. (HESA, 2022)
• Nearly half of UK incubators (107 out of 216) are university-managed or affiliated with universities across the country, providing finance, resource and offering support for businesses. Research shows that collaborating with universities in this way leads to faster sales and job growth and has a positive effect on business survival. (BEIS, 2018)
• UUK has published a number of outputs setting out how universities support businesses through commercialisation, creating new businesses and improving productivity.

Case studies