The government has made changes to the number of ‘core-and-margin’ places that will be open to bids in 2013. Commenting on the changes, Libby Hackett, director of the University Alliance, said that 60 to 70 per cent of students at University Alliance institutions were on professionally accredited courses, for which demand would be “relatively stable”. Such programmes could even be expanded in the wake of the policy revision, she suggested.

Read the full article here.

But Ms Hackett added that changes in grant allocations to the sector announced in January already meant that overall student numbers at universities would drop from September.

You can read the full article here and check out our response to the Government announcement.

“The changes announced today are a step in the right direction, increasing our ability to place students at the ‘heart of the system’.  These changes will create more flexibility for students to apply to the courses that are most in demand, which will mean that the ambitions of the White Paper can be more fully realised.

“However, the fact remains that this September there will be 25,000 fewer student places in universities compared with last year.  With youth unemployment at record levels and social mobility at a standstill it is essential that we explore how total growth of the sector can be achieved.  For the UK to remain globally competitive it is important that the Government takes steps to increase overall student numbers.”

Notes to editors:

1. University Alliance Website: www.university-alliance.ac.uk
2. Media contact: ahenry@university-alliance.ac.uk | 07833 236 629.
3. The January 2012 Grant Letter to HEFCE confirmed that 10,000 modernisation fund student numbers will not be consolidated and an additional 5,000 student numbers have been removed to reduce the risk of overspend. Of the 20,000 Core and Margin numbers – the vast majority of which has come out of HE numbers – around 10,000 have been allocated to universities and around 10,000 to FE Colleges. The result is a further reduction of around 10,000 university places.

About University Alliance

University Alliance is a group of 23 universities offering a distinct student experience shaped by a commitment to delivering world-class research and a culture of enterprise and innovation built on close partnerships with business, the professions and their communities. www.university-alliance.ac.uk

Apeldoorn Conference:

For the UK and the Netherlands to remain leading world economies into the 21st century, our universities will be expected to produce increasing numbers of highly-skilled graduates with a clear understanding of the working world.

Libby Hackett, Director of University Alliance, gives her thoughts on this issue and speaks about discussions at the Apeldoorn Conference.

Libby Hackett speaking at the Apeldoorn: British-Dutch Dialogue 2012 from Apeldoorn on Vimeo.

Professor John Vinney, Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University, joined the PM programme on BBC Radio 4 to discuss proposals to give universities a greater role in A-level design and development.

Joining Professor Vinney were Mary Dunnet, a student at Edinburgh University, and Richard Drew, an A-level teacher from South Wales.

You can listen to the interview here. (Approx 34 minutes into the programme).

Libby Hackett, director of University Alliance, said: “Despite continued demand for university places we are seeing significant drops in student places across the sector with some institutions subject to cuts of 12 per cent in just one year.

“The places which are being taken out of the system in 2012-13, or transferring to further education, means that there will be 20,000 fewer young people able to go to university compared to last year.”

Libby Hackett, director of the University Alliance, said its members were “the squeezed middle in this environment”.

Given that the group’s universities were “doing all the things the government asked of them” in terms of high graduate employment rates and links with industry, it was “very frustrating” for them to have their places cut, she said.

Ms Hackett reiterated calls for AAB to be extended downwards to lower grades to create a more open market; for the size of the margin of contestable places to be reduced; and for the £7,500 threshold on bids for margin places to be removed.

“Despite continued demand for university places we are seeing significant drops in student places across the sector with some institutions subject to cuts of 12 per cent in just one year. The places which are being taken out of the system in 2012-13, or transferring to further education, means that there will be 20,000 fewer young people able to go to university compared to last year. These cuts to university places will result in thousands of young people joining the growing number who are unemployed. This is not good for them and it is certainly not good for the UK economy.”

“Our new report, ‘The way we’ll work: labour market trends and preparing for the hourglass’ argues that the shortage of graduates is threatening the future growth of the UK. It is time for thought leaders across the political, business, academic and charity worlds to work together, to think long term about how we ensure there are enough places to meet greater demand from young people and have the high-skilled capabilities we need to grow the economy.”

Notes to editors

• Media contact: Andrew Henry, ahenry@university-alliance.ac.uk | 07833 236 629
• University Alliance report: ‘The way we’ll work: labour market trends and preparing for the hourglass.’ 

About University Alliance

University Alliance is a group of 23 universities offering a distinct student experience shaped by a commitment to delivering world-class research and a culture of enterprise and innovation built on close partnerships with business, the professions and their communities.
www.university-alliance.ac.uk

The report, The way we’ll work, draws on the large body of evidence on the shape of the labour markets in developed economies. It demonstrates that if the UK is to remain globally competitive we need a greater proportion of graduates in our workforce.  It also highlights the need to improve social mobility by creating genuine progression opportunities.

In response to the report, University Alliance is launching university_vision, a sector-led project being sponsored by Hewlett-Packard and bringing together a diverse mix of thought leaders to identify the big challenges facing the higher education sector.

Commenting on the findings in the report, Libby Hackett, director of University Alliance, said:

“The messages coming out of this report have major implications for government policy. Too often we hear it said that ‘there are too many graduates’ in the UK. It is important to look at the evidence behind this claim as our response to it will have serious consequences for the future wellbeing of our economy and society.

“Advances in technology are transforming work – what we do and how we do it. Sustained growth in graduate level jobs has been linked to the complementary effect of technology on occupations involving analytical, problem solving and complex communication activities: typically graduate attributes.

“Our report shows that the UK economy is not presenting any of the four labour market signals we considered in this report that might suggest there are too many graduates in the economy. Graduate vacancies continue to grow. Jobs in ‘graduate dense’ occupations are an increasing proportion of the total workforce. Graduate employment rates have been maintained despite the rapid expansion in the number of graduates. Added to all of this there is still a significant graduate premium.

“Youth unemployment is at record levels while demand for going to university is high. Social mobility is at a standstill, yet we know that in our changing economy it is a university degree that creates more opportunities for people than anything else. Applying logic would see the total number of university places increased. However, they have been quietly cut by around 25,000 places compared with last year. Budgets may be limited but we should be stating the case for increasing the capacity for higher education places in future years if we are to grow our economy and ensure a bright future for more young people.

“This is why we are launching a new project, university_vision. Drawing together thought leaders from across the sector, business and think tanks, the project will explore, amongst other things, how the UK needs to be preparing itself now to deliver the workforce we’ll need in the future to remain globally competitive. The sector has had many government-led reviews ‘done’ to it. This initiative is being led from within the sector and will focus on solutions and outcomes, identifying how the sector can drive its own policy agenda; serve society and the economy; and seek out new and innovative ways to anticipate, approach and tackle the challenges of the future.

“Our global competitors are continuing to invest heavily in expanding higher education despite their own budget deficits. In contrast, England has had to reduce the number of places available at university to control expenditure. To equip the population to find continuing opportunities in the labour market and to meet the growing need for graduate attributes, we must continue to seek ways to increase investment, public and private, in universities.”

—Ends—

Notes to editors

Media contact, Sam Jones, on 0203 178 7491 or 07767673982 or sjones@university-alliance.ac.uk

1. How have we calculated a cut of 25,000 student places?
The January 2012 Grant Letter to HEFCE confirmed that 10,000 modernisation fund student numbers will not be consolidated and an additional 5,000 student numbers have been removed to reduce the risk of over spend resulting in 15,000 fewer HE places. Of the 20,000 Core and Margin numbers top sliced from the sector (the vast majority of which have come out of HE numbers in universities) around 10,000 have been allocated to universities and 10,000 to FE Colleges. The result is a further reduction of around 10,000 university places and a total of around 25,000 fewer places in English universities in 2012-13 compared with the previous year.

2. What are the key findings in the report?
The way we’ll workdraws on the large body of evidence on the shape of labour markets in developed economies and identifies the following:

• Since the early 1990s sustained growth in high-wage, analytical, non-routine jobs; an expansion of manual, lower wage jobs; and a contraction of routine, middle wage jobs has led to a ‘hollowing out’ of the labour market in developed economies – essentially creating an ‘hourglass’ shaped labour market.
• The strongest observed employment growth has been in the three occupation groups with the highest density of graduates, together accounting for three quarters of growth between 2000 and 2010.
• The observed reduction in the employment share of middle wage jobs is linked to the substitution of technology for routine tasks, highly concentrated in occupations in the middle of the earnings distribution.
• Other factors also work together to increase the hourglass shape of the labour market, including globalisation, offshoring, shifts in consumer demand and changing national demographics.
• A rich and growing supply of graduates is needed to support an hourglass shaped economy. The proportion of our working population at graduate-level will influence the nation’s productivity, pattern of economic growth and ability to meet the needs of business, individuals and the wider society.
• In an hourglass shaped economy effective progression routes through to high level qualifications and professional development are essential in order to tackle rising inequality and to ensure that people do not get trapped at the bottom of the employment market.

The report looks at the implications of these changes on society and the economy and makes recommendations of how higher education policy could respond to meet the challenges and capitalise on the opportunities an hourglass shaped economy presents.

3. About the Alliance
University Alliance is a group of 23 major, business-engaged universities committed to delivering world-class research and a quality student experience around the UK. Alliance universities educate over 26% of all UK students and achieve some of the highest graduate-level employment rates. Alliance universities offer a research- informed, academic learning environment and a culture of innovation and enterprise, equipping graduates who will help deliver growth to the UK economy. Our universities maintain a revolving door with business to help ensure graduate employers get innovative and thoughtful, professionally accredited graduates with the right skills to help grow their businesses.

4. Alliance universities
Bournemouth University, University of Bradford, Cardiff Metropolitan University, De Montfort University, University of Glamorgan, Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Hertfordshire, University of Huddersfield, Kingston University, University of Lincoln, Liverpool John Moores University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Northumbria University, Nottingham Trent University, Open University, Oxford Brookes University, Plymouth University, University of Portsmouth, University of Salford, Sheffield Hallam University, Teesside University, University of Wales, Newport, University of the West of England.

University Alliance welcomes today’s Budget announcement that a £100 million fund is to be set up to support investment in major new university research facilities. The fund will allocate its first bids in 2012-13 and will attract additional co-investment from the private sector.

Libby Hackett, Director of University Alliance said:

Improving competitiveness, thinking of new and creative approaches and high-level skills have always been crucial to business success and growth. Universities are key to unlocking this hidden potential and we welcome further support to strengthen the collaborations that already exist between universities and business. Our international competitors are investing heavily in universities, so this move will certainly go someway in helping us retain our place in the global market.

Our Open Doors project highlights the experiences that businesses have with universities and the benefits these interactions have, not just to them, but to the local and national economy. Collaborations between universities and businesses are vital to the economic well-being of the UK and this initiative can help to further strengthen these partnerships.

We look forward to finding out more about the scheme and assisting the government in ensuring that the money goes to the strongest bids, wherever they might come from.