Yorkshire's graduate economy fallen behind other regions

Yorkshire and the Humberís long-term ambition to become a successful knowledge economy is threatened by its failure to retain more graduate talent in the region, according to a new research report Graduate Economies in Britain.

The report by Geoeconomics, commissioned by Graduates Yorkshire - the dedicated website for matching employers in Yorkshire & Humber with graduate talent from the regionís universities ñ has serious implications for local authorities and their partners who are finalising proposals in response to the Governmentís Sub National Review of Economic Development and Regeneration.

Graduates Economies in Britain provides a snapshot of the regionís position in the graduate intensive ìknowledge economyî and highlights the crucial role that graduates have in supporting and strengthening the knowledge intensive sectors.

Knowledge-intensive sectors are industries where at least 25 per cent of the workforce must be qualified to degree level and at least 30 per cent of the workforce must be employed in professional, managerial and scientific and technical occupations.

According to the report Leeds remains the flagship of the regionís graduate economy while Sheffield and Rotherham continue to benefit from the regenerating effect of graduate recruitment and retention. However, Bradford, York and Doncaster continue to display disappointing graduate economy trends.

Graduates Yorkshire Chief Executive Martin Edmondson, said: ìOur economy is one in transition, moving towards becoming a graduate intensive Knowledge Economy. For many in business and industry the use of knowledge to produce economic benefits will be crucial to compete and grow and knowledge rich resources such as know how, expertise and intellectual property will be key. We see graduates playing a central role in this transition, providing employers with a huge resource just waiting to be tapped and promising a high value return.î

According to the report, which is authored by leading economist Professor Mark Hepworth and geographical expert, Martin Frost, in order to create economic dynamism in the region, business employers ñ especially SMEs ñ will have to recruit more graduates coming out of the regionís universities and to participate more in work placement schemes.

Prof. Hepworth said: ìThis is a two-way street ñ universities will need to ensure that graduate competences are compatible with the needs of local businesses who in turn need to create innovative work places, improve skills and the quality of jobs ñ key drivers for graduates. It is now widely recognised that graduates are important to the long-term, strategic performance of knowledge-based economies driven by continuous technological, organisational and social innovation.

ìOverall there is an urgent need for the Region to build a strong and dynamic knowledge economy as rapidly as possible, so that graduates leaving its highly-rated and large universities have a genuine local work alternative, particularly in the private sector as the region does not offer enough jobs to meet demand.î

The report also identifies the public sector as a major knowledge economy employer, accounting for slightly more than 60 per cent of knowledge intensive sector employment in Yorkshire ñ only the North East is more dependent on government spending in this way. Public sector knowledge intensive sectors are playing a crucial role in keeping graduate talent in Yorkshire.

Other key findings in the report include:

In 2005, private and public knowledge intensive sectors generated around 50 per cent of all job opportunities across Britain, with Yorkshire, the West Midlands and the East of England falling short of this national average.
From a low base, Yorkshire saw rapid employment growth in knowledge intensive sectors between 1998 and 2005, its performance being exceeded only by Wales.

In terms of scale, the Yorkshire graduate economy is small by national standards, accounting for about 7 and 9 per cent of national knowledge intensive employment in the private and public sectors respectively. London and the South East are the biggest regions in this respect.

The only Yorkshire sub-region in the top quartile of graduate-intensive economies is Leeds; a second tier includes Sheffield, Bradford, East Riding of Yorkshire, York and Hull.

Leeds is the largest and most diversified knowledge economy, its key strengths lying in financial and business services. Sheffieldís economy ranks second in size, but is less knowledge-intensive.

Knowledge intensive manufacturing production is important in the Hull and Humber area.

Publishing, print and new media is also an area of knowledge economy specialisation in several areas ñ such as Kirklees and Bradford.

There are encouraging signs of private knowledge intensive sector employment growth in older industrial areas, such as Barnsley, Rotherham and Sheffield ñ suggesting that regeneration projects have begun to make a structural difference to these local economies.

Key leading centres of the regionís knowledge economy appear to be faltering ñ notably Doncaster and York, as well as Bradford.

Martin Edmondson said: ìFor our region the report suggests a mixed picture in terms of active engagement with the knowledge economy. We have some great success stories in cities like Leeds and Sheffield but significant ground to make up in other areas.î

ìGraduates are the ëfuelí in the knowledge economy ëcarí and the 40,000 graduates that leave our regionís excellent universities each year are an incredible resource which employers have the opportunity to make greater use of. Graduate retention is at the heart of our organisation and the basis on which Graduates Yorkshire was built. We have always known the importance of graduate retention to the regional economy and that importance continues to grow.î

Another key finding from the report was that one in three Yorkshire university graduates return to their ëhomeí sub-regions to work, particularly where they find jobs in the public sector. The report argues that the regionís retention rates would be higher if more school leavers bound for universities from within the region actually went on to Yorkshire universities. In other words, if more school leavers studied locally, overall retention rates would probably be higher.

Operating in partnership with the regionís 10 University Careers Services, Graduates Yorkshire offers a range of recruitment-based services to provide all the information and support that graduates and employers need to find each other.

In addition to providing all the benefits of a large jobsite, Graduates Yorkshire also offers a number of services that are delivered locally by the regionís universities. Graduates Yorkshire has more than 13,000 graduates registered to the website and has managed more than 24,000 vacancies in the region.