Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

What do we
need to change?
Skills for Productivity
For information on sources of data
used within the Skills for Productivity
goal, please see the evidence base,
part 2 section 7 and statistical annex
Image left: Cranfield University is
one of the region’s leading
universities for postgraduate
education. It is also ranked in the UK’s
top five research-intensive universities
and its MBA is 11th in the world
according to the Economist
Intelligence Unit. 94 per cent of
students graduating go on to relevant
work or study within six months.
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3.5 Skills for Productivity
Developing skills for the changing economy
Improving the skills of the workforce is central to the region’s economic
development. For businesses, a more highly skilled workforce will achieve
increased competitiveness and profitability. For individuals, better skills
lead to enhanced career options and higher wages. The region’s economy
and the available job opportunities and skills requirements have also
changed significantly over time and will continue to change. Workers must
therefore adapt their skills to move into new sectors and work with new
technologies. This will be particularly important as working lives lengthen.
Overall, the East of England’s skills base compares unfavourably with the
national average, particularly in terms of its supply of intermediate and
higher-level skills. This can be partly explained by the low percentage of
adults undertaking job-related training, the low percentage of graduates
and postgraduates remaining in the region and the high number of
people entering low-skilled employment after compulsory education.
The East of England’s entry rate to higher education is lower than
average, with higher rates of economic activity among young people
being a key reason for the region’s high employment rate. However, the
picture is not uniform across the East of England. Alongside localities
exhibiting low-skilled, low-productivity activity – particularly the
peripheral areas of Great Yarmouth, Fenland, Maldon, Castle Point and
Tendring – are areas such as Cambridge and St Albans, with residents and
workforces that are amongst the highest skilled in the country.
For the region to develop as a successful economy, skills levels must be raised
across the board. The region needs to increase the demand for learning
among individuals, employees and employers, and improve progression to
intermediate and higher-level skills. This will involve enhancing the skills of
our indigenous population and embracing the skills and talent of migrant
workers and international students. Given the difficulties of predicting and
planning the future supply of skills, the regional economic strategy also
seeks to ensure that skills provision responds flexibly to changing demand.
What will success look like?
• an increased percentage of graduates who view the region as a place
to exploit their higher-level skills, with graduate retention rates above
the UK average
• an increased share of people gaining higher-level skills, through
increased participation in academic and vocational education and
training at level 4 and above
• a culture of learning embedded at an early age, with an increased
percentage of young people participating in post-compulsory
education and training
• an increase in qualification attainment with over 40 per cent of adults
qualified to at least level 4, 68 per cent of adults qualified to at least
level 3 and over 90 per cent of adults qualified to at least level 2,
consistent with Leitch targets
• development and use of economically valuable skills, leading to a
reduction in skills gaps and shortages
• improved productivity resulting from an increase in work-related learning.