BRITISH PROFESSIONS TODAY: THE STATE OF ... - Property Week

Conclusion continued >>
but also in the continuum of organisations between the state
and society (eg the rise of the ‘third sector’). Robert Kaye has
noted that while many professions are moving towards what
he terms “regulated self-regulation,” there is remarkably little
explicit policy transfer between professions. Institutional
changes are often presented as sui generis (CARR
Conferences 2007). The findings of this report indicate that
inter-professional comparison and collaboration would be
useful if only to facilitate greater understanding of the
complexity of the new structures and processes affecting
most professional bodies, and to share ‘best practice.’
Economic contributions
The fact that an industrial category of analysis for the
professional sector does not exist, and thus that accurate and
comprehensive statistics on the economic contributions of
professional occupations cannot be precisely measured
and compiled, is a key finding in and of itself. Through use
of the proxy SIC 74, our findings show that even crudely and
conservatively quantified, the professions are a vital
contributor to British economy.
The professional sector accounts for the largest single share
of UK output (in UK real GDP), contributing 8% of total UK
output (IER 2006/ SSDA Sector Skills Matrix 2008).
Professional services continue to expand at an impressive rate,
forecast to grow 3.4% average annually from 2004 to 2014
compared to 2.4% average annual growth forecast for the
whole economy in the same period (IER 2006/SSDA Sector
Skills Almanac 2007). The professional sector accounts for
£15,849 million of British trade in services, or over half of
the total £29,194 million (balance of accounts, as credits less
debits) (The Pink Book 2007), helping to offset the growing
negative balance of trade in goods. The professions are the
largest employer in the UK, with 11.5% of total UK
employment (IER 2006/SSDA Sector Skills Matrix 2008).
UK professions are the largest contributor to the EU27’s
professional sector in 2004, with EUR 203.5 billion of value
added, generating 27.5% of the EU27’s sectoral value added
and employed 19.5% of its workforce. Finally, the professions
by their nature contribute to the economic growth of other
companies across industry sectors in immeasurable ways.
Social and political contributions
The professions have played a big role in the development of
meritocracy because of their emphasis on knowledge-based
skills rather than social class. Yet, social mobility in the UK has
slowed considerably compared to other European countries.
The findings of this report suggest that shoring up professional
skills and qualifications may be one way of advancing social
progress in the future. Indeed, professional bodies are working
with the government to improve equal access to the
professions – though more could certainly be done.
As trusted experts, professionals have a unique opportunity to
be highly influential not only in advancing social progress and
bolstering civil society, but also in the realm of policy-making.
However, our research finds considerable ambivalence about
how influential professional bodies are, and how influential
they ought to be. Professionals come up against distrust
because of their perceived self-interest, not to mention
periodic corruption scandals or worse. Still, in a fast-moving
world where government has limited resources, the
professions’ technical expertise is an integral, working
component of stable democracy. Should the professions have
a stronger, and more united, voice in the public interest?
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