More and more people are going on to further education. The government has actively encouraged this trend and now aims to have 50% of all young people going into university after A Level (or equivalent). The region has one of the lowest levels of participation in higher education in the whole of the UK. Instead the region’s preference seems to be for vocational and work based learning courses, where the North East performs strongly.

Further education is essential in creating skilled workers capable of operating in an increasingly service and knowledge based economy, this is the area where the North East has become least competitive. If this record is to be improved the region must increase its supply of skilled labour in order to encourage businesses to set up in the North East and improve its start up rates from within the current population.

The reputation of the region’s universities has improved greatly in the past decade; this has resulted in a marked increase in the number of people coming into the region to study. The big issue remains, how do we encourage these people to stay once they are graduated?

Fact File

• 72% of 16 year olds in England continue into full-time further education, 7% undertake Work Based Learning (WBL) and 4% study part-time.
• The NE has one of the lowest levels of full time post-compulsory education in the UK (68%). However the region performs strongly when looking at WBL courses (12%).
• NE graduate retention rates are similar to the national average.  78% for NE domiciled students and 64% of North East educated students who obtain employment within 6 months, do so in the NE.
• Only 20.7% of the NE population are qualified to NVQ Level 4 or higher. This is the lowest rate in the UK, well below the average UK rate (25.1%).
• Importing students adds between 1,000-1,500 graduates to the workforce.
• Two thirds of the NE people who go onto higher education remain in the region to study. Place of domicile and place of education strongly influence where people choose to work.
• The region has become a net importer of graduates, a net import of 4,274 students.