Areas with lowest participation rates ‘also least productive’

The areas of the UK with the lowest higher education participation rates are also home to the worst productivity levels, according to new research.

Authors say the data could support policymakers in determining how education investment could help increase productivity in areas that have faced relative economic decline in recent decades.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) examined the association between productivity and skill level within the population at local authority level.

It found that the group of 38 local authorities with the lowest proportion of highly skilled residents also had, on average, the lowest productivity levels.

Those identified in the research are typically categorised as having a mining, manufacturing or industrial legacy, including areas such as Knowsley, Blackpool and Middlesbrough.

Tej Nathwani, one of the co-authors of the study, said recent publications from the Resolution Foundation have suggested that tackling poor productivity and high inequality will require the UK to increase the proportion of workers with sub-degree qualifications.

“Indeed, they argue that addressing this matter is likely to necessitate expanding both the types of provision on offer, as well as potentially creating new providers to serve ‘cold spots’,” he added.

“This leads to the question of where such locations can be found, with our research seeking to start offering answers on such issues.”

The findings reveal that the same group of local authorities, many of which are defined as the most deprived areas of the country, often show more outflow than inflow of graduates.

And according to Hesa records, the vast majority of these industrial, coastal and rural areas do not tend to have any higher education provision, and those that do are often served by a single institution.

Against the backdrop of a less favourable fiscal climate, authors say a primary policy aim across the UK in coming years is to raise productivity and growth – especially in those areas where living standards are lagging behind the rest of the nation.

While the literature provides evidence that raising skills and qualifications can help boost productivity, Hesa says data is required to understand which areas could particularly benefit from investment in education at a time of more restrained resource.

The researchers used a combination of data from the 2011 census, the Office for National Statistics, and Hesa’s own figures.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com