Higher and Further Education

We have a good understanding of the issues facing the Higher and Further Education sectors and we have worked with some of the sectors’ leading educational establishments such as Loughborough University, RHUL and Sparsholt College. To develop their academic and managerial staff to inspire and engage their people to improve performance and deal with challenging change.

The higher and further education sectors in the UK are a key enabler of economic activity in providing skilled individuals across the economy.  They also present significant export opportunities – the UK has the second highest share of foreign students in tertiary education. It has been estimated that education exports amount to around £14bn.

Overall the Education sector’s GVA is around £90bn, (c. 6.5% of the UK economy) and is the fourth largest employment sector in the UK, employing 2.7m people.

However, higher and further education is undergoing a period of significant change. This is being driven by a number of factors: political, cultural, economic, and technological. The trends are global in their scope, and far reaching in their impact.

Drivers for change in the sector include:

• Effectively balancing educational interests (autonomy, freedom, reputation), with public interests (economic growth, social equity and stability).

• Using new technologies to deliver new and better ways of learning and teaching.

• Gearing up to support emerging industries’ demand for new types of skills and new research agendas.

• Increasing global competition for learning and new opportunities in developing countries.

• Continued pressure to meet efficiency targets and achieve value for money as well as educational excellence.

• Potential decline in the 18 year old population over the next decade in the UK.

We can develop your academic and managerial staff to deal with these challenges and deliver a fundamental shift in the culture and performance of your College or University.  We have the unique ability to deeply understand your vision, strategy, and goals and to design development interventions that will deliver significant educational outcomes and business benefits.  To learn more about our work in this sector and the impact we have had read our Sparsholt College case study.  Alternatively see how our other clients have benefited from our support by visiting What Our Clients Say.