Drawing upon existing evidence and recent graduate employment data, this report from Universities UK assesses the UK job landscape. It projects a need for over 11 million additional graduates, supplementing the current 15.3 million, to meet the workforce requirements by 2035. Key industries like computing, engineering, education, and healthcare will drive this demand. Amidst uncertainty, universities will play a pivotal role in addressing the skills gap, fostering economic growth, and supporting thriving communities. Graduate skills will remain highly sought-after, particularly in technology, healthcare, education, and the digital and creative sectors.
Based on analysis by Jisc’s graduate labour market specialist, Charlie Ball, this report sheds light on what the future of work may look like, areas of high employment growth, and the skills likely to be needed by employers over the next decade or so. We hope this information will help educators and policymakers provide the pipeline of talent that employers will need to thrive in future, stimulate economic growth and create better futures for all of us.
While it’s difficult to model what a future jobs market will exactly look like, this report draws together the existing evidence, and the record of graduate employment in the recent past, to assess the future of jobs in the UK.
It finds that, by 2035, more than 11 million extra graduates, in addition to the 15.3 million graduates currently in the UK workforce, will be needed to fill jobs in the UK by 2035 in industries such as computing and engineering, teaching and education, and health. Facing uncertainty, universities will continue to unlock economic growth across the UK, creating thriving places and prosperity by meeting the UK’s skills gap. Graduate skills will continue to be in demand, filling roles in fields such as tech, health, education, digital and creative.