Million Plus

Modern universities are crucial to public service staffing in the regions, and a future Labour government should work with these institutions to ease the crisis in recruitment and retention, the Chair of MillionPlus will tell a fringe event at the party’s conference in Liverpool today.

Professor Graham Baldwin, Chair of MillionPlus and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Central Lancashire, will outline the key role that modern universities have in training the next generation of key public service professionals, and, crucially, how many of their graduates work in the local area after the complete their studies.

“At the heart of MillionPlus institutions is the training and delivery of the next generation of public services workers. In 2022 modern universities trained: 63.3% of Teachers; 72% of Nurses; 69.8% of Midwives and 69.3% of Social Workers

“Not only that, modern universities help to ensure a healthy pipeline of local graduates entering key public workforce professions in their regions. MillionPlus universities provide key pathways into higher education for local students who are then retained in the region. Looking across the whole student lifecycle, 68.7% of working graduates at MillionPlus universities are ‘regional loyals’, meaning they lived, studied and then found work in the same region 15 months after graduating.”

Professor Baldwin will say that while issues with recruitment and retention are longstanding, they have been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis, which is thought to be impacting the number of new applications.

He will say:

“It is of course troubling to see that the number of people applying to study nursing or teaching in particular are down significantly. The country is already short of these vital public service professionals; the fact that prospective students are turning away from these subjects for a variety of reasons should concern the Government. Action is required and soon to ensure that these courses remain attractive and to maintain a healthy pipeline of skilled trainees into these professions.”

Professor Baldwin will outline potential steps that a future Labour government could consider to ensure the teaching and nursing professions remain appealing to the numbers of people the country needs to fill those roles

He will say:

"A future Labour government should work with providers of teacher training to find solutions to the current crisis, including looking at the strategic planning of bursaries for future years, funding for mentoring and placements. They could also look at a fee-forgiveness scheme for those public services staff that remain in the sector for a certain period of time.

And on nursing:

“MillionPlus’s recent report ‘Who trains the nurses? Universities and the placement shortfall’ identified that a 20% increase on forecast numbers would be needed to meet nursing targets. Working with NHS Trusts and Boards across the UK, modern universities stand ready to support [a required increase in numbers], but reforming nursing clinical placements is vital. A future Labour government should invest in expanding clinical placements in the NHS and social care to enable a pipeline of skilled workers.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Dan Blows on 020 3927 2916 or email press@millionplus.ac.uk
2. MillionPlus is the Association for Modern Universities in the UK, and the voice of 21st century higher education. We champion, promote and raise awareness of the essential role and impact of modern universities in the UK’s world-leading higher education sector. More information can be found at www.millionplus.ac.uk
3. What are modern universities? Modern universities are long established centres of higher education in their communities with roots that stretch back decades, if not centuries. Many gained university title following legislation agreed by parliament in 1992. They make up almost half of the UK university sector with over a million students studying at modern universities every year.
4. Modern universities: facts and stats

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Making Britain work: modern universities and the public sector workforce
Labour Party Conference
8 October 2023

Thank you very much for coming to this event today to discuss a topic so critical for the future of our economy and our communities and one that should be right at the forefront of thinking for a Labour government.

I am Professor Graham Baldwin, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Central Lancashire and Chair of MillionPlus, the Association for Modern Universities.

From teachers, nurses, doctors, dentists, social workers and police officers, modern universities are directly responsible for educating and training thousands of the highly skilled public services staff that keep Britain working, the economy growing and society thriving.

This event provides a great opportunity to explore the vital role modern universities play and how they are a key part of the solution in the tackling the current recruitment and retention challenges in these key professions in order to deliver and retain the future workforce that Britain needs.

But before I address the topic at hand further, I’d firstly like to thank firstly the Shadow Minister for Social Care, Andrew Gwynne MP, for joining us today, so soon into his current role. I am delighted he is able to share with us his vast knowledge and experience across a number of important briefs for the first part of this session. As an organisation we have been fortunate to have an excellent working relationship with The Labour Party over a long period of time and I am looking forward to continuing this relationship as you settle into the role.

I’m also delighted to share a panel with Dr Crystal Oldman and Jane Peckham who bring a wealth of experience and insight in this area, and I very much look forward to hearing what you have to say and to our questions and discussion that follow, so thank you all.

At the heart of MillionPlus institutions is the training and delivery of the next generation of public services workers. In 2022 modern universities trained: 63.3% of Teachers; 72% of Nurses; 69.8% of Midwives and 69.3% of Social Workers.

Not only that, modern universities help to ensure a healthy pipeline of local graduates entering key public workforce professions in their regions. MillionPlus universities provide key pathways into higher education for local students who are then retained in the region. Looking across the whole student lifecycle, 68.7% of working graduates at MillionPlus universities are “regional loyals”, meaning they lived, studied and then found work in the same region 15 months after graduating. And analysis of graduate outcomes data shows that 65.9% of modern university graduates in work are found in the public administration, education and health sectors.

Modern universities are key anchors in their own regions and communities, and our institutions have built excellent relationships and partnerships with local schools, NHS trusts, police forces and local government to work collaboratively to meet local skills needs. I see first hand at my own institution, the University of Central Lancashire, the positive impact our graduates are having within Preston and the surrounding areas, across a range of vital professions.

Unfortunately however, issues around recruitment and retention of public service workers are long-standing, exacerbated by the cost of-living crisis impacting on applications for the current year.

It is of course troubling to see that the number of people applying to study nursing or teaching in particular are down significantly. The country is already short of these vital public service professionals; the fact that prospective students are turning away from these subjects for a variety of reasons should concern the Government. Action is required and soon to ensure that these courses remain attractive and to maintain a healthy pipeline of skilled trainees into these professions.

This is why MillionPlus and others within the sector warned that the Government’s ITT market review process was a mistake and that failure to award accreditation to well established, high-quality university providers of initial teacher education is a serious own goal for the Government.

Cutting off routes into the profession will exacerbate this issue; the impact of this decision across the regions is going to be devastating with cold spots emerging and schools facing further uncertainty. A future Labour Government should work with providers of teacher training to find solutions to the current crisis, including looking at the strategic planning of bursaries for future years, funding for mentoring and placements. They could also look at a fee-forgiveness scheme for those public services staff that remain in the sector for a certain period of time.

Similarly, MillionPlus’s recent report ‘Who trains the nurses – universities and the placement shortfall’ identified that a 20% increase on forecast numbers would be needed to meet nursing targets. Working with NHS Trusts and Boards across the UK, modern universities stand ready to support this increase but reforming nursing clinical placements is vital. A future Labour Government should invest in expanding clinical placements in the NHS and social care to enable a pipeline of skilled workers.

I am looking forward to this discussion as we identify solutions to the current crisis and discuss how a Labour government could tackle boost these vital professions and support both new and existing students and staff.