Qualifications survey shows huge disparity in educational achievement

Listen to Sally Hunt interviewed on on BBC Radio 5:
BBC Radio 5: Shelagh Fogerty: Sally Hunt on qualifications report [2mb]

The analysis, from UCU, reveals a tale of 'two Britains' - a country divided into educational haves and have-nots. It ranks the 632 parliamentary constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales according to the percentage of working age people (16-64 years old) who have no qualifications. The union looked at the overall picture and also analysed in detail seven* of Britain's largest cities and conurbations, along with Scotland and Wales.

The contrasts are extreme. In 96 constituencies 15% or more of working age residents have no qualifications. In some places such as Glasgow North East, Birmingham Hodge Hill, Glasgow East and Wolverhampton North East this rises to one in four.

Of the 50 constituencies with the highest percentage of people with no qualifications, the West Midlands, the North of England, Scotland and Wales account for four-fifths (40) of them. By contrast of the 50 constituencies with the highest percentage of people with at least one qualification, 44 are in the South of England. 

Yet there are pockets of under-achievement within every region as UCU's analysis of seven cities/conurbations shows.  

The union pointed to evidence from the IPPR which showed the substantial benefit to the economy of funding people to improve their education** and described the analysis as a wakeup call for politicians of all parties to ensure that everyone has access to the opportunities that education provides.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development public spending on education as a proportion of GDP is lower in the UK than in many of our competitor countries and is significantly lower at both  pre-primary and tertiary levels. UCU said recent decisions by governments of all parties to increase the cost of education and reduce access to support to help with studies have exacerbated this trend.

UCU General Secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'This research shows that access to the benefits that education brings is heavily rationed in Britain today with some constituencies having almost 13 times more people without qualifications than others. 

'It is unacceptable that there is such widespread under-achievement in Britain today. We live in a fast-changing knowledge economy where education is key to employment and getting on.

'It is this knowledge economy that will drive economic growth, enhance social mobility and enable our country to compete globally.  Yet politicians all too often seem to see cutting off access to educational opportunities as an easy target.  Given the opportunity, everyone can benefit from education.'

UCU is campaigning for greater investment in education and has today launched the knowledge economy campaign website - more information can be found at: www.knowledgeeconomy.org.uk

2011 qualifications data [320kb]

* Bristol, Greater Manchester, London, Merseyside, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Scotland and Wales

** Further, Higher? Tertiary Education and Growth in the UK's New Economy?, IPPR/UCU, Jun 12 [370kb]