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The economic case for university reform
An improvement in university completion rates and improved graduate outcomes for students could lead to a $3.1 billion per annum injection to the country’s GDP by 2030, new modelling has shown.
The economic case for university reform
An improvement in university completion rates and improved graduate outcomes for students could lead to a $3.1 billion per annum injection to the country’s GDP by 2030, new modelling has shown.
The figure comes from EY’s report, The productivity uplift from better outcomes for our university students, as produced for the federal education minister Dan Tehan.
It found that an improvement of the alignment between the skills of graduates and the skills required by the workforce represents a fundamental opportunity to boost economic growth and productivity.
EY’s managing partner for Oceania government and health sciences, Catherine Friday, said the implementation of reforms around higher education that improves graduate employment outcomes “will strengthen the labour force and deliver a lasting productivity dividend to the national economy”.
According to the report, the completion rate for domestic graduates has dropped from 75 per cent in 2009 to just 66 per cent in 2017.
EY said an improvement to the completion rate could save $408 million in economic resources in 2030.
In addition, better employment outcomes through increased wage premiums could contribute an additional $2.7 billion per annum to the economy in 2030.
This results in the $3.1 billion per annum figure.
Ms Friday has called the figures a “blue sky” projection of economic improvement, “if the mismatch between education and jobs could be fixed”.
“Our study shows that the ability to align the skills of graduates with those needed in our workforce today and into the future will be important for the economy,” she said.
“The opportunities for the nation and graduates are immense if we can get it right.”
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