28 November 2015
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A national productivity windfall generated by university research has delivered economic benefits to Australia worth a third of the growth in average living standards over the past 30 years. These productivity gains have been worth an estimated $10 billion each year over those three decades.
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The new modelling and analysis is one of the key findings of the full Deloitte Access Economics latest report, The importance of universities to Australia’s prosperity.
The $10 billion productivity boost is in addition to the $25 billion that universities contribute to the Australian economy (directly and indirectly) and $12 billion from international education annually.
The report also finds that the Australian economy’s demand for university graduates is increasing, as is the calibre of education they require in the 21st century knowledge economy.
It projects that demand for university qualifications will grow by 34% in the decade to 2025, with an additional 342,000 graduates a year needed to fuel the knowledge economy.
Universities Australia Chief Executive Belinda Robinson says the report’s compelling findings are further proof of the vital role that our universities play in driving economic growth and prosperity.
Not only does this report outline the enormous contribution of our universities today, it argues that the importance of our universities will soar in the Australia of tomorrow. Over the coming decades, it will be the skills and smarts of our people that will be central to the strength of the Australian economy.
She says that, to realise the enormous potential of our universities, Australia must ensure that it properly invests in education and research now.
With our competitors investing heavily in the knowledge economy, we must make our own game-changing investment, or we will fall behind those that do.
The report helped to inform Universities Australia’s pre-election blueprint, Keep it Clever.
