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University of York

Higher York help for local economy to weather recession

Posted on 9 April 2009

The University of York will be offering practical help to individuals and businesses to cope with the economic downturn after winning a share of £27m in new Government funding.

Higher York, which includes the city’s higher and further education institutions and the City of York Council, has been given £300,000 by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to offer a range of practical assistance.

The money will be match-funded by £300,000 from Yorkshire Forward reflecting the close working relationship between the regional development agency and York’s universities and colleges and the Council.

It is part of the £50 million Economic Challenge Investment Fund announced by Minister of State for Higher Education David Lammy. The money will benefit 50,000 people and 11,700 businesses across the country. The announcement follows a tendering process across the UK in which educational institutions had just four weeks to produce their plans to cover an eighteen month period.

The development of higher level skills is an important part of York’s economic strategy

Bill McCarthy, City of York Council

The University of York will be offering a range of help including assistance to employers, employees and unemployed recent graduates to help them to cope with change and courses and support packages to help people to develop their employability skills. There will also be consultancy to help firms to improve their business performance. The University’s contribution to the Higher York initiative will involve the Department of Psychology, The York Management School, Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Enterprise and the University's Careers Service.

The Higher York bid was supported by City of York Council whose Chief Executive Bill McCarthy said: "This project is very welcome. The development of higher level skills is an important part of York’s economic strategy. We are pleased to be working alongside our Higher York partners, and other agencies across the City and the region, to ensure that as much support as possible is identified for local businesses and individuals."

Sir Alan Langlands, HEFCE’s Chief Executive, said, "This shows that higher education can respond swiftly to the needs of the local communities it serves. Bids came in from all types of higher education institution, bringing together the efforts of teaching, research and business staff across many departments in a response to evident local needs. New opportunities and courses will be on offer almost immediately, building up to a very full and busy programme over the summer and into next year."

Government funding is providing £27 million, with the rest coming from universities’ own funds, partners such as the Regional Development Agencies, including Yorkshire Forward, and local businesses.

Though the focus is on rapid action and short-term help, universities and colleges are also looking to the future and how to help people and businesses succeed when economic recovery gathers pace. Preparing people for the professional skills that will be in demand in the future and supporting development in potential economic growth sectors, such as low-carbon technologies, are key features of a number of the bids.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  • The Economic Challenge Investment Fund was announced on 27 January 2009. Higher education institutions had to submit bids by 27 February 2009.
  • The total value of the 77 proposals funded by HEFCE is £59,240,920. The total amount of funding being made available by HEFCE to successful bidders is £27,572,834, with the remainder provided in the form of matching contributions from institutions and local partners. The funding will support institutions in delivering short-term support between April 2009 and September 2010.
  • Higher York is an exciting and innovative FHE partnership initiative between Askham Bryan College, the University of York, York College, York St John College, the City of York Council along with Craven College. In 2005 it received funding from HEFCE to build on previous activities, making Higher York a Lifelong Learning Network. Higher York’s purpose is to forge progression, curricular, support, and infrastructure links that will give greater choices and chances to potential students and contribute to the skills needs of York and the North Yorkshire sub-region.

Contact details

Jessica Grant, Director Higher York: