Coventry University Group supports one in every 20 jobs in city as report shows huge impact on local economy

An aerial image of Coventry University's William Morris building and Lanchester Library with the Coventry city skyline in the background

Coventry University is in the heart of the city

University news / Apprenticeships

Tuesday 21 January 2025

Press contact

Press Team
press.mac@coventry.ac.uk


One in every 20 jobs in Coventry can be traced back to the presence of Coventry University Group, a new report has revealed.

For every four direct on-campus jobs, a further three are supported across the city through the effects generated by the university’s activity on its city centre campus.

An economic report on the impact of Coventry University Group shows the institution contributed to 6,730 full-time equivalent jobs in the city in 2021/22 - the most recent available official figures – and 14,900 in the UK.

More than half of the local jobs came from the university’s direct activity, while nearly 2,500 are as a result of the effects of student spending. The others were linked to staff expenditure and supply chain effect.

In money terms the Group’s Coventry campus had a Gross Added Value* (GVA) of £320 million in Coventry and £1 billion in GVA in the UK.

The report also highlights the university’s wider impacts in Coventry through its skill development, knowledge exchange and research activities, especially in the areas of health, net zero and cultural and creative industries.

These include:

  • 3,130 Coventry University graduates with up to 10 years’ professional experience are employed in the hospital and healthcare sector as of November 2023
  • Coventry University Group works with 1,300 employers across the country and in 2022/23 there were 3,291 apprentices learning while earning
  • Coventry University has supported 1,200 JLR engineers to upskill in electrification vehicle development
  • There were 34 collaborative research projects focused on net zero or clean growth between March 2022 and February 2024

 

It is really important the government and other organisations responsible for the ongoing prosperity of communities like Coventry and the West Midlands realise the economic and social value of universities like us and work with us to help our communities thrive.

Coventry is our home and we are proud that we continue to make a positive impact on what is an already thriving city. We pride ourselves on not only providing a top-quality education for our students but also preparing learners for the working world through apprenticeships and upskilling those already in jobs as the demands on workers change.

Sectors such as healthcare play such an important role in our society and it is an honour to educate the next generation of nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians and occupational therapists, as well as many, many other roles.

Coventry University Group isn’t simply a place to learn; we want to make a real difference to our community, adding to its present and future success.

Professor John Latham CBE, Vice-Chancellor of Coventry University and Group CEO

Read our thought piece from Professor Latham on the positive economic impact Coventry University Group is having on the city and across the UK.

--

*Gross value added (GVA) is an economic metric that measures the contribution of a company to an economy, producer, sector or region.