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PLAYING CLEVER WITH BRIGHT KIDS

26-01-2008

Football clubs go out and recruit talented youngsters, so why aren’t big businesses targeting teenage brainboxes wonders Diane Benussi.

Most of us work hard – for ourselves, for our families and for our employers or fellow business partners. How many of us give much thought to the fact by working hard we are also contributing to the present and future good of the region in which we operate?

The University of Birmingham has done just that. Its recently published Regional and Local Economic Impact Assessment Report reveals that the institution’s effect on the economy of the city and West Midlands during the 2005/06 financial year was £662 million and £779 million respectively. Staggering amounts, I’m sure you’ll agree.

These figures represent the raft of ways the university contributes to the economy of the area, such as providing direct and indirect employment, knowledge generation and transfer, research and development, strong links with key regional bodies and involvement in the development and ongoing fulfilment of regional strategies.

It is particularly gratifying to learn that about 20 per cent of the university’s 18,500 undergraduates are recruited from the region. What’s more, contrary to the popular perception that everyone rushes off to London after their degree, nearly half of Birmingham graduates – 44 per cent – take up their first employment in the region.

According to the report, that means the graduates from 2004-05 added an extra £16.2 million in output to the city’s economy and £22 million to the region’s economy in 2005-06.

The university’s economic impact on Birmingham and the West Midlands is particularly interesting in the light of a study published last week, which says Britain is less productive than France, Germany and the United States because primary school children are failing to master the three Rs.

Apparently, our workers’ output is up to 25 per cent lower because they have failed to develop literacy and numeracy skills by the time they leave school.

The study, by experts at the London School of Economics, found that a good grounding in basic skills at primary school is crucial to later success in the workplace.

It seems to me there is an important link here: on the one hand Britain’s economy is suffering because our young people can’t write or add up properly, yet on the other hand we have internationally renowned academic institutions (the University of Birmingham is ranked 65th in the world by the Times Higher Educational Supplement) that contribute significantly to the country’s economic success.

The business community could probably benefit by forging stronger links with the wider community, in particular education – from primary school to university level.

Just as footballing wonder-kids get picked off by Premiership clubs, so businesses could do well to invest in youngsters at an early age. By, say, offering bursaries to potential lawyers, doctors and investment bankers, they could not only help to ensure children learn to read and write but also encourage and guide them into first-class higher education and, from there, into the world of work, hopefully within the region.

The likes of Birmingham and other regional universities are doing their bit for the local and regional economy, but I suspect that many of us in the business world need to look outside our companies to the bigger picture if we want our region to flourish, socially and culturally as well as economically.

Diane Benussi is managing partner with Birmingham-based matrimonial law firm Benussi & Co