Ask the expert on… skills, education and regional productivity

If universities are engines of growth, why isn’t productivity accelerating? What’s the point of educating graduates if regions can’t keep or use them?

Skills are central to regional economic performance, but translating the supply of graduates into broader workforce productivity remains a challenge. In this session, Duncan Ivison discusses the relationship between higher education, further education and place-based development. Using Greater Manchester as an illustration and drawing on international examples, the conversation explores how policy can strengthen skills systems, support graduate retention and migration, and better connect education with regional economic growth.

Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:

• Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor, The University of Manchester

For more information on the topic:

• Duncan Ivison: higher education is a system, not a market, Times Higher Educational Supplement (17/10/2024).
• Aadya Bahl and Henry G. Overman (2026) Hive of talent: what would it take to raise skills and productivity in Greater Manchester? Centre for Economic Performance.
• Recording of Skills, Talent and Productivity in Greater Manchester event, The Productivity Institute YouTube channel (29/04/26).
• Redouane Sarrakh, Jason Heyes (2026) Training Practices and Skills Needs in Yorkshire, the Humber and the North East, Yorkshire, Humber and North East Productivity Forum Paper 2026, The Productivity Institute.
• Damian Grimshaw, Mary O’Mahony, Anthony Rafferty (2026) Skills, Organisations and Worker Engagement: Summary of People Research Programme, Productivity Insights Paper No. 083, The Productivity Institute.
• Athene Donald, Joe Peck and Andy Westwood (2025), Prioritising Skills for Regional and National Growth, in Bart van Ark et al, eds., Joining Up Pro-Productivity Policies in the UK, The Productivity Institute and National Institute of Economic and Social Research, pp. 91-101.
• Lessons for UK universities from the Australian experience by Duncan Ivison, Financial Times (23/09/24).
• Free speech, the Fallowfield Redevelopment, and catching the 142: An interview with Duncan Ivison, by Ella Logan-Wilson and Miles Davenport, the Mancunion (09/10/24).
• University of Manchester launches Unit M to supercharge inclusive growth, The University of Manchester (08/10/24).
• Unit M launches first deep tech accelerator cohort to fast-track innovation across Greater Manchester (2026) The University of Manchester.

About Productivity Puzzles:

Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, nine Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.