Local employers and education leaders have met to discuss how graduates can be better equipped with the skills the region's businesses need now and in the future.
The Future Jobs roundtable, hosted by the University of Southampton, is one of a series of events happening across the UK as part of a broader national conversation about how universities can better match graduate skills to the future needs of employers.
It is estimated that more than 11 million additional graduates are needed to fill high-skilled jobs in the UK between 2020 and 2035. On average, 82 per cent of new priority jobs crucial to economic growth - including in the life sciences, creative, digital and tech and defence sectors - will require workers with higher education level qualifications.
The Future Jobs sessions, coordinated by Universities UK, are exploring how universities and businesses can respond to this demand and work together to grow the pipeline of graduates thriving in these industries and create new high-quality jobs for local people in Southampton.
Evidence gathered from the Future Jobs roundtable will feed into a national roadmap setting out practical steps universities and employers can take to ensure graduates' skills better meet the needs of businesses, both now and in the future.
Local businesses who attended the event on Friday (March 27) included Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council, ABP, Boeing and Carnival UK, alongside representatives from the University of Portsmouth and Southampton Solent University.
University of Southampton Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Mark E. Smith, said: "The University of Southampton has a proud tradition of supporting local and national employers via the graduates we educate, the cutting-edge research and innovation we conduct and the relationships we have with employers, business groups, local councils and other bodies that help to generate economic growth in our region.
"The Future Jobs campaign is about listening to businesses and understanding what they need from graduates for their businesses to thrive, and for graduates to have great careers.
"Through sessions like this, the University of Southampton is playing our part in creating a bold and optimistic long-term vision to ensure higher education drives a brighter future for decades to come."
Karen Wheeler, Head of HR, ABP Southampton said: "It's been really valuable to hear about the challenges facing our industry and to see how many of them are shared across other sectors. It's also been helpful to understand the university perspective and how they are preparing graduates who are joining our industry straight from education. Overall, it's been a great opportunity to share ideas and gain insights into areas we might not otherwise be aware of."
Professor Malcolm Press CBE, President of Universities UK, the representative body for 142 universities in the UK said: "Our Future Jobs roundtables, like this one in Southampton, are about sparking the conversations between business and universities to make sure we're equipping people with the skills they're going to need for long, successful careers and that business can access the talent they need to drive the country's future prosperity."
