Talent

Birmingham’s outstanding educational institutions and resources provide a highly skilled labour pool to help drive your business forwards.

In Birmingham there are:

• Three universities, Aston University, Birmingham City University and University of Birmingham.
• Two university colleges, Newman University College and University College Birmingham.
• Four major colleges of further education
• 385 schools

Within a one hour drive:

• 15 universities, delivering 97,000 graduates each year
• 3 university colleges
• 34 further education colleges

Birmingham education key facts:

• In total there are over 73,000 full person equivalent students studying on higher education courses in Birmingham. This rises to over 326,000 within a one hour's drive of the city. 
• The higher education institutions range in size from the University of Warwick with 25,910 students and the University of Birmingham with 29,185 students, to Harper Adams University College with 1,955 students. 
• There are also 11,345 students taught at further education colleges in the region, and 16,055 students who are domiciled in the region and studying via distance learning.
• The West Midlands has the highest percentage (across all the regions) of students studying part-time (33%). 
• 44 % of young, full-time, first degree, higher education-taught students from the West Midlands remain in the region to study. This compares to the average of 44% in England.
• From an international perspective, Birmingham universities have a significantly higher level of international students than average. The percentage of international students studying at Birmingham University currently stands at 19% with the UK average at 11%.
• These figures offer a bright view of the city, with students nationally and internationally having a positive perception of what Birmingham has to offer. This positive outlook continues throughout the students’ time in Birmingham – with the University of Birmingham gaining a student satisfaction level of 86% and Aston University 83%.

Resources

The total income of higher education institutions in the region was £1,636 million in 2007-08. Of this:

• 66% came from funding council grants and tuition fees,
• 11% from research grants and contracts, 
• 23% from other income.

Higher Education Funding Council for England recurrent funding allocated to higher education institutions in the West Midlands totalled £527 million in 2009-10. Of this:

• 79% was for teaching funding, 
• 19% for research,
• 3% for business and community engagement

Studying in Birmingham:

To find out more about what Birmingham has to offer students, view the student section of Visit Birmingham, the city's official tourist information website.