Data has surfaced that shows £20 billion was made from educational exports such as international students and English language training by the UK in 2016. This makes the sector now one of the highest grossing industries in Britain.
According to official figures, 26 per cent growth has been seen in educational export profits since 2010, with no sign of slowing down. The level of income is comparable with other successful UK money-making industries such as advertising, automobiles, and insurance.
A number of different educational subsectors made up the total of around £19.9 billion, including:
- £13.6 billion from higher education.
- £1.9 billion from transnational education
- £1.9 billion from education products and services
- £1.6 billion from English language training courses
- £0.9 billion from independent schools
Educational exports from the UK are set to be strengthened further when the International Education Strategy is launched later this year. Independent trading policies developed after the UK leaves the EU will also help to strengthen trading bonds between Britain and other countries around the world.
It was suggested by Education Secretary, Damian Hinds, that if technology industries worked to create educational tools teacher’s workloads would fall and more money could be made from the exportation of those tools.
Hinds stated in a speech to Educational Secretaries from around the world that “the UK has always provided world-class education and these figures underline the importance of it to our economy – cementing our status as a global leader in this sector.
“International university students constitute an important earnings source for our universities but they are also an important part of Britain’s cultural influence in the world. As well as this, there are big growth opportunities in areas like education technology, services and satellite or partner campuses.
“Education is a fundamental part of our offer to the world, and we will work to maintain and grow this in the years to come.”
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