Latest figures show that Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University made a £909m impact on the local economy in 2014/15, generating 16% of all jobs in Canterbury city – the equivalent of 9,900 full time jobs.
The report by researchers Viewforth Consulting Ltd examined the impact of the two universities’ activities, including student expenditure off campus, income and expenditure, and employment.
Analysis shows:
• The University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) are worth £909m to the Canterbury economy
• Kent and CCCU are worth £1.3bn to the South East economy
• Kent and CCCU combined are among the largest employers in the region, jointly employing 4,930 members of staff (full-time equivalents)
• The off-campus expenditure by students from Kent and CCCU adds £280m to Canterbury’s economy and generated 2,447 jobs in the city (full-time equivalents)
• In total the University of Kent and CCCU and their students generate 9,900 jobs in Canterbury – equivalent to 16% of all Canterbury employment
The Kent/CCCU report was produced by Viewforth Consulting Ltd, who are specialists in higher education impact analysis.
Viewforth Director Ursula Kelly commented: ‘The results of our analysis show the importance of the two universities to Canterbury, to Kent and to the South East region as a whole. Many local businesses will benefit from the presence of the universities and their students, who bring money into Canterbury and create jobs in nearly every sector of the economy.’