The Arc Universities Group has published a major new report, Building on the Blueprint – Skills for the Growth Corridor, setting out the workforce, training and talent strategies needed to secure the long-term success of the Oxford to Cambridge region.
Read the report
Launched at the Skills for the Growth Corridor Summit on 12 December 2025, hosted at Anglia Ruskin University’s Cambridge campus, the report brings together extensive insight from employers, educators, local authorities and innovation leaders. It offers the most comprehensive assessment yet of the skills required across the region’s fastest-growing sectors, including science and technology, the creative industries, green skills, health, advanced manufacturing and sustainability.
The findings highlight the urgent need for a more agile, inclusive and industry-responsive skills system that can keep pace with rapid technological change and meet the needs of a world-leading innovation economy. Central to the report is a call to establish a new Skills Commission to coordinate action across universities, further education, employers and government.
The report includes forewords from Lord Patrick Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, and Alistair Lomax, Director of the Arc Universities Group, reflecting the strategic importance of the work at both regional and national levels.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Professor Roderick Watkins, Vice-Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University, emphasised the opportunity for growth:
“ARU has been at the forefront of training the region’s workforce for many years thanks to our close links with employers and our position as one of the UK’s leading providers of degree apprenticeships. The forthcoming investments across the Ox-Cam growth corridor will unlock outstanding opportunities for inclusive growth, and universities will be central to preparing a skilled local workforce ready to seize these opportunities.”
The report also highlights the enabling role of East West Rail, whose future connectivity will widen access to education and employment, support labour mobility, and strengthen the talent pipeline across the region.
Today’s Summit brings together senior leaders from government, industry, universities, colleges and local authorities to explore how the recommendations can be taken forward and how the region can create a skills system fit for the next decade and beyond.
The full report, Building on the Blueprint – Skills for the Growth Corridor, is available to read here
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