The Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor has the potential to deliver an additional £78 billion in economic growth by 2035. To achieve this, the region will need 403,000 new knowledge-intensive workers by 2050 – but it currently retains just 17% of its graduates.

To address these challenges, two key events will bring stakeholders together:

Online Town Hall – 17 October: An open platform for educators, employers, councils, and communities to listen to the perspectives from recent roundtable events and help to shape priorities.

Hear from sector leads and industry experts:

🔹 Sarah Haywood, Advanced Oxford (Technology)

🎨 Dr Steve Partridge, University of Hertfordshire (Creative)

🌍 Prof. Aled Jones, Anglia Ruskin University (Environment)

➡️ Mel Collins

➡️ Megan Wilkins, Cambridge University Health Partners

➡️ James Lee, Whitecap Consulting

🗓️ Friday 17 October 2025

🕧 12.30–13.30

🌐 Microsoft Teams

Skills & Talent Summit – 12 December: A strategic forum to align those priorities into an actionable plan for skills and talent across the corridor.

🗓️ Friday 12 December 2025

🕧 9.30am – 4pm

📍Anglia Ruskin University, East Rd, Cambridge CB1 1PT

The discussion will tackle:

• Closing the graduate retention gap (3,000 vs 9,000 needed annually by 2030).

• Upskilling and reskilling the existing workforce (80% of 2030’s workers are already in post today).

• Meeting surging demand for green skills – with the talent pool needing to double by 2050.

• Supporting creative and tech sectors, where 88% of employers in Cambridgeshire already struggle to recruit.

Together, the Town Hall and Summit mark the start of a coordinated approach to talent – and the foundation for turning the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor into a global talent superpower.