Five years ago, our Future Higher Education Professionals survey pointed to a sector with clear hopes for a kinder, more diverse, and supportive working environment. There was a sense of hope, a feeling that the sector was heading into a more people-focused era.
Fast forward to today, and our new, more detailed 2025 survey tells a story of a profound paradox: a workforce that is more experienced, ambitious, and skilled than ever, yet one that continues to be held back by the stubborn inertia of old systems. This isn’t just a case of slow progress; it’s a systemic failure to harness the incredible human capital that is the sector’s greatest strength.
Key Findings from the 2025 Survey:
The commentary in this report is based on data from 583 professionals. The survey paints a clear picture of who makes up this workforce and the challenges they face:
- A Loyal but Mobile Workforce: While 65% of respondents have worked in Higher Education for over 11 years, 77% have been in their current role for five years or less, indicating a sector with deep experience but frequent internal mobility.
- Bringing External Experience: A vast majority (82%) of professionals have worked in other sectors, bringing diverse experience and perspectives into their HE roles.
- A Predominantly Female Sector: 72% of respondents are women, while making up only a fraction of the top earners.
- Low Ethnic Diversity: The workforce represented in the survey is 89% White, with significant progression gaps for colleagues from minority ethnic backgrounds.
- Anxiety and a Focus on Resilience: 92% of professionals expect moderate or significant change in their role over the next five years. Reflecting this, “Adaptability and resilience” was identified as the most critical skill for the future.
- Shifting Priorities Since 2020: The key concerns have evolved, with “Financial pressures” and “Political climate” emerging as new, top-tier anxieties that were not included in the 2020 survey.
- High Engagement in Development: The workforce is actively upskilling, with the top three development activities being training courses (78%), online learning (71%), and mentoring or coaching (61%).
- A Contradictory Working Culture: The sector’s culture is experienced in two almost equal measures, with 53% describing it as “Supportive and collaborative” while 47% describe it as “Traditional and hierarchical.”
We could quite easily paint this as a picture of failure and leave it at that. However, what this is a story is one of immense, untapped potential.
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Conclusion: A Choice to Be Made:
The overwhelming message from the 2025 survey is one of immense, untapped potential. On one side, we have a highly skilled and deeply committed workforce ready to lead the sector into the future. On the other, we have rigid systems that block our path. As one respondent put it so powerfully, “I want to be working in a promoted role… But I am not confident that a path exists for me here.” This sentiment captures the core of the issue: a workforce whose ambition is being consistently let down by a profound lack of opportunity.
The sector is now at a critical crossroads. One path is to continue with the current inertia, risking a further drain on morale and a slow bleed of its best and most diverse talent as they seek opportunities elsewhere. The other is a path of genuine courage and strategic investment in its people. This isn’t about simply being fair; it’s about being effective. The talent is clearly here, skilled up and ready to contribute. The challenge now is to finally build a system that’s worthy of it.
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