Northern powerhouse set to dominate marketing sector

leeds uniThe marketing industry’s efforts to attract a more diverse workforce may just be starting to pay off with new research showing the composition of marketing departments is beginning to change, with graduates from universities in the North closing in on their southern counterparts.

A study of 1,000 LinkedIn profiles, carried out by digital marketing agency AGY47, shows that while university towns in the South East are still producing the most marketing professionals, the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber are climbing up the ranking order.

Some 15% of UK marketers were graduates of universities in the South East, with Oxford followed closely by Bournemouth University and Southampton Solent University. The North West followed in second place at just under 14%, with graduates from Manchester universities featuring heavily.

Yorkshire and The Humber secured a rank in the top five, with 10% of marketing personnel securing their degree in cities across the region. The wider picture showed Scotland had a share of 5.8% and Wales at 2.3%.

When it comes to the top ten university cities for marketing graduates, London was top but followed by Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Oxford, Coventry, Liverpool, Cambridge and Glasgow.

However, the top ten universities that produce marketing professionals tells a different story, with the University of Leeds (pictured) in the lead, followed by Nottingham Trent University, the Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Central Lancashire, University of Oxford, University of Warwick, University of Liverpool, Bournemouth University, University of The West of England and Lancaster University.

The report says this indicates that a northern takeover could be set to reshape the UK marketing sector.

Craig Bradshaw, a lecturer in digital marketing at Northumbria University, explained: “The North East is one of the highest regions in the country for graduate start-ups. Although there may be a lower number of graduates in marketing than other regions, those graduates tend to have a much bigger impact. Northumbria University is the seventh largest provider of graduates into professional jobs in the UK.”

Hannah Strong, head of marketing at AGY47, added: “It’s clear that, while many would assume London – a hub of marketing and commerce – would produce the greatest number of graduates in marketing, the results are far more surprising, with northern universities coming out on top of some of the capital’s institutions.”

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