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A private high-profile reception was held at the Department of International Trade (DIT) in London this week to formally launch its international education strategy.
Mr Derek Price, CEO of Linguaphone Group, was invited to attend, representing one of the high-quality UK Education company that exports worldwide through its Direct English and Pingu’s English brands.
Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade, and Damian Hinds MP, Secretary of State for Education, also attended the exclusive event along with other key education stakeholders and DIT colleagues in London.
Mr Fox shared some of the DIT’s strategy over the next few years during the event, saying: “Based on the latest figures, education would come top with £19.9 billion. The total export of insurance and pension services from the UK was £18.8 billion. (Read the full speech transcript here
“Some 67% of the value of these exports come from higher education, much of it in the form of international students. Thousands of international schools use the UK’s K-12 curriculum and almost 25,000 students directly attend over 40 overseas UK schools.
Mr Fox recognises the importance of the UK’s Education leaders, who are driving the demand for expertise, which the UK already excels in. Emerging and developed economies recognise the important role that the English language plays in national development, as it contributes to employability, economic development and global connectivity.
English is the dominant global language, as it is spoken by around a quarter of the world’s population, and it is also the primary language for international business, science and academia.
The growth markets for English Language Training (ELT) are Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, in particular.
In order to continue this growth, there is a need to increase the UK’s capacity to meet the growing demand for Education Learning Training (ELT) business and the sector’s strengths need to be promoted better.
Damian Hinds also discussed the huge opportunities that International Education provides. “If you look at governments around the world, a good number of those holding public office have had a British education, like Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan who studied at Oxford; while Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President of Nigeria, studied at LSE and the incoming Emperor of Japan, Prince Naruhito, also studied at Oxford.
“The latest available data, for 2016, shows that international schools contributed £900m in export revenue to the UK. Early years provision has become established in China, for example, and an important number of British schools are now operating successfully overseas,” he added. (Read the full speech transcript here)
Mr Hinds officially thanked all the examples of educational excellence that were present at the event for all the hard work that has put the UK in such a strong position across the educational export sector and will help to drive mutual success in the near future.
The DIT will work closely with the Education training sector, providing it with information that will increase their involvement in exporting services and expertise.