Vice-Chancellor Mark Power reaffirmed LJMU’s reputation as an “engine for prosperity” – creating jobs and supporting social change – at an event at Tate Liverpool.
As Liverpool John Moores University mark its Bicentenary, Professor Power said the secret of our impact lay in listening to our communities.
LJMU, he said, provides 28% of the graduate employees in the city – more than double that of any other institution. And it’s our responsibility to provide the “talent pipeline” to regenerate the economy and the social fabric of Liverpool, he said.
“Liverpool John Moores University was founded in 1823 as an engine for change and I see the institution – 200 years on – as an advocate for this community.
“We face huge challenges as a city, but I believe we can look to the future with optimism because we are collaborating with others in our community to change things for the better.”
Aptly, the event was sponsored by LJMU Graduate Futures, an ESF employer-match scheme which has created more than 180 jobs in growth sectors and trained more than 1,000 to help keep talent in the city-region.
Asked about the potential for ‘brain drain’ from Liverpool, Professor Power explained that our work with a plethora of partners was fundamental to the success of graduates and the university itself. “Clearly, graduate jobs do not sit around on a shelf waiting for our people to find them. That why we work so hard in so many areas to give our graduates choices – We like to offer the choice to stay; and we do that by listening to employers and working with partners.”
He added that the NHS was perhaps his proudest partnership because, although a complex structure, it offered nursing, paramedic, pharmacy, psychology and other clinical posts as well as jobs in finance, HR, project management and more.
The ‘In Conversation’ event, also heard from PVC Professor Joe Yates, and Helen Legg, Director of Tate Liverpool as both university and museum reflected on their respective roles as catalysts for regeneration.
Ahead of the forthcoming launch of his Place and Partnerships Strategy, Professor Yates spoke about some of the many partnerships essential to our collective successes and said the common aim of our collaboration was the “transformation of places, lives and life chances.”
“LJMU has grown from people who wanted to create opportunity and it is that ethos which has led us to become woven into the fabric of the city, and we are proud of that fact.
“Our places and partnerships are local but also global because Liverpool is the city that looked out to the sea.”
Mark Power added that partners like the Tate and Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, which co-hosted the event, had “very much a shared agenda” on skills, research and job creation.
– From October Liverpool Tate will close for two years as it redevelops to become a more inclusive and responsive space for the needs of visitors.