New HEPI, AHEP and TechnologyOne Report: ‘The invisible majority: Professional and support staff and the future of UK higher education’

Professional and support staff make up the majority of the UK higher education workforce, but their contribution can too easily be overlooked. New research warns that universities risk undermining their own resilience by cutting investment in the people, skills and processes they increasingly depend upon.

Published by HEPI in partnership with AHEP Consulting and sponsored by TechnologyOne, The invisible majority: Professional and support staff and the future of UK higher education (HEPI Report 205) examines the experience of a workforce responsible for everything from student services and research administration to compliance and digital systems.

Drawing on surveys of 450 respondents, institutional annual reports and interviews with senior leaders, the report finds that two-thirds of respondents have been negatively affected by change and uncertainty over the past five years, rising to 79% among those earning below £40,000. Three-quarters describe their work as fragmented, reactive, deadline-driven and sustained at high intensity.

The report also questions whether some attempts to reduce costs are creating new problems. Training budgets can be cut only for universities to find themselves buying missing expertise externally at greater cost, while restructuring can itself require expensive consultancy and change-management support. Similarly, investment in technology will not necessarily deliver the promised efficiencies without accompanying investment in staff training and process redesign. The report calls on universities to rethink job design, management, career progression and reward, alongside five recommendations for government and sector bodies.

At a time of intense financial pressure and widespread restructuring across higher education, The invisible majority asks what universities really need from their professional and support workforce – and whether current approaches are sustainable. Click here to read the press release and find a download link to the full report.