Our ambition is for Leeds to be a globally competitive city where we work together to enable the right opportunities for people and businesses to thrive in a rapidly changing market.

Our collaborative nature and our ‘all in’ approach across the city ensures our ambitions turn to reality. We are a young city,  where 18-29 year olds make up nearly a quarter of our total population.

We’re home to six successful universities, with world-class research facilities and top business schools at both the University of Leeds, and Leeds Beckett University  Then there’s Leeds College of Building  – the only further education college in the UK dedicated to construction and the built environment, and Leeds City College: one of the largest further education institutions in the country with a strong portfolio of industry links on a national and international scale.

Within the Leeds City Region we have the largest number of STEM graduates outside London, and Leeds experiences a “brain gain”, with more undergraduates and graduates moving into the city than leaving. In fact over 34.7% of the city’s working age population are educated to degree level.¹

¹ ONS Annual Population Survey 2022