A cap on university places available in Northern Ireland is acting like a “handbrake” on the region’s economy, MPs have warned.
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee highlighted that in 2019 about two thirds of the 17,000 local students who were studying in Great Britain did not return.
The committee said that trend was widening the gap between the skills employers want and the talent available within the region’s workforce.
In 2020, the cap on student places across Northern Ireland’s two universities was set between 6,000 and 7,000, the committee said.
In a report focusing on bolstering investment in Northern Ireland, the committee urged Stormont and the Government to work together to find ways to raise the cap.
Committee chairman Simon Hoare said: “Northern Ireland generates no shortage of talented people and has two fantastic universities, but a brain drain has persisted, leaving Northern…
