Education vital to Coast’s recovery

INDEPENDENT schools are worth nearly $900 million to the Gold Coast, new research has revealed.

A study commissioned by Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) shows that while tourism and health remain the city’s top two industries, education will be a major driver as the region works to recover from the COVID-19 hit.

The analysis by AEC Group, an independent global consultancy firm specialising in economic modelling, found Gold Coast independent schools were important employment generators supporting 5964 direct and indirect full-time jobs worth $524.2 million in wages and salaries – the equivalent of one full-time job for every 3.7 students.

Statewide, the independent schooling sector added $4.88 billion to the Queensland economy (GSP or gross state product) and supported 33,560 full-time jobs.

The report – Economic Significance of Independent Schools to the Queensland Economy, 2020 Update – was based on the latest available 2017-18 data and updated economic modelling undertaken for the first time in 2016 using 2013-14 data.

The updated analysis showed Gold Coast independent schools contributed an additional $240 million to GSP (a 37 per cent increase) and supported an extra 1359 jobs (30 per cent increase) between 2013-14 and 2017-18.

ISQ executive director David Robertson said the modelling revealed the impact of independent schools – which educated 15 per cent of school-age Queenslanders – extended beyond strong academic and civic outcomes.

“As communities and governments grapple with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, this new analysis reveals the critical role independent schools must continue to play to support jobs, build new social infrastructure, welcome fee-paying international students and build human capital,” he said. “In the current environment every dollar and job generated ... is vital to the region’s economic recovery.”

The analysis also estimated that Gold Coast independent school families who did not take up a fully-funded place at a state school freed up $197.1 million of government recurrent and capital funding for other essential services, or in the current environment, COVID-19 recovery projects.

It said this was equivalent to an annual saving of building 180 new classrooms and employing 1800 new teachers.

“This report shows that encouraging private investment in education pays enormous dividends. The private-public partnership between taxpaying independent school families and governments ... must continue with the support of ongoing public investment,” Mr Robertson said.

According to 2020 state enrolment census data, 23,191 students are enrolled at 21 independent schools in the Gold Coast local government area.