Economic Impact
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s impact to Scotland’s economy has been outlined in an independent report by BiGGAR Economics.
The Economic and Wellbeing Impact Assessment finds that RCS generated £5 in economic and social value for every £1 of public funding it receives. RCS contributed £64.4 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the Scottish economy and supported 1,650 jobs in 2024/25.
Alongside this, the report puts a monetary value on the wellbeing generated by RCS for students, graduates, staff and audiences, worth a further £16.3 million.
Overall, for every £1 of public funding, RCS generates £4 in economic impact and an additional £1 in wellbeing benefits for the Scottish economy.
Key Findings
- RCS generated £64.4 million GVA and supported 1,650 jobs across Scotland in 2024/25, of which 74% was concentrated in Glasgow.
- The wellbeing contribution of RCS, measured using the UK Treasury’s WELLBY methodology, was valued at £16.3 million, covering students, graduates, staff, young musicians and audiences.
- Over 60% of surveyed RCS graduates go on to self-employment or start their own businesses (HESA 23/24 survey) well above the UK graduate average of between 5 and 12 per cent, underlining the conservatoire’s role as an entrepreneurial engine for Scotland’s creative economy.
- more than 40,000 tickets were sold for RCS performances and events in 2024/25,
- RCS worked with 3187 pupils, students, teachers, communities, families and care givers across 28 of Scotland’s local council areas via its Transitions programme, Widening Access to the Creative Industries (WACI) outreach, targeted and specialist Fair Access activity (e.g. supporting care experienced young people).
- RCS engaged with students from 72 secondary schools and 11 colleges in Scotland and 2 universities making a total of 83 formal education establishments.
