A new survey conducted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has revealed that a staggering 50,000 new graduates are in non-graduate jobs, including lollypop ladies and factory workers.
Preparation
Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust and Education Endowment Foundation, is deeply concerned by the data and believes that universities should do more to ensure young people are fully informed about their degree course.
Speaking to the independent.co.uk, Sir Peter said: “While university education still leads to professional employment for a majority of graduates, it is worrying that over one in four is not in a graduate job [six months] after graduation. We need to ensure that young people get much better information about the earnings and job opportunities linked to each degree course, and that the government expands the number of higher and degree apprenticeships. Universities should do more to prepare students for employment, and we need more paid internships recruited on merit.”
Interestingly, the study also found that the share of UK university graduates going into employment or further study hit a record high this year, however that statistic was tainted as more graduates are finding work wherever possible to avoid unemployment; meaning many are taking jobs unrelated to their course.
Employment
75% of graduates had found jobs after leaving university, however close to 14,000 remained employed.
Of the 75%, some had jobs in non-professional industries which included jobs as secretaries and clerks, whilst almost 10,000 graduates were involved in what HESA described as “elementary jobs” such as retail assistants, security guards and farm workers.
The unemployment rate differed by industry with computer science graduates experiencing the highest rates of employment (1 in 10), whereas less than 1% of medicine and dentistry graduates are unemployed.
Disappointingly, the gender pay gap has widened in the last 12 months by £1,000; female graduates can expect to receive average salaries of £21,000 whilst the male average is £24,000.
Apprenticeships
Sir Peter Lampl is a big believer that apprenticeships should rival academia, with many proving a better deal to young people than many degrees over their lifetime. According to New Boston Consulting Group the best apprenticeships can bring lifetime earnings £50,000 higher than a traditional degree at a new university.
Learn more about Sir Peter Lampl’s view on apprenticeship in this piece he did with the Yorkshire Post: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion/sir-peter-lampl-apprenticeships-should-rival-academia-1-7515322
Comments are closed.