Benefits of going to University

 [source: the i newspaper]

Decline in Graduate Employment

The latest survey by the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) found that the number of graduate jobs declined by 12% and that the majority of employers anticipated a further decline next year. Employers in the retail and consumer goods sectors made the biggest cuts, slashing 45% of graduate jobs. The ISE, which surveyed mostly large employers, also said that employers reported a 29% decrease in internships and a 25% decrease in placements in 2019-20 with further falls expected next year. Stephen Isherwood, chief executive of the ISE, said, “Employers have had to make significant adjustments. As a result, graduate jobs do not appear to be collapsing and school and college leaver recruitment is holding up, but the decline in internships and placements is more worrying. Around half of placement students get rehired, so diminishing these roles damages the talent pipeline.”

Increase in Job Vacancies reported

A survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation has found there were 1.36 million job adverts across the UK in the first week of November, the largest number since early March. However, the research shows the recovery has not been evenly distributed across the different regions and sectors. Half of the UK's major regions now have higher numbers of job adverts than in March, while some still have fewer. The bounce back has been led by North-West England and Wales, which last month respectively had 37% and 33% more vacancies than in March, but London is lagging behind with 18.7% fewer posts on offer. The study also shows roles in construction, logistics and food and drink have recovered strongly, while hospitality and leisure remain at significantly lower levels than in March. However, there were 48.7% fewer adverts for bar staff than in March, despite a recovery during the summer months. Vacancies for chefs were down by 46% and for fitness instructors by 37%, significantly lower than before the pandemic hit.

What is PGA?

PQA stands for Post Qualification Admissions. UCAS has warned that a major overhaul of the admissions system, which would mean places being offered on the basis of grades rather than predictions, could open up a “devolution divide” without an agreement with the devolved nations. Pressure for a PQA has been growing, forcing UCAS into a review, which has led to two proposals, both of which advocate PQA. The first keeps applications ahead of results day in August, with offers based on actual results. The second proposes moving the whole applications process beyond results day and pushing back university start dates until January. However, this is likely to be less popular with the sector and government because it would put the UK system out of sync with the rest of the world.

Universities UK has given its backing to a PQA system after an 18-month review. Under their proposed system offers will only be made once the university has received an applicant’s grades in August. Providers will then have a one-week window before ‘offer day’, and students a one-week window afterwards to respond, followed by a clearing process for unplaced applicants.

Extra funding for Apprenticeships

Employers are being invited to apply for cash incentives to help them take on new apprentices and get more people into work, Apprenticeships and Skills Minister, Gillian Keegan has announced. As part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs, employers are being offered £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire, aged under 25, and £1,500 for each newly recruited apprentice aged 25 and over. This includes taking on an apprentice who has been made redundant.

Working during Furlough

A study by economists from Oxford and Cambridge universities has concluded that the majority of people who were furloughed have carried on working during lock-down, with men significantly more likely than women to flout the rules. It also found that women were significantly more likely to be furloughed than men doing the same type of job. It found that 75% of furloughed men had their wages topped up beyond the 80% provided by the government, but only 65% of women. 87% men and 77% of women who received a salary top up continued to work for their employer while on furlough, even though this was forbidden. Among those workers who didn’t receive a top up, 69% of men and 52% of women routinely worked.

Rise in the Interest Rate on Student Loans

Each year, student loan interest rates are calculated according to March’s Retail Price Index (RPI) figure, which this year was 2.6%, plus 3% on top; RPI was 2.4% last year. It came into force on 1st September and affects all new students in England and Wales, and graduates who took out loans since 2012. The increase comes at a time when the Bank of England base rate is just 0.1%. A student on a typical three-year course with fees of £9,250 a year and a £6,378 a year maintenance loan can expect to graduate with £46,884 of debt, before any cumulative interest is added.

Going to university is still financially worth it ... for some

The Institute of Fiscal Studies has calculated that most students still financially benefit from going to university but 20% are worse off after paying for courses. Over their working lives, male graduates, on average, gain by £130,000 and female graduates by £100,000. The study shows wide variations between different subjects. For women, the financial gains of studying creative arts and languages are ‘close to zero’ Medicine will bring an extra £340,000 for women, economics £270,000 and £260,000 for Law. Men studying creative arts subjects are projected to lose £100,000, compared to their counterparts who did not go to university. For men in the top-earning subject areas of Medicine and Economics, the likely gain is £500,000. For both men and women there are low financial returns for graduates in English and Biology

Rise in university drop-out rates

Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that the dropout rate for first-year students continues to rise. England had the highest non-continuation rate at 6.9%, up from 6.5% in 2014-15. In both Wales and Scotland the rate was 6.1%, each lower than in 2014-15. Among mainstream universities, a number had non-continuation rates of between 15% and 26%, with Bedfordshire and London Metropolitan having amongst the worst dropout rates and the Courtauld Institute of Art the best (0). 

Michelle Donelan, the universities minister for England, said: “With high numbers of students continuing to drop out, this data shows progress is slow from some institutions to tackle the issue. I want universities to step up and take action as we cannot let these students down and let talent go to waste.”

Aspiration Nation

This infographic, recently published in the i newspaper, shows the mismatch between the aspirations of young people and the employment prospects currently available to them.

UCAS has announced how T levels, due to be introduced from September 2020, are to be graded. T-levels contain a mixture of classroom learning and "on-the-job" experience, including a placement in the workplace of at least 315 hours. Candidates will be awarded one of four overall grades, ranging from Distinction* to a Pass. They will also get a nationally recognised certificate which will show their overall grade and a breakdown of what they have achieved across the T-level programme.

Employment in the UK

This infographic from the i newspaper shows the recent trends in employment in the UK.