Women benefit most from going to university

A study from the DfE and the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said that female graduates earn 28% more than non-graduate women, whilst male graduates earn 8% more than non-graduate men. The report, based on tax records of people who went to school in England and then to university in the UK, shows a woman with a degree earns £6,700 more per year, on average than a non-graduate woman. But a male graduate earns £2,700, on average, more than a man without a degree. 

The figures reflect the fact that women who do not go to university are more likely have children earlier than graduates and on average are more likely to be working part-time in their twenties. Women in their twenties without degrees are twice as likely to be working part-time compared with their graduate peers. Thus, the big gains for women graduates is partially down to comparisons between full-time graduate earnings and those non-graduates working part-time. For men, the financial gains of a degree are much less certain, and 33% of male graduates went to a university in which there was a "negligible or negative impact" on earnings compared with those without a degree. The figures have been adjusted to take into account the background of students and previous academic achievement, making it a like-for-like comparison.  [source: CES newsletter]

Aspirations in 2018

The Milkround jobs site surveyed 5,709 ‘Generation Z’ new graduates to find out their views on jobs. They found that 55% plan to stay in their first role for less than two years, 70% said they’d stay in a role for up to five years (and 27% would stay for more than that), if their needs were met. They weren’t overly ambitious, with flexible working (flexible hours and working from home) and training and mentoring, their main requirements. However, they have high expectations on their career choice, with 65% believing that they will work in their dream industry.

And what are their "dream jobs", see a list published recently in the i newspaper:

Was going to university the right choice?

A survey by Barclays Apprenticeships of 2,500 people, including current university students, graduates from the last five years, parents whose children went to university and employers, found that 48% of students and graduates said they regret their decision to go to university and 44% of graduates said they did not need a degree to do their job. It found that 65% of young people felt under pressure to go to university, with 34% citing this as coming from their parents and 19% saying it was from their friends; 70% felt their parents would have been disappointed if they had not gone to university and when asked their reasons for choosing university, 18% said they went to please their parents.

Value-for-money Universities

This infographic from the i newspaper shows ratings for "value for money" universities, using research data compiled by the Nat West Bank:

Fall in Graduate unemployment

Graduate unemployment fell to a 30-year low in 2017-18, with only 5.3% of graduates estimated to be unemployed six months after graduation. One reason for this is an increase in the number taking post graduate courses from 13% in 2103 to 16% in 2017. The most popular areas for graduate employment are still business, law, health and marketing but there has also been an increase of graduates going into nursing, graphic design, cinematography and IT. Alongside this there has been a fall in those entering teaching, medicine, web design and civil engineering.

Rise in unconditional offers

UCAS figures show that 23% of 18yr olds received an unconditional offer this year, in 2016 the proportion was 13%. The rise is attributed to the lifting of the numbers cap and the rise in tuition fees, giving universities a huge incentive to recruit more students. In response to the findings, the University and College Union repeated its call for an overhaul of university admissions to allow students to apply after receiving their exam results. Sally Hunt, UCU general secretary, said, “The proliferation of unconditional offers is detrimental to the interests of students and it is time the UK joined the rest of the world in basing university offers on actual achievements instead of guesswork.”

Do "points always make prizes"?

On the day that Year 13 students across the nation are opening the envelopes that many see as containing their destinies, it's worth considering some statistics published by the Independent Newspaper earlier this year ...

And of course remembering that while three or four letters in an envelope may well record a candidate's effort, ability and the support they received from teachers, family and friends, they can never be a measure of the "whole person" and rarely convey an individual's personal qualities and those all-important employability skills ...