Why do we go to work?

While earning an income is largely about supporting you and any dependants, achieving fulfillment through you working life is also important.  Especially with the ever-increasing age at which you can qualify for a state pension to support your retirement ...

Students are "dropping out" of university

Student Loan Company figures show that 41,914 undergraduate students dropped out of their courses between the start of August 2022 and the end of August 2023. This was up 5% from 2021-22, and the highest figure since the data was first recorded in 2018-19. The real figure will be higher because it does not include those studying in Scotland. In addition, because not all undergraduates receive student funding, the figures are not representative of the entire student body. Comparisons with previous years reveal that about 9,300 students dropped out in the final three months of the academic year, down slightly from roughly 9,900 over the same period in 2022.

Most uni students have part-time jobs

Recent research has found that the majority of full-time students also have jobs for the first time as the cost-of-living becomes their biggest concern. The number in paid employment has increased in one year from 45% to 55%, while students are also working longer hours on coursework. In 2021 the number was only 34%. Significantly, students with jobs were less likely to say they would choose the same university and course again.

Earn while you learn, at university

In a poll in January by the Sutton Trust, 27% of students said they had been forced to take on jobs or work longer hours as loans became stretched and other forms of income, such as parental support, dried up. A Ucas survey in April estimated the number of students working part-time was 43%. Graeme Atherton, director of the National Education Opportunities Network at the University of West London, said students working had become the “norm” in some institutions, meaning “ostensibly full-time students are actually part-time because they are working half the time”.

"Grade inflation" in Degrees awarded

Universities are facing investigations over the issue of grade inflation, the head of the Office for Students told a parliamentary committee. He said that the proportion of students achieving first-class degrees rose from 15.7% in 2011 to 37.9% in 2021, when universities were encouraged to be generous because of the negative effects of Covid. Last year, the proportion fell to about 32% but was still higher than the 30% figure from 2019. Universities have said they intend to rein in the number of firsts given and return them to pre-pandemic levels.

The Gender Pay gap is still there ...

Gender pay statistics for 2022-23 show that companies such as Goldman Sachs and HSBC reported a growing differential in the average median hourly pay received by men and women. The average pay gap in finance was 22.5% last year, improving slightly from 23% in 2021 and lower only than construction (22.8%) and education (24.7%). Big banks with UK offices were some of the worst offenders. Goldman Sachs reported one of the biggest gender pay gaps, with women paid 53.2% less than men, up from 51.3%. Banks and City law firms say that their pay differentials are largely based on fewer women occupying senior well-paid positions. HSBC reported the biggest gender pay gap of any bank, paying women 51.1% less than men.

Employers with more than 250 employees have been required by law to publish gender pay statistics since 2017. The figures show that little progress has been made in closing the pay gap over the past five years despite political pressure. Overall, about 80% of employers across the economy awarded higher average pay to men compared to women, worse than the 77% recorded in the first year of disclosures in 2017. The average median hourly pay gap declined from 9.7% to 9.4% last year but remains at the same level reported five years ago.

The rise of Degree Apprenticeships

In 2022-23, 42,060 people began Higher-level Apprenticeships in various fields, from policing and social work to sales and retail. That number is dwarfed by the 560,000 accepted on to traditional degree courses. However, Universities Minister Robert Halfon, wants Degree Apprentices to make up half of all university-enrolled learners in the future, and Ucas is to display them alongside degree courses from next year. Currently, about 100 universities offer such apprenticeships. Greg Wade, policy manager for UUK, said, “Degree Apprenticeships are in a good place. More universities are engaging, we’ve seen more employer demand and increased recognition of their value among policymakers. We see this as an opportunity to assess the barriers, ask what would encourage institutions to deliver Apprenticeships and then reflect that back to ministers.”