The Riddle of Graduate Unemployment

Do you remember when you were told that your school years were the most important in your entire life? That the key to success was to do well at school, go on to university, study hard, get good grades and then you will be able to get a good job? Now once you have a good job, you work really hard and you will be rewarded either through pay or promotion?  

I remember this all too well...do you see a pattern forming?

It has to be said that there is a lot of truth in these words...or at least there was once upon a time. Don’t get me wrong, your school years are the best years of your life. They are also the most important without question. This is where we develop the skills that are critical to our personal development, both socially and academically. The significance of success during this period can never be understated.

However, some things have evolved, the evidence of this is unavoidable.  We see it every time we turn on the news, pick up a newspaper or go online. Graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to find work and I do not believe that the fact that this has occurred at the same time as the changes in our economy are becoming ever more apparent is simply a coincidence...there is no such thing.

The number of qualified graduates has increased from 26% in 2000/01 to 30% in 2010/11 (figures sourced from HESA Statistical First Release 169). However, in 2011, 20% of 18-year-olds who left school with A-levels were unemployed compared with 25% of 21-year-olds who left university with a degree, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Graduate unemployment rates were almost on a par with those for people leaving school with just GCSEs, with 26% of 16-year-olds with these qualifications out of work. (Hilary Osborne @ Guardian 22/02/12).

This does not mean that higher education is redundant...far from it. However, it does suggest to me that companies are not always finding the qualities they want from graduates the traditional way. Companies are beginning to find that their businesses are undergoing changes as the economy begins its slow “recovery” process. Therefore, would it not stand to reason that the demands placed upon graduates could also change? Is it not also feasible, that the governments “Work Experience Scheme” is struggling to cope with the increased demands that are being placed upon it...demands it simply was not designed to accommodate?

Whilst evidence suggests that students are beginning to act accordingly, which has resulted in a rise in the number of students pursuing more vocational based degrees in recent years, my hunch is that this has not helped in the manner which one would expect. I think the proof of this may in fact be in the pudding. We are now seeing a trend, starting with the UK’s top 4 accounting firms, where companies are devising degree equivalent programs which have been designed to train school leavers who may be put off from the increasing university fees. The latest of which is Ernst and Young. In fact there is a growing sense that the mantra of the last few years, that everything is about university may not necessarily be right, and that A-level students should really be thinking about what they want to do and whether that means going to university. (Sourced from Hilary Osborne @ Guardian 22/02/12).

Again, I would like to reiterate that I am not suggesting students should not pursue a university education. I myself have a degree in Maths and Management Studies and I have reaped its rewards. However, I feel it is increasingly important that students should explore their options carefully to ensure they are getting the best deal for themselves that will grant them every opportunity to achieve their dreams and ambitions.

I believe that this is one of the biggest riddles we face in modern society and I wish I had the time and resources to research this in depth, sadly this is not the case. All information presented has been sourced from articles and studies which are readily available on the internet. I do not claim to be an expert in economics or government’s social policies. Nor do I claim to have all the answers....

I’m just saying....