I’ve just published a new article on the Luminate blog entitled ‘Is the day of the graduate over?‘ It draws on some of the research that I’ve been doing with the Institute of Student Employers. In the article I evaluate the claims that apprenticeships are taking over from higher education. In the end I argue that this is not the case (for now), but point to some possible harbingers of change.
Universities have had a good run over the last 50 years, gradually sucking half of the population into their orbit. But are politicians, employers and even young people now losing faith in this route in favour of apprenticeships?
In the 1960s about 5% of young people went into higher education. The proportion of graduates has been rising ever since, getting very close to half of all young people.1
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that 42% of the current working population are now graduates.2 By the age of 30 graduates are earning around £5,000 a year more than those who have been through an apprenticeship and by the time they are 40 this is close to £8,000. So far so good. The message, surely, is to get a degree if you possibly can.
Read on…
Adventures in Career Development 