Graduate debt crisis was entirely predictable…

 … and here’s what should happen.

When then Prime Minister Tony Blair declared that he wanted 50 per cent of school leavers to go to university I held my head in despair.

It was argued that as graduates earned so much more money than non-graduates we ought to send more youngsters to university – then more people would be big earners.

But the reason that graduates earned far more was because they were the most academically gifted 20-25 per cent.

In order to ensure that another quarter of school leavers got to wear mortarboards Mickey Mouse degrees were introduced and standards declined.

Furthermore, the cost of educating all these new undergraduates for three or four years meant the funding model had to change.

Necessarily, the students themselves had to take more of the burden with the introduction of student loans and then tuition fees.

Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

The graduate jobs market is a mess, many graduates have degrees that are worthless and student debt is becoming a major political issue.

Graduates – especially those who graduated during a 12 year period – are paying eye-watering interest on their massive debt.

And even those who do secure well paid jobs are finding the repayments hard to bear.

At university, students spend their time writing essays and undertaking demanding academic tasks.

This is simply not suitable for the vast majority of young people.

The academic bell curve shows that only around 20-25 per cent of students are academically gifted – maybe it can be stretched to 30 per cent, as it has been in Germany.

This means that around 70 per cent should be doing something else that fits their educational profile.

It does not mean they are not talented, it just means they are not as academically talented as the top 30 per cent.

For example, builders, mechanics, hairdressers or restaurant managers do not need high level academic qualifications but can still be very gifted at their job – and can earn very good money.

There are many different talents and skills required in our economy and being an academic applies to only to a very small number of people.

When Tony Blair said 50 per cent of young people should be going to university, I was always asking about the other 50 per cent.

What about them?

The rest – which ought to comprise 70 per cent of school leavers – should be learning skills that are needed for our economy.

They will be happy knowing their skillsets are appreciated and are in demand.

I have taught in the university sector and could clearly see that a significant number of my students would have been better off in the world of work or doing an apprenticeship and not pursuing an academic qualification. They were just not suited to it.

The result of this mess is that graduates have a high levels of debt and we have a workforce that doesn’t really match what the economy needs.

The solution requires some painful decisions. Both major political parties seem to have realised this was a mistake but clearing up the mess will be extremely difficult.

Our university sector is world-leading, but its reputation will suffer if we carry on as we are.

We need to train around 70 per cent of people in a more vocational way.

Apprenticeships and skills training are needed – not more academic courses.

More industries should organise their own qualifications which are practical and relevant to the sector.

Nurses, police officers and primary school teachers should not have to go to university.

Careers officers in schools should be honest about the realities of a university education and push 70 per cent of students towards other career paths.

We should also be only accepting the academic elite from foreign countries to our universities – not just anyone whose parents have the money.

Having reduced the numbers at university, some of the buildings could be converted to training colleges or even closed down and sold off, and the halls of residence offered as starter homes.

Radical solutions are needed if we are going to have a modern and happy workforce that meets the needs of our economy.