It’s a question of degrees

If further evidence were required that the university system is not fit for purpose, then research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) makes it clear.

It has found that one in five bar staff are graduates – up from three per cent 30 years ago.

Nearly 20 per cent of waiters are graduates, compared with two per cent three decades ago.

In retail, 14 per cent of staff are graduates, as are 15 per cent of care staff and 24 per cent of security guards.

These workers went to university expecting that three years of study and no doubt plenty of debt would mean a professional, well-paid job.

After all, that is what we are always told.

But this simply cannot be the case when more than half of all people go to university.

We should be designing our education system to fit the needs of the economy – more technically and vocationally trained people are required.

There are many young graduates unsuited for the world of work because they are over-educated in areas in which they will never succeed.

The country only needs so many people with academic skills – and it needs the best of these people, not those who can barely scrape through a degree that is hardly worth taking.

The degrees have become easier to obtain and many lack the rigour that the qualification originally entailed.

Making degrees easier and giving academic validity to subject areas that are not really academic pursuits should not be occurring.

There are now degrees in many subject areas that originally would not attract degree status.

This needs to stop.

We need vocational and technical qualifications, and these should be valued as highly as an academic degree – but not called a degree.

Degrees are traditionally academic and should remain so.

I don’t think police officers or nurses should require degrees, and I’m pleased that the Home Secretary is talking about this.

Degree requirement excludes many who would make fine health professionals or police officers.

We also have 1.3 million job vacancies in the economy. All those stuck in university for three or four years studying spurious subjects would be better employed to help fill the gaps.

Those graduates working as bar staff or in care work or security would have been better off doing a short qualification in those areas rather than taking a degree.

In the three years they spent at university they could have developed all the skills they need and be promoted into management.

Rather than being in debt, they would have been able to save some money.

ends