SKILLS MISMATCH MEANS 30% OF WORKERS ARE OVER-EDUCATED FOR THEIR ROLE
Nearly a third of the UK’s workforce is over-qualified for the position they are currently in, thanks to a massive miscalculation on the part of policy-makers and economists in the last few years.
Three in ten workers (30%) are reportedly-over qualified for their jobs, according to new figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) reveal — and it seems that graduates have been hit particularly hard.
The research reveals a striking mismatch between education levels and the type of jobs on offer, with the number of graduates far outnumbering the number of graduate positions available.
While the number of high-skilled roles is low, the number of low-skilled roles is high. The study found that 22% of UK jobs require no more than primary education (compulsory education — ie up to age 16 in the UK). This compares with just 5% in Germany and Sweden.
As these low-skilled jobs tend to be poorly paid, this jump has led to an increase in in-work poverty and a huge benefits bill.
Graduate Fog wants to know how many of our readers are experiencing this. Are you over-qualified for the job you’re doing? Why did you accept it – and how long do you plan to stay in it? Have your say below…
Im a recent social policy graduate for a top 10 university (Bristol university). Im currently working as a customer service advisor for an insurance broker. I am working along 17-19 years who who have only gcse and a levels. This is because this job only requirers basic ed. I feel im am being sold a little short at the moment
@Gavin Dudd
Thanks for your comment – can I ask what led you to take the customer service job and how much you’re being paid? What plans to you have to find something more challenging?
I’m also currently working as a customer service advisor for an insurance broker. Its the best job I can get in terms of gaining experience and skills which I can then hopefully use to get a better job. I would be more than happy to write about my experience of the employment market over the past few years but the question here is, am I over-qualified for my job? Yes.
My job was originally an agency job where the application process, including interview, only asked if I had GCSE Maths and English, then the agency was only interested in skills learned from other work experience. Like my colleagues, I could’ve got this job straight out of school, but unlike them, I am able to apply for better jobs. Unfortunately, it may be a long time before I get one and it feels like the value of my education is going down as time goes on, but I will persevere!
Great website, Tanya. Long time reader, first time poster.
@Tanya:
There is a number of reasons I am currently working in customer services. First there seems to by limited graduate positions relating to my degree in the South-West. Secondly, all the jobs that did relate and which I applied for, I either got no response or was unsuccessful. Thirdly our economy has a large service sector, thus more vacancies for the type of work I am currently employed in. Finally I needed the money, to pay rent bills ect. And could not hold out any longer, for what I thought to be a suitable position. I did not actually apply for this position. A recruitment agency saw my cv online and asked if I wanted to go for an interview. In short I couldn’t be too selective out of necessity
In this role I earn around £1100 net per month. I plan to work here for 6-12 months and start applying for graduate level jobs that relate to my degree. If these type of jobs are limited I will probably have to branch out to other type of graduate jobs
I am currently volunteering in my local Cancer Research branch. From this I can hopefully get some retail position and earn for a while.
There is a real bias against hiring unemployed people. Anything is better than nothing.
I had an interview at Ofcom after four months of being unemployed and it was a real “red flag” for their HR. They asked whether I had omitted something. The idea of being out of work for about 100 days seemed incredulous to them…
I’m a creative graduate, and I work in a fast food bottom management. Some may say serves my right for studying a creative subject, but where I work, staff members are graduates (bachelors and masters) of maths, architecture, IT and HR. It makes me realise that the problem isn’t even the subject of degree. I won’t say exactly what I earn, but it’s above £15k and below £20. I was embarrassed by my job for a long while, until I realised just I lucky I was to even have a job, and I think most of the people I work with think the same way. We have countless people come in daily with CVs and application forms, and approx 1 out of every 100 will get offered a role, if that. We used to have a high turnover, but people are wising up and not just taking what job they have for granted. I think despite being over-qualified (actually unless your degree is vocational/specific, you’re not actually qualified. Yes, you have a high level of education in a certain subject, but it doesn’t actually qualify you to do anything!) all the posters above aren’t in too bad a position considering the lack of jobs out there, it’s just a matter of perseverance. Beware though that I know people who went to university a very long time before any of us, and never got out of the low pay cycle, and to this day, are not far above min wage. Moving forward, I’m now volunteering as a special needs support officer, and studying an access course with the hope of getting onto a nursing degree, where I can pursue a new passion.
I don’t hate my job, and I like my colleagues, the pay could be better, but isn’t exactly minimum wage, but I still can’t see myself working here beyond next year (when I’ll hopefully start uni again). Some (people that don’t know me especially – I’ve had lots of derogatory jokes/comments) would say I’m thick with no ambition or education for working in fast food. Some would say I’m lucky to have a job. I don’t know. I’m also sick of the young people/graduate slamming in the likes of Daily Mail et al!
@MeeeexXx
Totally agree with your points. From hearing other peoples’ stories, there were all the same problems before the recession, but since 2008 it has become a lot worse. I think the main problem is that employers don’t understand what degrees represent these days. They trust the traditional subjects and institutions and respect those qualifications. Other than that, they need educating.
I graduated a few years ago as a half-qualified Architect where my Uni was rated top five for the course. I did a year out in Shanghai but when I had to move back home, I could only get a job in a café then a call centre. I did a Masters at another Uni rated top five and I’m now a half-qualified Planner as well but there’s not much going in this sector unless I move to London or the other side of the world, which I can’t.
Outside the sector, people have no idea what the qualifications represent so they’re not very valuable. Employers also seem to prefer people who have followed a route they know and trust i.e. work experience when at Uni then straight into a position set up for graduates. All I can do is volunteer in my spare time and use my annual leave to do internships as well as getting good stuff on my CV from work. Congrats to the people who have carried on the conveyor belt, they were always going to do well, but I feel a lot wiser and more resilient now I’ve been shook up a bit.
Oh, and the less-than-useless Daily Hate Mailers can naff off.
Want £150? Tell a journalist whether tax breaks for bosses hiring under-25s is a good plan. You must be named & pictured. Tweet @EMD1990 or email emily.davies@ dailymail.co.uk
I’m a law graduate working in a admin role which simply required 5 A*-C GCSEs. I do feel overqualified at times (particularly when given more menial task that any chump could do), and I definitely feel undervalued as an employee. The pay is of course pretty dismal too when compared to the figures for average “graduate salaries” or vocational courses.
It is frustrating as I feel I have a lot more to give with my qualifications. In a more appropriate line of work I could be earning more (benefiting myself) as well as giving more back to society (through taxes and student loan repayment). I’d also be freeing up a space for an unemployed non-skilled worker.
The most depressing thing is seeing people who dropped out of school and went straight into vocational courses at the local college earning megabucks (2.5x my current salary). To add insult to injury most of them spent a fair bit of their course-time down the pub or dossing round in the common room! Maybe that is an option for me to consider.
I have a high 2:1 International Relations degree and can speak conversational German after an ERASMUS year there.
I’ve just finished doing holiday cover for a sixth form copy room, so I’d say yes.
Previous jobs since graduating in 2011 were basically – if I strip away the linguistic embellishments on LinkedIn – retail, data-entry and basic admin (with some court ushering, and giving a presentation at a friends’ school in Poland).
Oh and pay – the most I’ve earned is £7.54 an hour (c £14k), usually I get minimum wage or just over. Full-time minimum wage is liveable in my circumstances in Birmingham (40% goes on rent for a room) – certainly far better than 70% of JSA and Housing Benefit going on rent between temp jobs.
The last three week job was part-time (still owed some Housing Benefit for when it was part-time), except the last week when I was full-time.
And my ambition, if you can call it that, is more to escape agency work for the comparative security of a fixed term or permanent job, before trying to get a so-called “graduate job”.
If I ever feel a bit more secure (and can start repaying overdrafts from uni), I’ll consider whether finding something more suited to my alleged education and abilities is feasible, and try and figure out what that could be – but at the moment just finding the next job is the priority.
Being able to rent a flat instead of a room would be nice too – though very risky before you turn 35 if you’re single and your income is low ans insecure – you’d be unlikely to be able to afford to stay in a flat if you were out of work. And renting a room has the major pro of typically including utilities (heating is a God send), wifi and council tax at least.
(Housing Benefit for private tenants is based on – but not enough for – a room if you’re under 35, single and childless – even if you worked from age 16 to 34 then lost your job whilst renting a house or flat).