CRAZY MISMATCH LEAVES “PEOPLE WITHOUT JOBS – AND JOBS WITHOUT PEOPLE”
Can’t find a decent graduate job that uses your degree properly? It’s not your fault. A world-renowned expert has claimed that many of today’s job-hunting and under-employed graduates are the victims of businesses’ failure to work effectively with schools, colleges and universities to ensure young people leave education with skills employers actually want. Much more must be done to help resolve the so-called “graduate skills gap” – and fast.
Speaking at yesterday’s annual lecture hosted by education research charity The Edge Foundation, the straight-talking author, CEO and analyst Nicholas Wyman gave a no-nonsense presentation voicing concerns that the graduate skills gap is leaving a crazy situation where the UK has “People without jobs – and jobs without people”.
Author and CEO Nicholas Wyman, pictured at The Edge Annual Lecture, London 13 October 2015
To kick off his presentation, Wyman spelled out a problem that many Graduate Fog readers are all too familiar with – but is rarely distilled so clearly at a public event:
Questioning the ethics of urging huge numbers of young people to invest tens of thousands of pounds in a university degree when they may struggle to find a job that fits when they graduate, Wyman pointed out that most of the jobs available in the UK now that offer meaningful, rewarding and well-paid work do not require a degree:
This isn’t just a problem for graduates – it is a problem for everybody. And Wyman predicts it is likely to worsen – as a short supply of local workers with the right skills will force employers to move jobs abroad, making matters worse for those left in the UK:
One answer, Wyman says, is to improve the status of non-university career pathways. He noted that the UK is held back by a snob factor among schools and parents, saying it is very common to find education, employment and industry experts heaping praise on apprenticeships and vocational training – “But not for my kids.” Apparently, things are different in Germany – where youth unemployment is not nearly as bad as it is in the UK:
Graduate Fog’s founder Tanya de Grunwald attended the lecture – and was happy to see that Wyman laid NONE of the blame at the feet of young people themselves.
Unlike many UK commentators, Wyman made no mention of graduate “job snobbery” or “entitled” young people who don’t want to work hard, or can’t be bothered to start at the bottom (common themes among some UK commentators).
Instead, he said it was down to businesses and education and training providers to work together more effectively, and to persuade parents and students that there are other alternatives to a university degree:
Where this leaves today’s job-seeking and under-employed graduates is unclear. We have invited Wyman to contribute a comment below this post – hopefully he will be able to offer his thoughts. In the meantime, Graduate Fog advises job-seeking and under-employed graduates reading this to expand the nature of the roles or industries you would consider working in. Spend less time sending applications to widely-advertised roles – and more time researching employers who offer training as part of the job. And above all, do not sign up for any further study or courses unless you are absolutely sure you will end up with skills that employers really value.
* WISH YOU’D STUDIED SOMETHING DIFFERENT?
Does the ‘graduate skills gap’ explain why you’re struggling to find a job that fits with your skills? If so, should you have studied a different degree – or do you wish you’d skilled university altogether? What do you think is the main cause of the ‘graduate skills gap’ and who – if anybody – is to blame?
This is not any consolation to my generation who have already been through/were actively encouraged to go to university. Now we are the new ‘under classes’ seemingly worse people than NEETs and are being scorned/told we are rubbish all the time.
I agree with the point about further study. I have seen people head back and do Masters. If employers are not impressed with an undergraduate degree why would spending thousands on a Masters impress them?
@JC The encouragement to go into higher education was probably to do with the fact that jobs were disappearing at an alarming rate. Since 2008 the qualityn of jobs available has nose dived. Don’t get hung up on being blamed for things. It’s easier to blame someone else because it diverts attention and avoids having to deal with the problem.
@Daniel I think many are doing masters out of desperation. It’s probably the case that there is massive competition for the type of work they are looking for. It’s a gamble but if it pays off for them then all the best.
He raises some good points and I think young people and their parents just don’t know enough about the types of work in demand. It probably goes deeper than that as anything practical was more or less eliminated during my school days in favour of theory. For e.g. instead of making things, 80% of the time we would just draw sequence diagrams of how things would be made. The teachers weren’t particularly knowledgeable either. I don’t know if things have changed since my time but if not you would need a massive culture change to improve the situation.
For the future, what are graduates who are in thousands of pounds worth of debt and in low quality work supposed to do? Many will be castigated as either being ‘job snobs’ for not taking undesirable work or unambitious for being ‘underemployed’. The sad fact is that most will be limited by the fact that it is simply too expensive to live where the best opportunities exist. All this talk of apprenticeships, while good in theory, is a damp squib when a lot of them seem to be rebranded minimum wage jobs. I have seen some quality ones, but many would not be seen as apprenticeships as traditionally understood (e.g. apprentice office admin or sales assistant, really?!)
@Daniel – I agree about further study. Only do it if you’re sure it’s going to pay you back! (Or you’re rolling in money and can afford to do it for the love of your subject)
@JC – I know what you mean – the presentation was definitely focussed on fixing the ‘pipeline’ of ‘talent’ so that this skills mismatch is reduced in the future. But there was little discussion of what happens to the graduates who have already fallen into the skills gap. Obviously you can’t go back and study science if you studied an arts subject, but I can’t help feeling there are ways that a degree that’s not proving to be valuable could fairly easily be ‘converted’ into something that employers value more – preferably without any cost to the graduate… Surely this would be a really useful way that employers could give back, or help the situation?
@ Simon Hargreaves : I share your scepticism about apprenticeships as the saviour of youth unemployment. You say:
All this talk of apprenticeships, while good in theory, is a damp squib when a lot of them seem to be rebranded minimum wage jobs.
… but in fact they are paid far LESS than the minimum wage ! 🙁
And as you say, some of them have very dubious-sounding titles… Are they really true apprenticeships? Hmm, I’m not convinced…
Employers openly discriminate against applicants who are unemployed. I know this for a fact because I’ve submitted very similar resumes under different names where one is currently employed and the other isn’t.
~hell is empty and all the devils are here~
Yes that is one of the most humiliating aspects of job hunting. The fact that many employers prefer to hire only those who already have a job.
Still doing an administrative post with 4 degrees including a PhD. Barely a liveable wage. Totally demeaning especially when those above me are semi literate. Such is life!
Are people on linkedin the exception? I see lots of recent grads in graduate roles. All started in September.
@Ben
There might be a self-selection bias there. People in graduate roles more likely to publicise that fact. Much in the same way I recently ignored a university survey asking what I’m currently up to out of sheer embarrassment.
“I agree with the point about further study. I have seen people head back and do Masters. If employers are not impressed with an undergraduate degree why would spending thousands on a Masters impress them?”
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I got rejected by nuclear graduates and shell this month because I don’t have a masters…
I can’t get any job at all. I feel totally and utterly fed up.
I simply wasn’t in a financial position to do a Masters and even if I was I’m not sure spending thousands of pounds on a degree in the middle of recession would have been particularly wise.
In any case I had simply been on the exams treadmill (GCSEs, A-levels, Degree) for too long. The prospect of more nights in a University library and paying for the privilege just didn’t make any sense to me.
During my job search there were certainly times where a lack of a Masters hindered me but equally I fear “overqualified” can damage you even more.
I think some of my peers did a Masters simply to buy time when the economy was at its worst. People have short memories. Youth unemployment was at 1m. It was a crazy time.
What job do you do now Dan, and how did you get it?
I quit LinkedIn. It’s just another excuse to brag and another way for me to confirm that everyone is better and smarter and more mature than I am, apparently.
Sick of it all.
Btw youth unemployment still is at 1 million +. Most people are also in part time or zero hours contacts.
Oh yeah the stats are nonsense. So many in “gig economy” jobs.
I’d rather not say exactly but I work for a charity that does housing advice. Only got the role due to extensive voluntary experience in a similar role.
Dozens of job rejections along the way for unpaid internships, internships, graduate schemes. Every excuse for not hiring me — I’ve heard it!
I was *close* to being put on one of these work for your benefits schemes which given I got a First from a top university is a source of real embarrassment. I think the fact I was doing two days a week volunteering saved me from all that.
I am sure at some point I was on here blaming the Tories and bankers and everyone else but it is clear to me now I made mistakes along the way.
I chased glamour industries for two long. At the peak of a massive recession that was at best foolish.
I allowed a CV gap to develop underestimating how negatively even a few months out of work would be treated by hiring managers.
The worse my situation got the worse my mental health got. It became a bit of downward spiral really. You can have a bad hand in a game of bridge and still play it poorly.
Trying to look to the future now.
*too long
If I am being hypercritical of myself did I do enough when the economy was booming to prepare for a time like back in 2013 when youth unemployment was at 1m? That is one of the lasting lessons of all this. The need to prepare for the bad times as best as one can.
As has been stated; a total waste of time going to University unless an absolute need. All you will do is waste 3/4 years and £50,000. I know what I am saying; with BSc BA PhD PGCE and more qualifications and still unemployed. Not a single interview after years of applying.
You couldn’t get a job with a PGCE?