Number of graduates entering low-skilled jobs ‘at saturation point’
Youth unemployment is at its worst in rural areas. I have long argued for greater parity of esteem between vocational and academic qualifications. I have seen at first hand how schemes like “Farmers of the Future” can equip rural youngsters to live and work in rural settings through giving them practical skills and entrepreneurial training. This article makes me wonder if we have too many graduates and not enough people with practical skills to regenerate our rural economies. How many Hinterland readers have struggled to find a plumber or electrician in their neighbourhoods?
This article tells us:
Six in ten university graduates in the UK are too qualified for the jobs they are doing because of a shortage in high-skilled vacancies, according to new research.
The report warns that graduate qualification has reached “saturation point” and it is leading to employers asking for degrees to recruit in los skilled jobs, including work at call centres, bars and coffee shops.
The research, by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which represents human resource managers, revealed one in twelve graduates now occupy jobs where their talents are not needed.
The warning came a day before thousands of youngsters are set to find out their results in the GCSEs.
The CIPD found just under 60 per cent of graduates are over-qualified in Britain, one of the highest proportions in Europe – only crisis-hit Greece and Estonia have more.
Countries with a history of strong vocational training such as Germany have only 10 per cent or less of graduates in non-graduate positions.