-
Graduates earn on average around £100,000
more over their lifetime than non-graduate
counterparts, even after taxes and student loan
repayments.
-
Returns vary more by degree subject, than by prior
attainment or background.
-
Government to draw up options to cap
numbers
on some courses at some providers and
consult on introducing new minimum English
language requirements.
Students' choice of degree subject
has a hugely significant impact on their lifetime
earnings, according to new research from the IFS.
Graduates earn on average around £100,000
more over their lifetime than someone of the same
background and attainment who did not attend
university, even after taxes and student loan
repayments.
But the returns vary sharply by subject. Medicine
and economics are the highest-earning degrees,
and offer up to £400,000 in increased salary over
a graduate's lifetime, while other subjects can offer little
to negative financial return, compared to
what someone similar without a degree
earns.
The government has this week outlined plans
to draw up options for legislation to limit the growth of some
courses at some providers, where
there are consistently poor returns
for students.
Drastic action to tackle poor-quality degrees
and crackdown on the rapid expansion
of franchised, and often
poor-quality, provision is also ensuring the system prioritises student
outcomes over volume or profits.
A new consultation in the Autumn will look at options for a
minimum English language requirement for prospective
under-grads to access student finance, to ensure
students taking on debt to earn a
degree are equipped to succeed in their studies.
Minister for Skills, said:
Going to university and getting a degree is one of the most
transformational things a young person can do. But it is not a
universal guarantee of success and not all degrees are
equal.
As well as the variation by subject, too many franchised and
poor-quality courses do not offer a good deal to young people
selling the dream then leaving students in the lurch.
We're making the system work better but my message to those
thinking about university: choose carefully. Don't walk into a
degree by default.
The data also comes as the government publishes its Pathways to
Priority Occupations measure, highlighting that medicine,
nursing, architecture and computing are among the
top degree subjects to access jobs in the priority sectors
in the UK's Industrial Strategy, Construction, and Health
and Social Care.
Collectively an estimated 1.8
million additional skilled workers will be needed in
these sectors by 2035.
This measure provides a crucial first step in helping
us identify which subjects will be eligible as part of
our new targeted maintenance grant offer. It will be used
alongside other data and stakeholder feedback to best assess how
to target this funding for students in Academic Year 2028 to
2029.
The government is also working closely with UCAS to
ensure earnings and employment outcomes from
different courses are clear and accessible to
prospective under-grads.
The government is also ensuring university is not the only
choice for young people to succeed, with a record £3.3bn
investment in apprenticeships this year, to help deliver the
ambition of 50,000 more apprenticeship starts for young
people by 2029. This will start to reverse nearly
half of the 40% decline in 1624 apprenticeship starts over
the past decade which has left young people locked out of the
first rung on the career ladder.
This also builds on wider action through the government's Youth
Guarantee which will ensure every young person has the
opportunity to earn and learn. This includes financial
incentives for businesses to hire young people who have been out
of work, providing guaranteed subsidised jobs helping deliver up
to 500,000 opportunities.
