Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
the jobs market for graduates, and whether this assessment points
to a mismatch between skills and vacancies.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education () (Con)
My Lords, one-third of vacancies in the UK are due to skills
shortages. The Government want to develop a world-leading,
employer-focused, high-quality skills system that is fit for the
future. Our higher education sector delivers some of the most
in-demand occupational skills with the largest workforce needs,
including training of nurses and teachers. The DfE published
graduate labour market statistics showing that, in 2022, workers
with graduate-level qualifications had an 87.3% employment rate
and earned an average of £38,500. Both are higher than for
non-graduates.
(CB)
I thank the Minister for her detailed response, but the fact
remains that we have swathes of overqualified graduates in jobs
not requiring a degree. Outside London, that number has now risen
to 42%, and in many regions it is more than half. Graduate
vacancies are falling steeply, as is their wage premium, and
students have now racked up more than £200 billion of debt, much
of which will never be repaid. How do the Government plan to
respond to the damaging mismatch between skills and
vacancies?
(Con)
I thank the noble Lord for his supplementary question. I
recognise some of the points that he makes about the regional
differences in graduate opportunities. However, on our wider
skills strategy, the Government have introduced the lifelong
learning Act, which will offer students the ability to reskill
and upskill over their lifetimes. We are investing in skills at
all levels and also focusing on making sure that the quality of
all degrees is as high as can be.
of Hudnall (Lab)
My Lords, I was so surprised by the absence of other noble Lords
asking questions that I almost did not get up. Could the Minister
think particularly about the creative industries, where, at the
moment, there is a significant lack of people to fill vacancies?
It is true, as I think she would agree, that, historically, it is
not the highest paid sector, but it is one of the most highly
skilled, and yet—and here she might not agree—the education
system really does not emphasise enough the value of the skills
needed for the creative industries. Could she let the House know
how those skills are being better valued in the education system,
so that those vacancies can be filled?
(Con)
The noble Baroness has anticipated well that I do not agree that
those skills are not valued in our education system. Obviously,
those skills are evolving and developing more into digital
skills; that is an area in which we are focused both in schools
and in skills bootcamps, T-levels and beyond.
(LD)
My Lords, the Minister will be aware that we have a shortage of
teachers—some might call it a crisis of teacher vacancies—in our
schools. We also have a crisis of shortages in specialist
subjects, such as physics and the creative subjects, as we have
heard. Fewer and fewer young people are going into teaching or
studying education at university. To try to avert this crisis, is
there a case for saying that we will refund your tuition fees if
you become a teacher?
(Con)
The Government are not considering that at the moment, and I
remind the House that teacher numbers are at an all-time high, at
over 468,000.
My Lords, I welcome both the Government’s efforts to make
apprenticeships more accessible to ensure that people can be
supported into key occupations and the expansion of this into the
health service, especially with the recent NHS Long Term
Workforce Plan. In healthcare professions, cover is required for
apprentices’ roles when they are studying. Those apprentices are
often on full-time salaries, so backfilled funding will have to
be found to ensure that those workplaces can cope. As this cannot
be covered by the apprenticeship levy, what support are the
Government offering to ensure that those apprenticeship routes
can be successful?
(Con)
The Government are committed to the development of
apprenticeships at all levels, including, for example, degree
apprenticeships for nurses in the NHS. In relation to the earlier
question, we are also exploring teacher apprenticeships. I will
have to write to the right reverend Prelate on the specifics of
the funding of backfilling.
(Lab)
Can the noble Baroness tell us why the Secretary of State has cut
the higher technical education skills injection fund by
one-third, down from £32 million to £21 million, at a time when
the country is facing major skills shortages? It is just another
example of short-termism, selling the country—and
graduates—short.
(Con)
The noble Baroness talks about £32 million; our skills reforms
are backed by an investment of £3.8 billion over the course of
this Parliament to strengthen higher and further education. In
particular, we announced £200 million of funding for local skills
innovation funds, supporting the local skills partnerships led by
employers.
(Lab)
My Lords, I come back to teachers and extend the issue to
healthcare workers such as doctors and nurses. I declare my
interest as a member of the GMC council. If you look at the stats
for trainee doctors and nurses after they have graduated, and
then look at how many stay in the health service for, say, two to
three years after graduation, you find that the attrition rate is
alarmingly high. Is there not a case for tying some financial
incentive to sticking with the health service for five years or
more and at least mitigating the cost of some of your student
loan?
(Con)
I am less familiar with the details of the health service but, in
relation to teaching and children’s social care, that is why
there is so much focus in our work on retention, support for
early career teachers and improving the quality of initial
teacher training.
(Con)
Would my noble friend agree that there are many reasons why
youngsters should choose a particular course at university, of
which employment or potential for future employment is an
important one? I declare an interest, as I have a daughter
presently at university. Could my noble friend say what the
Government, and indeed universities themselves, are doing to
inform youngsters making choices on which degrees to pursue at
university, so that they have more information about their
employability thereafter?
(Con)
I absolutely agree with my noble friend that young people should
be well-equipped to understand not just the options for their
subject but that subject at that particular institution, because
we know that future earnings power, and in addition future job
satisfaction, vary very much between institutions. There are
improvements being made, and I am happy to send details to my
noble friend on ways that students can access that
information.
The (CB)
My Lords, further to the question of the noble Baroness, Lady
McIntosh, and the question of the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, this is
not just for the arts, and it is about not just training up or
career awareness but affordability. The plain fact is that many
employers in the arts today cannot afford the skilled workers
they need. It is at this point that the Government should
intervene.
(Con)
I am always slightly baffled by this line of questioning, because
when I look at the performance of our creative industries and the
performing arts, I see that they are resoundingly successful,
both domestically and globally. I appreciate that there are
skills pressures in those areas, but they are ones that many
organisations are overcoming.
(Con)
My Lords, following the question of the noble Lord, , should not those with science
degrees who have not got jobs be strongly encouraged to train to
help fill the many physics vacancies which are causing so much
worry in the education system?
(Con)
I am not aware of the detail as to whether there is a mismatch
between those with science degrees, in particular physics
degrees, and vacancies. My understanding is that the
opportunities for those with STEM degrees are significantly
higher at higher professional levels than for those without.
