Authors: Olly Newton, Andrea Laczik and Chris Percy
This report brings together insights from the higher education sector, including issues around graduate under-employment, the increasing levels of debt faced by students, along with how this links with students’ expectations of university, as well as what employers want from their graduate recruits. The report brings together some promising new approaches from both the UK and abroad, including the employer set-up DHBW from Germany, the innovative digital campus approach from the Minerva School in the US, and the collaborative approach used at South Devon College of Higher Education.
Recommendations
The higher education sector needs to become more:
- Diverse - students need access to a wide range of course settings, including higher education in further education colleges, new providers and accelerated courses.
- Employment-focussed - employers need to be invited to provide real world context, exchange staff, offer placements and collaborate on projects to give students the best chance of moving on into skilled employment.
- Value for money - young people need to receive high quality and realistic advice while at school about the range of options and their likely returns to prevent them later feeling mis-sold.