Do university degrees still provide the value they once did? Do employers place the same amount of importance on them or are skills, experience and a willingness to learn on the job more important in today’s job market? With university tuition fees at an all-time high and cost of living rapidly rising, Wave’s Emily Buckley examines whether a degree is still worth it.
Once upon a time, the usual route to a well paid, well respected job was a university degree. However, as fees have increased, working lives changed and technology advanced, are university degrees worth it anymore? We know they don’t provide a golden ticket to a great job upon graduation but are they still a prerequisite if you want to apply for a white collar job? Do employers continue to look for a degree on your CV when you’re 30, 40, 50? Is a degree qualification still on an employer’s requirement list or are skills, experience, and a willingness to learn more important? We look at WaveTrackR data to gain more of an understanding of employer expectations and whether they have changed over the past couple of decades.
University education and experience is something many still aspire to. As well as the degree qualification (hopefully) received at the end, the entire experience helps young people grow in independence, transitioning from dependent teenagers to independent adults ready for the world of work. However, it is undeniably expensive. At an average of over £9,000 per year in tuition fees alone, plus living expenses, it is estimated that the total cost of a bachelor’s degree over the course of three years in the UK sits at around £60,000. And under new government plans, student loans will have to be paid off for up to 40 years before the debt is written off – 10 years more than it stands currently. This will start as soon as a £25k salary is hit – over £2k lower than in the current system. With the introduction of stricter loan repayment terms further impacting the already sky-high costs of higher education, whether a degree is truly worth it in today’s jobs market bears investigation.
We analysed WaveTrackR data to gain an understanding of what employers are looking for in different industries and at different levels. Overall, the requirement of a degree in a job ad has decreased since 2018. The industry with the most jobs with a degree requirement is Education, followed by Finance. Health & Nursing is also, unsurprisingly, in the top five – there are some jobs that necessarily require further education. Interestingly, relatively few IT & Internet jobs required a degree, perhaps an indication that more tech companies are offering apprenticeships or focusing more on experience and/or the soft skills needed to learn and thrive in the industry. IBM’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Nickle LaMoreaux, recently shared in an interview that, “you don’t need a college degree to have a very good job at IBM. In fact, 50% of its US jobs are open to anyone with the right skills or a willingness to learn them.” This is an approach that was propelled by a global shortage of skilled tech workers. WaveTrackR data consistently records IT & Internet as posting amongst the highest number of jobs of all industries so decreasing requirements such as a degree unless absolutely necessary makes sense from a candidate attraction point of view. In a candidate-short market, removing any requirements that aren’t essential will help to source talented candidates that would otherwise not apply.
Much has changed over the course of the past 20 years. Many of the workers now retiring had a job for life, in which case studying for a degree in a single field might make sense. However, most people now have several jobs, possibly spanning different industries, during a working lifetime and knowledge and skills need to change with those jobs as well as with advancing and constantly changing technology. Is the degree you studied for still relevant 5, 10 or 20 years into your career? And with degree costs now so high will the investment translate into future earnings potential or is another route into work now more practical? There are plenty of alternatives, including a host of different ways to combine learning with working as a high school graduate and all the way through a career up to the highest level. Higher apprenticeships and foundation degrees, combining academic and vocational study are two such options, plus the degree apprenticeship, launched in 2015. The latter offers a great opportunity for both students and employers. Over the course of three or four years, apprentices study for a degree while working in industry. The apprentices are paid and course costs are jointly covered by the employer and the government. All the way through a career, it is possible to keep studying, learning and earning, from a simple online course to a degree completed alongside working. Lifelong learning is not just possible but expected – both by candidates and employers. The pace at which technology changes demands it. For those seeking flexible and accessible learning options, exploring online learning courses from Distance Learning Centre can offer a convenient solution to further their education while balancing work and other commitments.
How can a degree be a career-long marker of competence when the world of work, technology and the knowledge required is anything but static? A popular estimate often cited is that 65% of all primary school students will end up in jobs that don’t exist yet – and that was published year before COVID-19 accelerated the transition of work. The World Economic Forum’s 2016 The Future of Jobs Report found that “in many industries and countries, the most in-demand occupations or specialties did not exist ten or even five years ago, and the pace of change is set to accelerate.” By its 2020 report, it was found that “for those workers set to remain in their roles in the next five years, nearly 50% will need reskilling for their core skills.” To be competitive, businesses need to to reskill and upskill current employees and there has been a fivefold increase in employers offering their workers online learning opportunities. However, candidates and employees themselves are being proactive about undertaking further learning. The report also notes that there has been a fourfold increase in the number of people seeking opportunities for online learning under their own initiative and a ninefold enrolment increase in people accessing online learning through government programmes.
And perhaps that’s what is more important now. The skills we have, the skills we learn, the ability to grow, develop and adapt with the tech and the landscape of work. Degrees will still be relevant and will continue to carry weight but they are by all means not the only options. One thing is clear, however, and that’s that no matter what qualification a person has, that’s not where the educational journey will stop. Learning is an ongoing, career-long process that will update skills and knowledge as technology progresses and disrupts. In a candidate-short market, focusing on skills rather than degree qualifications will blow open the available talent pool. Definitely something worth considering when writing your next job ad requirements.
Wave aims to create a world where talent is never missed by providing recruitment solutions through cutting-edge technology, via WaveTrackR (data-powered multi-poster and analytics tool), RecWebs (tailored recruitment websites) and WaveMedia (recruitment media buying).
