Britain doesn't need fewer graduates, it needs better ones
Dr Michael Spence, President and Provost | UCL
4 min read
It is time to consider what a graduate is actually for.
On Monday, a new Policy Exchange report added to the ever-growing pile of literature and comment about whether too many young people are going to university. It is a question that deserves serious consideration and practical answers. If graduates are struggling to find good jobs, as the recent Milburn review concluded, universities cannot dismiss those concerns. If employers say they cannot find the skills they need, we must listen.
Before concluding that Britain needs fewer graduates, however, it is worth considering the world that today's students are preparing to enter. We must consider seriously what a graduate is for.
The world they will inherit is likely to need more highly skilled people than the one we inhabit now. A QS report in March identified that among the 1,436 occupations essential to the delivery of the Industrial Strategy, 80 per cent require level six skills or above. In common parlance, that’s a bachelor's degree or higher. From healthcare and education to science, engineering and professional services, we require more high-skilled workers, not fewer. Advances in artificial intelligence are also increasing the value of capabilities that remain distinctly human: judgement, creativity, communication and the ability to work effectively with others.
That picture feels familiar to me. UCL educates future clinicians, engineers, teachers, architects, data scientists, entrepreneurs and public servants. When I speak to employers, I rarely hear them asking for graduates who know less. More often, I hear them asking for graduates who are better able to apply what they know. They want people who can work effectively in teams, communicate clearly, manage projects and adapt when circumstances change.
None of this means concerns about graduate outcomes should be waved away. Quite the opposite. An economy can need more graduate-level skills and still leave some graduates struggling to make the transition into good work.
Universities are asking themselves what more they can do to close that gap. For many years, employability was often treated as something that happened alongside a degree rather than through it. Students would study their subject, then visit the careers service towards the end of their course and think about what came next. That model became outdated some time ago.
Universities cannot become strictly vocational training providers. A university education ought to expand horizons, cultivate intellectual confidence and encourage students to think critically about the world around them. The graduates Britain needs are those who are prepared not only for the workplace as it currently stands, but also for the workplaces of the future. That is where an education from a university like UCL has a distinct value add. Students benefit from learning alongside people who are helping to shape the future of their disciplines, whether that means developing new technologies, advancing medical treatments or exploring solutions to complex social problems.
Yet there is plenty of room to be more ambitious about helping students connect those qualities and experiences to life beyond the campus. Students should encounter more opportunities to work on real-world problems before they graduate. Increasingly, at UCL, we are experimenting with ways of doing that. For example, through our ExtendEd programme, every student is now given the opportunity to take part in industry challenges, community projects and collaborative problem-solving activities alongside their academic studies.
I am proud that our graduates enjoy some of the strongest outcomes in the country. Yet spending time with students and employers leaves me convinced that this conversation cannot stop at employment statistics. The economy is changing too quickly for that. Many of today's students will move between organisations, sectors and technologies that do not yet exist. Preparing them for that future involves more than helping them secure a first job after graduation. It means equipping them with the knowledge, judgement and adaptability to navigate a lifetime of change.
Britain faces genuine skills shortages. Employers need talent. Young people need opportunities. Universities have a responsibility to work with both of these groups to be part of the solution.
Britain's economy will continue to need graduate-level skills in the years ahead. The task for universities is to ensure that more graduates are equipped to make use of their knowledge, contribute in meaningful ways and adapt as the world changes around them.
Dr Michael Spence is president and provost of UCL
