Almost two-thirds of Brits don’t use their university degree, according to new research.
A study of 2,000 graduates found 64 per cent felt their degree was not relevant to their current role, with a quarter of respondents in job roles that are completely different to the degree they completed.
With the average graduate leaving university with £13,292 in debt overall, the astronomical sum can be estimated at 65 billion squandered on degrees not used!
Barinder Hothi, Co-founder of The Knowledge Academy – one of the biggest training companies in the world – which commissioned the study, said: “It’s shocking to see such statistics – the high cost of university is often considered necessary in order to progress in a particular career.
“But with most valuing the experience of university (such as making friends, managing a budget, etc) over the knowledge gained from their degree, one has to ask, is it really worth it?”
Six in ten people say they never had to provide any proof they even had a degree in order to get their job, the research found. A third said the content of their degree and the subjects studied are entirely irrelevant to the work they do now, with a quarter saying there aren’t even small elements of their degree that are helpful to them now.
Reactions were split when deciding the value of a degree overall – 49 per cent felt having their degree made it easier to get a job, but 51 per cent were unsure or felt it made no difference.
49 per cent feel they would have been better off getting in a job earlier and working their way up.
Mrs Hothi added: “University has become the expected path for many 17-18 year olds in the UK in recent years with alternatives such as apprenticeships or trainee roles being rarely discussed as an option. Without providing students with a good understanding of all the options available to them, some may find themselves graduating in a subject which is of no use to the career they want. With some finding that perhaps a trainee role would have provided them with the relevant work experience needed to give them an edge many expect a degree to have.”
The Knowledge Academy offers more than 50,000 job and skills training courses in 200 countries to customers including: the self-employed and SMEs, to blue-chips and multi-nationals like Rolls Royce, HSBC, British Airways, and Disney.
It offers a mixture of classroom-based education and digital learning, mostly IT, legal, finance, HR and business-related courses, but as diverse as Wildlife Training and Animation, to Psychology and Aviation.
