Is getting a degree as important as you think?

My colleague Jacob and I were discussing our career paths the other day. I’m envious that Jacob was able to leave school and go straight into employment. He didn’t fancy the debt and he wanted to get into an industry and learn on the job. This got us wondering about whether this was a trend for our age group – or whether we were unique in our mindset. We have been researching the topic and thought our findings would be useful for both candidates considering higher education and businesses exploring their stance on the matter. Here is what we found.

Demand for university places is increasing.

Surprisingly, with the amount of debt that is involved in attending university and with the cost-of-living, 2024 sees more 18-year-olds applying for higher education. UCAS data shows 316,850 UK 18-year-olds have applied to university or college this year – an increase of 0.7% from 2023 and the second highest on record. UCAS Feb 2024.

Yet demand for degrees as a requirement is declining.?

At Brave none of our current client vacancies require a degree with salaries ranging from ￡20k - ￡200K. And insight from Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends 2024 report shows that nearly half (45%) of employers have said it is no longer as important to them that a job applicant has a degree – with nearly three-quarters (73%) of employers saying an employee’s willingness to learn is more important than their existing skillset. This opens up the talent pool for companies looking to hire and provides more options to people that have come from a wider variety of backgrounds. Increasing diversity of thought within businesses can only ever be a positive.

There are now many other ways to gaining an education beyond university.

From something hands-on like engineering, nursing or construction, to a career in marketing, law or project management, to name a few. Apprenticeships are vital to the NHS and are playing a key role in closing the skills gap in industries such as advanced manufacturing, according to the University of Sheffield. As UCAS outline to prospective students - a degree apprenticeship enables you to gain a full undergraduate or master’s degree while you work. Degree apprenticeships take three to six years to complete, depending on the course level. You will spend most of your time working and you will also study part-time at university. For example, you might go to university one or two days per week, or in short blocks, such as a week at a time. Overall, you spend about 20% of your time studying vs. 80% of your time working.

“There is a clear disconnect between the employer and young employees”

Chris Bingham, Chief Executive of energy supplier Greenarc Ltd in West Yorkshire has highlighted this disconnect and outlined that government and employers need to do more to help close this gap. Employers are no longer demanding degrees but employees still feel the pressure to continue through the traditional route of higher education.

We’d be really interested to hear your thoughts on this topic, Degree or not Degree – that is the question.