What the class of 2023 proves to me

For the first time in five years, one of our Insight2Uni mentees opted for a degree apprenticeship.?

Richard Turay Jr received offers from amazing universities like UCL and Leeds but turned them down to join KPMG’s accountancy degree apprenticeship instead.

When I started With Insight Education, the pathway to success was clear and largely unchallenged, i.e., school, A levels, degree and then the world was your oyster.? However, a potent mix of the pandemic and the mounting cost of university has rocked this orthodoxy. We now encounter many more students who are questioning the worth of university and I feel that it’s incumbent that we respond to their changing outlook.?

Shifting sands

The pandemic hit during a formative time for students.? For two years, they existed in an uncertain world and that experience contributed to a shift in their outlook on life.???

They demand greater work life balance.? I’ve had multiple conversations with senior leaders who despair that their latest crop of employees down tools at 5pm regardless of whether they’re mid-task or not.? It’s virtually work to rule.??

They are rightly mindful of their mental well-being which took a battering.? The Unite Students / HEPI 2023 Applicant Index found that 30% of students will start university this September with a history of missing education due to their mental health.

They are conscious that nothing is certain and seek greater autonomy to grasp what control they can.? The rising interest in wanting to be an entrepreneur that we see is testament to this.? The persuasive voices on TikTok and Instagram tell them that if you’re the boss, you dictate the terms, reap the greatest rewards and you don’t need a degree to succeed.

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The big squeeze

A growing conversation that we are having with students and their families is a desire to pursue apprenticeships (traditional and degree) as they do not think that the economics of attending university stack up.???

In recent Cosmo research, 73% of the 11,000 students surveyed felt that doing a degree leads to getting a better paid job. However, less than half, 48%, viewed student loans as a good investment.?

The cost of living crisis is exacerbating the squeeze on student finances and affecting students’ approach to university.? The same research found that only 32% of young people from working class families planned to move away to study this year.? This compares to 51% of those from more affluent backgrounds.? As ‘home’ students tend to do less well at university, this disparity is a concern.

It is also being played out in the courses being chosen with those deemed to offer good career choices, e.g. computing, gaining popularity.??

Going with the flow

I unashamedly still advocate for young people to pursue Higher Education.? The salary uplift for a graduate of ￡11,500 per annum compared to a non-graduate evidences the financial benefits.? And there is so much more to be gained.? Universities offer an exceptional opportunity to encounter different perspectives, expand horizons and undergo significant personal development.

Yet, I understand that for the class of 2023 and their similarly aged peers, the social contract of old has been ripped up.? A graduate level job is not guaranteed at the end of their degree, so why risk the cost?? Even if you get a graduate job, there is little hope of saving enough to get on the housing ladder so why bust your gut at work???

I am in the fortunate position of encountering talented young people on a daily basis.? A growing proportion of that talent will be like Richard and not opt for the traditional university route.? Companies are starting to respond to this seachange.? As Josh Graff, Managing Director, EMEA & LATAM, LinkedIn shares in a recent HRGrapevine article,? “A degree is not the only indicator of talent and businesses are increasingly recognising that. On LinkedIn last year we saw a 90% year-on-year increase in the share of UK job postings not requiring a degree. It’s positive to see that businesses - such as IBM and Kellogg’s UK - are thinking more broadly about how to find and nurture talent.”

With Insight Education was created with the university pathway as the sole focus.? The class of 2023 proves that singular approach is no longer appropriate and we are now developing a skills based programme to provide support for young people who wish to pursue an alternative route to success.??

With the likes of IBM and Kellogg’s also rethinking their approach, we’re in good company.