Alternative pathways into the labour market
Explores the various pathways into employment, comparing the relative costs and outcomes from graduate and non-graduate routes
With nearly three-in-five graduates in the UK working in non-graduate jobs, the UK has one of the highest levels of self-reported over-qualification amongst its graduates in Europe. So what skills ‘premium’, if any, do individuals gain from going to university? And with the UK not producing enough of the highly skilled jobs for our graduates – and government figures suggesting 45% of student loans won’t be paid back – is the UK economy actually making a loss by having so many graduates in the labour market?
The CIPD commissioned research to explore various pathways into employment. The report looks at the extent of filtering down for a wide array of occupations and explores the debate surrounding five particular occupations – nurses, accountants, police officers, nursery nurses and teaching assistants. It documents the entry routes into these occupations that university education has replaced and show that entry routes in other European countries are sometimes very different; showing that alternative routes are possible.
Read the original report: Over-qualification and skills mismatch in the graduate labour market
Download the report below:
Explore our related content
Labour Market Outlook surveys
Despite continuing job market uncertainty, this quarter sees a clear improvement in net employment intentions
Skills development in the UK workplace
Understand what we mean by skills in the workplace, UK skill levels and the Government’s skills policy.
The role of employers in unlocking workforce skills
Examines what the concept of employer ownership of skills means and the implications of a shift towards greater employer ownership
Developing the next generation
Explores how to develop the next generation in order to meet business and learner needs