Lost generation destroying employee engagement 

High number of graduates moving into unrelated employment risks creating a ‘disillusioned generation’ - and excessive targets risk making the matter worse. 

In a week when final-year university students turn their attention to job hunting during the Easter break, a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) finds that nearly six in ten (59%) of employees who graduated in the last two years are not currently working in a field or profession related to the degree they studied. 

The survey, Focus on graduate jobs, which is based on responses from more than 700 graduates in employment, comes against the backdrop of Government pledges to significantly increase  -  to 75%  - the proportion of young people they want to secure a degree or equivalent level qualification. 

In addition, the survey, conducted for the CIPD by YouGov, finds that among graduates not working in a field related to the degree they studied: 

• 58% of those who graduated in the last two years said this was because they were unable to find a suitable job
• 28% of recent graduates said that their degree did not equip them with the skills that they need for the workplace
• 21% of recent graduates chose a new career path after finishing their degree
• A quarter of recent graduates (24%) had since decided to postpone the start of the careers entirely.  

The figures raise questions over the Government’s continued efforts to expand enrolment on university degrees, and their desire to chase the new 75% target for young people to be educated up to degree level, particularly at a time when the UK labour market has contracted significantly.   

Tom Richmond, Skills Adviser at the CIPD, said: “Our survey findings suggest the Government’s target of 75% of young people achieving a degree or equivalent level qualification is counter-productive and should be urgently reviewed.  As rising youth unemployment threatens to create a ‘lost generation’ of jobless young people, the rising number of students unable to work in jobs related to the subjects they studied at university threatens to create a ‘disillusioned generation’ of graduates, unable to find graduate-level employment but still saddled with thousands of pounds worth of debt. 

“If this is the situation today when our graduation rate is 39% then the consequences for future graduate job prospects look bleak indeed if there really is an attempt to nearly double the numbers of graduates in the UK. To compound this, the recent announcement of an extra 20,000 university places in this year’s Budget makes the creation of a ‘disillusioned generation’ even more likely.