Universities UK responds to IFS report on lifetime earnings

The evidence is clear that a university degree still pays off in a big way for the large majority of people – and that the Treasury makes a strong return on investing in students. The graduate premium is holding up, despite growth in the minimum wage and the generally poor performance of the economy which has held back wage growth. 

“While not all graduates benefit financially to the same extent, it is worth pointing out that some of those graduates who earn lower salaries contribute a lot to society, including those who become artists and performers, whose choice may not have been motivated by money. We should recognise that these subjects also feed the creative industries which are a huge economic driver for the UK. And as a humanities graduate myself my bet is that, in an age of AI, we’ll value the understanding of how human beings think and act more, not less, in the future.

“That said, clearly, it’s vital that graduates are well equipped to get great jobs, and that’s why this Spring we’ve been running a series of ‘Future Jobs’ roundtables, listening to employers the length and breadth of the country to understand how universities can go further to help graduates get onto the career ladder. We’ll be bringing forward a bold set of proposals on the practical actions universities, employers and the government can take in the near future.