UK drops down graduate league table

The UK has dropped from third to 15th in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) league table of industrialised nations producing the highest proportion of university graduates.

A newly published report from the body, which covers 2000 to 2008, shows the country lagged behind Portugal, Poland and Ireland in terms of the number of young people obtaining a degree.

With the future of university funding currently under review in the UK, the OECD's special adviser on education Andreas Schleicher warned that "cutting education is going to cut the tax returns of the future. Fewer people with qualifications will mean a less successful economy," 

Dr Wendy Piatt, director-general of the Russell Group of universities, said the report also highlighted that at 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product between 2000 and 2008, public spending on higher education in Britain was already below the OECD average. She claimed that without more investment, the country's academic institutions risk losing their competitive advantage.

The Russell Group represents 20 UK universities including Oxford, Cambridge and King's College London. 

Graham Pauley PA's education expert comments:” Well documented evidence suggests that a high proportion of population with degrees does not necessarily equate to economic success for a country (Egypt is an example).  The argument put forward by new Labour that people with degrees earn more and that a degree guarantees better earnings and social mobility were a poor use of statistics.  This kind of thinking has entered the general consciousness and blighted initiatives such as the New Apprenticeship scheme run byThe Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

It’s vital that a countries workforce has the right level of knowledge and skills to generate wealth - countries that do this well, such as Germany have a strong vocational training capability and more pragmatic view of tertiary education.  The real policy issue is how we create a balanced further and higher education capability and attitude to vocational training in society”.

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