Commenting on the pledge by the Conservative Party, if it wins the General Election, that it would, in government, close some university courses to fund 100,000 apprenticeships per year, Dr Peter O’Brien, Executive Director of Yorkshire Universities, said:
“There should not be a competing choice between academic and vocational routes to improving skills, and increasing and expanding job opportunities. Creating a higher-skilled and higher-waged economy requires a range of different pathways. We need to grow the proportion of skills at all levels, and not simply cut specific high-level qualifications at the expense of others.
These proposals represent the latest attempt to crack down on so-called ‘failing’ courses. The independent regulator, the Office for Students, scrutinises universities on continuation and completion rates, and graduate outcomes. Analysis of the latest data on graduate outcomes, published last week, shows that, on average, graduate earnings rapidly overtake those of non-graduates, and that the earnings differential grows over time. This pattern holds true across all UK nations and regions, and especially for graduates from low-income areas. This is set against a background of structural inequalities and socio-economic disadvantages in regions, like Yorkshire, which ‘levelling up’ is intended to address.
Boosting the number of apprenticeships is a laudable ambition, which universities in Yorkshire have directly supported. Growing and sustaining the apprenticeship cohort requires wider and deeper employer engagement and participation, and this is what policymakers should be encouraging.”
