One In Six British Workers ‘Overeducated For Their Job’

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/one-in-six-british-workers-overeducated-for-their-job-a6937221.html

Britain may have talent, but much of it is going to waste with many workers doing jobs beneath their education level, according to a new report.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that one of the reasons Britain lags behind its economic rivals in terms of productivity is that one in six workers are overeducated for their jobs.

This is especially true of younger workers. In the last three months of 2015, 22.5 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 were overeducated for their jobs compared with a national average of 16.1 per cent. Previous studies from the ONS have emphasised the high number of recent graduates stuck in non-graduate jobs such as bartending.

Dr John Philpott, director of the Jobs Economist think-tank, said: “It’s clear from these estimates that the UK is underusing a lot of talent, with women and part-time [workers] in particular employed in occupations for which they are overeducated.

“While such a waste of available skill was understandable during the recession, the generally upward trend toward increased overeducation since 2012 is worrying.

I definitely am, although for me I was interested in the subject and any employment benefit is secondary. Although I certainly wouldn't consider a degree now at the current cost.

[Si1]

Unaffordability of housing where the jobs are anyone? Stuck at home in Aberystwyth living with mum and working in the pub?

[LiveinHope]

It's not talking about public sector management, then

[dgul]

It's not talking about public sector management, then

I don't understand the report at all - in my experience it is the minority of people are correctly qualified for their job - mainly in vocational jobs and in high training requirement jobs like engineering. Most people seem to have degrees in weird subjects and then jobs in something completely unrelated - usually management or similar.

I can only think that the report can only be thinking of something like 'level of qualification' - so if a 'project manager'(say) has a degree that is okay, even if it is in classics (say). The right level of qualification is Prince2 (or whatever is flavour today) and that degree in classics is a complete waste of investment, other than it was the arbitrary tick that meant they got to interview.

[billybong]

"A new report".

How come it took them so long to work out the "overeducated" reason. The UK need not worry now that it has such talent analysing stuff - and so promptly.

Now how about they analyse all the other reasons why "Britain lags behind its economic rivals in terms of productivity" - something that has been regularly reported on for decades now (almost as if they like to repeatedly brag about it) but which never seems to improve. Maybe they might even do something to remedy it - one day. Of course the bankers, politicians and quite a few others etc etc etc still do ok out of it all staying exactly as it is

Edited March 18, 2016 by billybong

[ChewingGrass]

Unfortunately qualifications and ability are two different things, as others have commented on a certain level of education does not necessarily translate into an ability to function in a specific role to the desired level. Indeed the converse certainly also applies where once qualified many people do not want to function at that level for numerous reasons as quite often higher roles are quite often over pressured, stressful and unrewarding both intellectually and possibly financially as well.

[winkie]

Some of the brightest and well educated don't actually work for money.

[Noallegiance]

Such a mess of a 'report'.

Define an educated person.

Define a suitable job.

Define different kinds of clever.

Define people's changeable desires over time.

As per usual, the media seek to egg on the population with endless pigeon-holing and judgement based upon unquantifiable, indefinable and societally structured prejudice.

[shaunandelly]

But but..Tony Blair said that if you were a working class mong you only had yourself to blame for your cr*p job and cr*p pay because you didn't get an education.

[campervanman]

In the 1960's 10% went to university, now it is 40%. That makes todays young 30% more intelligent innit.

[MrPin]

Most people are. You do what has to be done for some money. Of course I could go for a "bigger" job and I might get it, but local suits me.

[SarahBell]

In the 1960's 10% went to university, now it is 40%. That makes todays young 30% more intelligent innit.

And there must be 30% more clever jobs for them.

[winkie]

...the same job you got at age 16 from leaving school now requires a good degree that takes a good three years and costs a few thousand pounds.....waste of time, money, quality work training and experience, they call it progress......progress for who?

[campervanman]

...the same job you got at age 16 from leaving school now requires a good degree that takes a good three years and costs a few thousand pounds.....waste of time, money, quality work training and experience, they call it progress......progress for who?

One in 10 leaving University lack skills in basic numeracy and literacy, young people in UK have lower skills than Polish or Spanish young people, todays 16-19 yo less knowledgeable than previous generations.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/28/english-university-students-further-education-oecd-report

Overqualified means having more bits of paper.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/oct/08/england-young-people-league-table-basic-skills-oecd

Edited March 19, 2016 by campervanman

[onlyme2]

One in 10 leaving University lack skills in basic numeracy and literacy, young people in UK have lower skills than Polish or Spanish young people, todays 16-19 yo less knowledgeable than previous generations.

One in 10 is not much, universities nowadyas are body shops they will take anyone with a pulse at the lower end so that statistic is meaningless if you are using it to compare with previous generations. They are in it for the money, so is the governement (via grought forward expenditure) and so are the banks.

Lower skills than spanish or polish - don't believe it, self slelective sampling and much of the smae issue as the original article - importing poeple with degrees to provide cheap labour for lower level jobs is not solution to anything and neither is pushing education in itself as all it does is raise the educational bar for the jobs that do exist - nothign has been imporved at all. Neither is pretending there is a skills shortage when in fact the situation is a cost of living issue and competitiveness and the only shortage is salaries at a globally competitive level.

[spyguy]

One in 10 leaving University lack skills in basic numeracy and literacy, young people in UK have lower skills than Polish or Spanish young people, todays 16-19 yo less knowledgeable than previous generations.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/28/english-university-students-further-education-oecd-report

Overqualified means having more bits of paper.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/oct/08/england-young-people-league-table-basic-skills-oecd

MY son's Y1 teacher has a English + Philophy degree from Keele.

Not sure what grade.

A friend works with her as a TA. The tales hse tales are stunning - her english is worse than an 8 YO. Cannot do basci spellings.

Cannot do simple addition + subtractions - the register + school meal calculation is always a drama.

[spyguy]

Problem with degree is that you have to be able to study something with a job at the end.

70% of degrees are non-vocation - Hello secondary school teachers of tomorrow!

Then you normally have to move to get a job.

70% of people tend to stay in the same local area.

There are very few who study something that gives them a good start on their first and are also willing to move.

Worse case at the mo - becasue Im getting in the neck from her Dad when I see him i nthe pub.

Friends daughter studied something like social work. I cannot remember the exact course title.

Shes 28 now. Finished Uni at 21.

She works parttime in the pub still.

Whats the point of her going to Uni I get asked all the time. You went and got a job. Whats she doing wrong?

I just dont know where to start.

[reddog]

Problem with degree is that you have to be able to study something with a job at the end.

70% of degrees are non-vocation - Hello secondary school teachers of tomorrow!

Then you normally have to move to get a job.

70% of people tend to stay in the same local area.

There are very few who study something that gives them a good start on their first and are also willing to move.

Worse case at the mo - becasue Im getting in the neck from her Dad when I see him i nthe pub.

Friends daughter studied something like social work. I cannot remember the exact course title.

Shes 28 now. Finished Uni at 21.

She works parttime in the pub still.

Whats the point of her going to Uni I get asked all the time. You went and got a job. Whats she doing wrong?

I just dont know where to start.

I thought with a degree in social work, you could be a social worker (personally I can't think of a worse job for me). If she studied social worker with a view to doing something else, she must be a bit dim.

Personally I studied chemistry and now work in I.T., although I enjoyed science at school / 6th form college, a decent careers teacher who actually understood how the job market worked and what the trends were, would have have easily talked me out of studying chemistry. I kind of regret not doing a dossy degree with loads of women on the course, and then ended up working in I.T. anyway (although to be fair, when I was in the UK I was a lot more numerate and aware of logical thinking than most of my colleagues).

Edited March 19, 2016 by reddog

[Si1]

Friends daughter studied something like social work. I cannot remember the exact course title.

Shes 28 now. Finished Uni at 21.

She works parttime in the pub still.

So she chose to study social work in 2006, a time when public sector professions were well paid and well supported by government.

Then graduated with her social work degree in 2009 just before the public sector bubble popped.

Doesn't sound like a degree replete with transferable skills for the growing private sector and commerce in general. She could just have been very unlucky in her timing.

If I was in her shoes I'd be much happier treading water in a pub job than selling my soul in a call centre. One day the government cuts will end and her degree will become in demand again, if she wants to use it.

[nnails]

When I went to unusual to study computers it was a waste. Learnt so much more at work but least I did not have to pay fees

[reddog]

When I went to unusual to study computers it was a waste. Learnt so much more at work but least I did not have to pay fees

unusual??!! Sounds like an unusual education!!

[StainlessSteelCat]

There's definitely something weird going on. So we are more educated than ever, but somehow the country cannot turn that into more wealth for all and productivity.

It's almost like someone is sucking all of the wealth out of the system, and encouraging us not to be productive.

[winkie]

There's definitely something weird going on. So we are more educated than ever, but somehow the country cannot turn that into more wealth for all and productivity.

It's almost like someone is sucking all of the wealth out of the system, and encouraging us not to be productive.

What does 'being productive' mean?......going to university, is that being productive? Or working hard, such as looking after YOUR children, growing and cooking YOUR own food, decorating, cleaning, doing voluntary work, helping friends and neighbours, or educating yourself.....how can productivity be measured?.....is being productive only something that someone is prepared to pay for?

[campervanman]

What does 'being productive' mean?......going to university, is that being productive? Or working hard, such as looking after YOUR children, growing and cooking YOUR own food, decorating, cleaning, doing voluntary work, helping friends and neighbours, or educating yourself.....how can productivity be measured?.....is being productive only something that someone is prepared to pay for?

That is a separate discussion, not to say it is not important but in the context of this thread maybe not so.

Productivity, or the lack of it is not always obvious in the context of what we used to call working hard. I live in France and believe me if you looked at the average Frenchman and compared him to the average Brit then there is no way you would say the Frenchman could ever be more productive. Look at French productivity though and compare in to that of the UK and guess who comes out on top, yes the French. It is not always about working harder, sometimes it is about working smarter. Unfortunately Brits are still largely stuck in the Protestant work ethic menatlity that says unless you are seen to be working then you can't be working. I liken it to the English football team who spend 90 minutes running around at 100 miles an hour mostly like headless chickens while Johnny foreigner uses half the energy focused in the right direction. Guess who wins most of the time.

[Si1]

That is a separate discussion, not to say it is not important but in the context of this thread maybe not so.

Productivity, or the lack of it is not always obvious in the context of what we used to call working hard. I live in France and believe me if you looked at the average Frenchman and compared him to the average Brit then there is no way you would say the Frenchman could ever be more productive. Look at French productivity though and compare in to that of the UK and guess who comes out on top, yes the French. It is not always about working harder, sometimes it is about working smarter. Unfortunately Brits are still largely stuck in the Protestant work ethic menatlity that says unless you are seen to be working then you can't be working. I liken it to the English football team who spend 90 minutes running around at 100 miles an hour mostly like headless chickens while Johnny foreigner uses half the energy focused in the right direction. Guess who wins most of the time.

I wonder how much the debt slave tendency buys into the Protestant will work ethic?

Cameron's pea brain quotes citing 'Working hard and buyung a house' notably avoiding any reference to achieving something of value. I guess that's just for the proles.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Si1