British Graduate numbers plummit

Goonerboy


Joined: 01/04/2009
Posts: 723

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 07:42

Britain has slipped from third to 15th in a table of countries ranked by their rates of students gaining university degrees.

It now trails the likes of Iceland, Slovakia and Poland, with one union saying the country has ‘gone from being a major player to a relegation candidate’.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development claims that the UK used to be at the ‘forefront’ of higher education finance and provision, but no longer has that ‘competitive advantage’.





These are the top 15 countries producing graduates in the developed world, according to the OECD:

1 Finland (63%)

2 Iceland (57%)

3 Slovakia (57%)

4 Poland (50%)

5 New Zealand (48%)

6 Denmark (47%)

7 Ireland (46%)

8 Portugal (45%)

9 Netherlands (41%)

10 Norway (41%)

11 Sweden (40%)

12 United States (37%)

13 Czech Republic (36%)

14 Israel (36%)

15 United Kingdom (35%)

Goonerboy


Joined: 01/04/2009
Posts: 723

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 07:44

OECD spokesman Andreas Schleicher said taxpayers in the UK benefited ‘very significantly’ from their investment in higher education.

He said: ‘Cutting in education today means you’re cutting tax income in the long term.

‘For many years the UK was very much at the forefront





There's an important message here for policy makers in all parts of the UK: competitor nations are making substantial investments in order to equip large numbers of their young people with the graduate level skills which will be critical in attracting global investments and generating economic growth over the next twenty years.

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 11:49

The UK is already a third world country. Can it get any lower?

yrret


Joined: 17/08/2010
Posts: 761

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 12:02

I guess McDonald's will just have to lower their recruitment requirements.

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 12:12

The ratio of university graduates to the total population is very misleading. TRNC could well come at the top of the list but the all important measure for me is quality rather than quantity. Sometimes I meet university graduates in electrical engineering who have barely digested Ohms law.

ismet

YFred


Joined: 06/05/2009
Posts: 1471

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 12:19

If this increase in fees goes ahead, I suspect we will be 22oth on that list.

measey


Joined: 07/02/2009
Posts: 1037

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 12:26

Yfred . i have to agree the increase should not go ahead, but the Demos this week wont help as it makes it easy for the Goverment to implement them on the back of public opion .



Measey.

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 12:30

Hopefully, we might get more plumbers and electricians. There are some UK degrees which are of very questionable quality and/or relevance. It used to be that tertiary education could be for self enhancement etc. but can the UK afford such a luxury in these austere times?

YFred


Joined: 06/05/2009
Posts: 1471

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 12:41

We really cannot control what people wish to do. They will do what ever interests them. After all they do have to enjoy it do they not?



This reminds me of the Local landlord incident. One of his workers went to see him to get permission to send his son to university. The landlord commented "Why do you want to send him to university, if he goes there he will become my secretary, if he doesn't he will become my shepherd".



Fortunately we have moved on since these times to what you call democracy and I call 5 year dictatorship.

TopTen


Joined: 15/04/2009
Posts: 1246

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 14:51

Probably they all stumbled on learning their 2 times table entry exam.

measey


Joined: 07/02/2009
Posts: 1037

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 14:58

Sloan. The uk is Crying out for qualified Plummers Etc, but there is nothing invested in a old Fashioned Apprenticeship, the Country is Hell Bent on imports not good Quality British Products.



Measey.

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 15:29

Ismet

'Sometimes I meet university graduates in electrical engineering who have barely digested Ohm Law'

They obviously have a 'resistance' in the 'current' climate to getting anywhere near 'Volts'.

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 19:11

Very good AJ. When I was recruiting young electrical engineers I had a simple test for them to see if they could eventually give me the right answer with some help from me but most were hopeless. The test was this: I had a 12 volt 45 W car lamp connected in series with a 240 volt 100 watt household lamp and connected it to standard plug. My question was this: Would it be safe for me to plug it into a normal household socket? Most would say "Don't, the car lamp will blow up". What do you think?

ismet

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
13/11/2010 19:47

Dave. A 'positive' response. )

andrew4232



Joined: 04/07/2009
Posts: 1543

Message Posted:
14/11/2010 01:26

well what do you expect