Q&A: David Caldwell on the credit crunch and graduate unemployment

Published on Monday 12 January 2009 21:14

The director of Universities Scotland discusses the problem graduates face in finding jobs this summer, after many large banks and companies revealed they were cutting graduate recruitment schemes due to the economic downturn.

Do you believe the graduate jobs market will be tougher this year?

The economic downturn has made it difficult for all those seeking employment in a wide range of areas.

Overall, the employment prospects of graduates will remain significantly better than non-graduates.

The employability of our graduates is of fundamental importance to all universities and they have developed many support and advice structures so that all graduates are well equipped in the labour market.

Is the situation not made worse by the fact there are too many graduates already?

No. If you look at the percentage of graduates in the workforce, Scotland is on a par with England.

Graduates from our universities will not only work in fields such as medicine or teaching, they will go on to create the industries of tomorrow in areas like renewable energy or biotechnology.

Is it still worth students getting a degree, given the expense and time it takes?

Educational qualifications are for life and will set graduates up for a wide range of jobs over the course of their time in employment.

Overall, those with a degree are likely to earn more than non-graduates and more likely to be in employment than those without.

How important for Scotland's economy is producing well-educated graduates?

Evidence suggests countries with a strong supply of highly-skilled graduates will recover more quickly and more successfully from economic recession once the downturn is over than countries with lower graduate numbers. Not only that, many of the industries Scotland will rely on in the future will be fuelled by highly-skilled graduates.