More jobs require a degree than no qualifications

THE proportion of jobs requiring a degree has reached an all-time high, according to research.

The study revealed that while a degree is becoming increasingly essential, there are fewer jobs available for which no qualifications are needed.

The latest Skills and Employment Survey, which polled more than 3,000 workers aged between 20 and 60, concluded that for the first time, there are more jobs that require a degree than no qualifications at all.

The six-yearly study, which was first published in 1986, looked at employment trends over time. The new findings showed that in 2012, just over one in four (26 per cent) of jobs required a degree, up from one in five (20 per cent) in 2006.

And just under one in four (23 per cent) of roles require no qualifications, a fall from 28 per cent in 2006. “At no time in the 1986-2012 period have falls and rises of these magnitudes been recorded,” the survey said.

Researchers found that the proportion of jobs for which intermediate qualifications are needed had “barely changed”.

And many of those surveyed argued that degrees are now vital for many jobs.

Three quarters of those who responded to the survey who said that new workers would need a degree to get the job also said a degree was “essential” or “fairly necessary” to do the work.

The report also suggested that fewer graduates are now in jobs for which they are over-qualified. The over-qualification rate fell from 28 per cent to 22 per cent between 2006 and 2012.

“Although mismatches remain quite high, this turnaround may signal more effective use of qualifications at work by employers,” the survey said

Professor Francis Green of the Institute of Education said: “Employers in Britain have been slow to take up the swathes of better qualified workers, but now they are starting to wake up to the use of graduate labour.”

The study was led by the Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES) based at the Institute of Education.

A separate poll published by totaljobs.com found many graduates were spending months looking for work, and some were forced to claim the dole.

The survey, of around 562 people, found that more than a third (34 per cent) have claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance since graduating from university.