Graduate Over-Education in the UK

The UK has been the theatre of a dramatic shift in the production of graduates; during the past decade the proportion of a cohort attending tertiary education has increased from less than 15 % in 1985 to more than 33 % 10 years later. However, doubts have been raised whether the demand for graduates has kept up with the supply. Furthermore, claims have been made that a large proportion of graduates are employed in “sub-graduate jobs”, that is graduates are over-educated for the tasks required to do their job. Over-education would indicate that a tremendous amount of public money is wasted subsidising higher education. Thus, estimating the extent and effect of over-education is important, especially at a time when the debate on the financing of higher education is raging. Widening participation in education may lead to an increase in over-education for various reasons. Employers faced by a more qualified pool of candidates may have upgraded some traditionally non-graduate jobs. Alternatively they may recruit graduates for jobs that have basically stayed the same and do not require graduate skills, or as educational standards are commonly suspected to decrease over-time, upgrade their qualification requirements to select candidates with the appropriate skills. Moreover, the increased participation in tertiar