UK moves to get rid of poor-value university degrees
Key Points
- Government to limit growth of poor-return university courses through new legislation
- SMEs offered £2,000 per apprentice under 25 from the autumn
- Franchised providers with 300+ students must register with the Office for Students
- Record £3.3bn apprenticeship investment, targeting 50,000 more young starts by 2029
- One in seven jobless young people hold a university degree, Milburn report found
The government will crack down on poor-quality university courses and shift funding towards youth apprenticeships under plans to end what ministers call a “degree by default” culture.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden set out the measures as part of a “new deal for young people”, framed around giving school leavers a clear choice between university and high-quality apprenticeships that lead to stable careers.
Ministers argue that too many young people treat a degree as the only route to success and end up working for qualifications that fail to deliver, while building up thousands of pounds in debt.
The government said the needs of this generation have been ignored by successive administrations as the world of work evolved around them.
The case for reform draws on Alan Milburn’s report, which found that around one in seven young people not in employment, education or training holds a university degree.
Ministers said the figure underlines the need to overhaul a higher education system that is no longer delivering the social mobility it once promised, particularly for working-class students.
Central to the plans is new legislation to limit the growth of courses with consistently poor returns for students at some providers. The government said the system must prioritise student outcomes over volume, and is working with the Office for Students, UCAS and sector partners to make information on course outcomes and wage returns easier for prospective students to access.
Targeted maintenance grants for students from low-income households studying in priority areas will be reintroduced from 2028/29.
Franchised provision is a particular focus. Under new rules, franchised providers with 300 or more franchised students will have to register with the Office for Students or lose access to student loan funding, in a move ministers say will tighten oversight and accountability.
Phillipson said abuse of the system would not be tolerated, particularly where franchised courses fail to provide good value for students or taxpayers.
On apprenticeships, the government will offer small and medium-sized businesses £2,000 for every young apprentice they take on who is under 25, alongside paying the full training cost, from the autumn.
The government is making a record £3.3bn investment in apprenticeships this year and has set an ambition of 50,000 more apprenticeship starts for young people by 2029. That would reverse nearly half of the 40% decline in apprenticeship starts among 16 to 24-year-olds recorded over the past decade.
