2012 University numbers dropped

We picked up on an interesting piece by UCAS, (the Universities and Colleges and Admissions Service) which confirmed that the:

“…number of UK-born university applicants for next September 2012 has dropped by almost 12%…”

This is clearly the result of fees having increased up to £9,500 a year.

Clearly the time has come for young people across the UK to re-consider going to university – and professional accountancy, marketing and management courses are well positioned to cater for this demand.

The 12% drop from 2011 arguably supports union leaders whom went on record to say that figures were proof that ministers’ decision to almost treble fees had been “a disaster”, while charities expressed concern that students from low-income homes may have been deterred from applying.

These UCAS statistics show the number of applications received by universities by 15 October, the deadline for Oxbridge and courses in medicine, dentistry, management and veterinary medicine, and are an early sign of the total across all courses in the United Kingdom.

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) has been the most vocal amongst professional industry institutions to have started to encourage school leavers to look beyond university. With rising university fees and rising (or a constant high level of unemployment) perhaps the time has now come for professional bodies like AAT and CIMA to flourish.

Employers like professional qualifications since (we think at least!) that they are more practical, more on-point, shorter to complete – and – can be studied part time.

Recent research commissioned by AAT estimates that 55 per cent of the class of 2011 are expected to be either unemployed or under-employed in jobs for which a degree is not necessary. In addition, the figures suggest in 2010 20 per cent of graduates in the North West were still unemployed six months after qualifying.

Jane Paul, chief executive of AAT, said: “With the average student debt estimated at £27,000 for a three year degree course and set to rise to £45,000 in 2012 we have to ask young people whether this is a good return on investment if there is no guaranteed job prospect at the end of it.”

We couldn’t agree anymore. How about you? Have you decided to seek a professional qualification rather than a more traditional academic route (with the associated high fees?) Let us know!