Transcript Higher Education Research

Higher Education Research
Year 13 Parents’ Information
Evening
14th Sept.2011
Options After A level
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Higher Education*
Employment
Armed Forces
Modern Apprenticeship
Gap Year
*majority of BHS pupils
The present situation
Difficult Economic Situation
For School Leavers
Increased competition for University places
Fewer recruiters of 16 – 18 age group
Government cap on university places (fines)
For Graduates
After some very lean years, increased recruitment
this year, but competition from last year’s
graduates.
Higher Education worthwhile?
• Higher earnings: up to £200 000.
• Better job opportunities
• Not all get ‘graduate’ jobs
• More well qualified people
• Upward shift in qualifications
• Degree is a necessity not a luxury
• Other qualities increasingly important
Higher Education worthwhile?
Financial Implications
Tuition Fees – up to £9000 for NI students in GB
£3,465 for NI students studying in NI.
Maintenance and other costs
Interest rates: max 3% above RPI
Investigate sponsorships, grants, etc
Is it worthwhile?
For most people here, probably ‘yes’, but don’t
reject the employment-based route to some
professions through large companies.
New financial arrangements
• Loans to study elsewhere in UK
• ROI no fees – refundable registration fee of
2000 euro.
• Repayments £540/year lower than at present.
• Approx. £30-£45/month
• Debts written off after 30 years.
• Pay when earning £21,000
• http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/stude
nt-loans-tuition-fees-change
Why Higher Education?
Purpose of Higher Education
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Gain academic qualification
Develop skills in process
Gain relevant work experience
Become involved in extra-curricular
activities. (‘Degree Plus’; HEAR).
• Develop personal qualities.
Why Higher Education?
Employers want:
• Good intellectual ability
• Problem solving and analytical skills
• IT skills
• Good communication skills
• Good interpersonal skills
• Ability to work with others – teamwork
• Flexibility / adaptability
• Understanding of strengths and weaknesses
What do graduates do?
After Graduation:
• Employment
• Postgraduate Study
• Graduate Training
Programmes
• www.prospects.ac.uk
• www.hesa.ac.uk
Graduate Employment
• Many enter professions relevant to their
degrees BUT many do not - eg:
Humanities and Social Sciences.
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Many proceed to further study/training
Others enter jobs unrelated to languages
eg: Administration, Management, Marketing, Sales
Graduate Employment – 2 sectors
1. Vocational
2. General
Over 40% of graduate jobs are open to graduates of any
discipline.
Three Decisions
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What to study?
Where to study?
How much will it cost?
Need to research and visit.
Stamford Test
Centigrade online
BHS sixth form portfolio
Open days
Which University?
• Location
(Ease Of Access)
• Academic Reputation
• Type
• Type of Course
• Assessment
• Size
• Accommodation
• Facilities
• www.unistats.ac.uk
(Quality of Teaching and Research)
(City, Campus, Technological)
(Vocational/Non-Vocational/Sandwich)
(Formal Exams, Continuous
Assessment, etc)
The Russell Group
• 20 major research-intensive universities
• Account for 65% of UK universities
research grant.
• Seen as elite – visited by blue chip
companies seeking to recruit.
• QUB proud to be a recent member.
Which course?
• Two decisions…
• 1. What type of qualification?
• 2. What subject?
Which qualification?
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2-year courses: HND; Foundation Degree.
Ordinary Degree, eg. BA
Honours Degree: single/with/joint?
Masters Degree, eg. MEng.
Sandwich degree.
What subject?
• Academic, similar to school subjects?
• Vocational, preparation for a career?
• 40%+ of graduate jobs – degree subject is
irrelevant.
• www.prospects.ac.uk
• Same subject may be different at different
universities – research details
• League tables.
Entry Requirements (UCAS)
• A and AS level performance is
expressed in 2 ways…
• Grades: 3 or 3.5 A levels
• UCAS tariff points: A* : 140pts; A:120pts;
B:100pts; C:80pts; D:60pts; E:40pts.
• AS grades are worth half of these totals.
Value in keeping 4th AS subject.
• University of Ulster uses a combination
Entry Profiles (1)
• Entrance grades/points are set by market
forces: the ratio between the number of
applicants and the number of places
available.
• High demand courses will need AAA-BBB
to get in.
• Grades here are inflated by the ‘N.I.
factor’:7000 students stay, 3500 go away.
Entry Profiles (2)
• QUB: average tariff points: 348 (A:120pts;
B:100 pts).
• UU : grade range; gathered field.
• Non-academic requirements, eg. work
experience, voluntary work, extracurricular activities, evidence of
transferable skills.
• www.ucas.com some courses display
entry profiles.
High Demand Courses
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Vary among universities
Find out no. of applicants per place.
Differentiation by:
A and AS level grades; unit grades.
GCSE grades
Personal statement
School reference
Admissions tests
Interview
Non academic selection criteria (entry profiles)
2010-11 Admissions Statistics,
Edinburgh University
College
Applicat Offers
ions
29,813 6,748
Hum &
Soc Sci
Med &
4,459
Vet
Sci & Eng 12,817
University 47,089
Accepts
2,204
Offer
Chances
22.6%
901
458
20.2%
5,188
1,140
40.5%
12,837
3,802
27.3%
Admissions Tests
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LNAT : some law schools.
BMAT : some medical and vet schools.
UKCAT: most medical & dental schools.
HPAT Ulster : UU professions allied to
medicine.
• HPAT Ireland: some ROI medical schools.
• And others.
ROI (www.cao.ie)
Grade
A2 points
AS points
A*
150
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A
135
65
B
120
60
C
100
50
D
75
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E
40
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Sources of Information and
Guidance – useful websites
• www.ucas.com – parents zone.
• www.ballyclarehigh.co.uk.
• www.tqi.ac.uk – to compare university ratings across a
number of indicators.
• www.push.co.uk
• www.prospects.ac.uk – graduate careers
• www.careers-portal.co.uk
• www.hesa.ac.uk
• www.unistats.co.uk
• www.yougofurther.co.uk - student-only community
website supported by UCAS. Tailored info; online chat.
• Like Ballyclarehighcareers on Facebook
Sources of Guidance and
Information - books
• Degree Course Offers (Brian Heap)
• The Times Good University Guide - also
at www.timesonline.co.uk
• The Guardian University Guide : see
www.education.guardian.co.uk
• The Virgin Alternative Guide to British
Universities.
• University Interviews Guide.
• UCAS parents guide.
Other sources of info
• University open days.
• UUJ Health Professions Insight Night: 19th
Oct. 6.30pm for 7.30pm.
• QUB Engineering Information Evening: 1st,
2nd or 3rd Nov.
• QUB Humanities Information Evening: 7th
Nov.
• QUB early open day: Sat morning in June.
An exciting journey
The ‘new world normal’… economic power
shifting East and South
Declining share of world GDP
amongst the G7 group of
countries (e.g. UK, US,
France, Germany, etc)
1990
= 69.4%
2010
2000
= 21.6%
= 63.0%
2010
2000
= 51.9%
= 13.5%
1990
= 7.0%
Has implications for language skills,
sectoral employment growth,
distribution of wealth, knowledge of
foreign markets, etc
Economic balances
shifting towards BRIC
economies (i.e. Brazil,
Russia, India and China)
High unemployment rates here
to stay • Unemployment
ROI, NI & UK: Unemployment rate
will not return
to prerecession lows
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Forecast
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10
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6
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ROI
NI
UK
0
1990
1994
1998
Source: Oxford Economics
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2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
– Subdued
employment
growth
– Welfare reforms
(push some
from inactive
into
unemployment)
– Public sector
cuts
– Growing
population
Areas likely to encourage growth
Northern Ireland: Total visitor spend
£mn
600
550
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Tourism
Care for elderly
Enviro-tech
Management / leadership
Advanced engineering
Food science
And yes – core support; skills
Business Services
Forecast
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
Source: NITB/Oxford Economics
Northern Ireland - Population aged 65+
000s
340
Forecast
320
300
280
260
240
220
200
1990
1994
Source: NISRA
30
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
Too few STEM graduates, too many
‘generalists’
UK regions: Business and Administration degrees in
employment (2007)
% total degrees
UK regions: STEM degrees (narrow definition) in employment
% total degrees
in employment
(3-year ma
2006-2008)
in employment
(3-year ma)
16%
28%
14%
26%
12%
24%
10%
22%
8%
20%
6%
18%
NI
SC
EM
SO
EN
SW
UK
NW WM WW
NE
YH
GL
GL
WM
SC
NI
Source: LFS, Oxford Economics
Source: LFS, Oxf ord Economics
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NE
SO
UK
WW
YH
EN
SW
EM
NW
What will the ‘new normal’ feel like for new entrants into
the Northern Ireland labour market?.…
• Fewer jobs – more competition
• Wages bid down – it may take longer save for deposits for homes
• More have to leave for GB or further afield (already seeing this in some
sectors) – how many of our young people could work in the BRICs?
• Fewer opportunities in traditional sectors – civil service, education, health –
too many doctors, nurses, teachers – will this come as a shock? It should not
• Risk of under-employment
• Frustration if students feel they have not been given good career advice or
have been ‘failed’ by education system
• Still high employer demand for areas NI good at – ICT, medical research,
finance – and decent wage returns in these sectors – but interest in ICT has
fallen sharply
• And demand across the skills spectrum
• Risk of skill supply shortages in niche areas NI could be good at –
environmental technologies, computer gaming – lost investments
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Not what it was like for the ‘baby boom’
generation
• Very different from the ‘baby boom’ generation of the past
– Baby boomers collectively own close to £500bn of the UK's
assets, which is four-fifths of the entire nation's wealth.
– On average, young people owe £9,016 in personal debts
excluding mortgages or their share of the national debt, which is
currently £2.2 trillion.
– As young adults, baby boomers had a fantastic start in life, with
free education, paid apprenticeships, good pension provision and
work contracts that lasted an average of 10.4 years.
– Today's youngsters become adults with an average of £20,000 in
student debt and struggle to find jobs that last an average of 15
months.
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Key Messages
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Be the best at whatever you do!
Core, transferable skills are key
Beware, boom, busts and ‘trends’
International business will be key
– Languages, markets, selling, interaction skills
• Specialism vs generalist
• Do not stigmatise courses (computer games,
agri-food, and elderly care are examples)