Our Sources

Links of pictures:

• https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/overeducation-poses-questions-over-skills-gap-pay-and-productivity/

• https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/overeducation.html?sortBy=relevant

• https://www.pexels.com

Number of graduates graph:

• 1963: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1968-12-16/debates/d48bd4f5-6df8-4e47-ab49-ee41a8bb1ccd/Full-TimeUniversityStudents 

• 1992-1998: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04252/SN04252.pdf 

• 2006-current: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/publications/students-2006-07/introduction

Benefits of education:

• better health: https://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp106595.pdf?utm   

• increased happiness: https://webspace.qmul.ac.uk/fcornaglia/blanchflowerOswald.pdf  

• safer communities: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014292122000940?via%3Dihub 

Degree Value Calculator:

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/undergraduate-degrees-lifetime-labour-market-returns   (data tables)

University search bar

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/undergraduate-degrees-lifetime-labour-market-returns   (online appendix)

• https://www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/journey-million-why-we-need-plan-now-anticipated-surge-demand-higher-education 

• https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis 

• https://ifs.org.uk/education-skills 

• https://www.oecd.org/unitedkingdom/getting-skills-right-united-kingdom-9789264280489-en.htm 

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-18-review-of-education-and-funding-independent-panel-report 

• https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/graduate-labour-market-statistics 

• https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/over-qualification-and-skills-mismatch-graduate-labour-market_tcm18-10231.pdf 

• https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/work/trends/skills-outlook 

• https://www.ft.com/content/490b8aa2-99c2-497f-ab75-1f8c74215803 

• https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8749/

•  https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships 

• https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/graduate-labour-market-statistics 

• https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/what-and-where-study/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/apprenticeships-guide 

• https://www.allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk

• https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk

Overeducation:

• https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/adhocs/2492onslocalemploymentingraduateandnongraduaterolesbyqualificationandsectorbyukregion2023?utm 

• https://ifs.org.uk/news/increasing-concentration-high-skilled-jobs-london-means-graduates-elsewhere-cannot-fully 

• https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ft.com/content/f7b31c10-d0f3-4af2-a678-0a0bb8e235ab&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1741187046189649&usg=AOvVaw06t7qI8ctboEK434G6fhfp 

• https://www.ft.com/video/868f2461-236a-4fb6-b9b3-d2b7ed80347c?utm 

• https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/27/uk-faces-youth-jobs-crisis-as-number-of-neets-rises-to-almost-1m?utm https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/18/i-know-someone-in-a-warehouse-with-a-masters-degree-how-to-break-the-cycle-of-youth-unemployment 

Wage Premium:

• https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-labour-markets

• https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2021/01/how-does-earnings-advantage-from-tertiary-education-vary-by-field-of-study_60f20424/8a4b8f7a-en.pdf

• https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/03/which-countries-students-are-getting-most-involved-in-stem/#:~:text=With%20the%20exception%20of%20Germany,the%20U.S.%20and%20Brazil%2C%20respectively

• https://www.ft.com/content/570d23b3-d286-4cb9-a319-b49cc4056f52?accessToken=zwAGME4-I2AAkc9XDSOz0oZMudOjGbScxAVvUg.MEUCIEzH2SZl_5gdD9NMiuSv4VRib1GF3d6iZckrf9b3EqewAiEAv2r1zxESo2jIw0UvEsIFggsSAKngdvi6pv8E_t8vMmU&sharetype=gift&token=e6cc534e-9a78-4ccf-911d-f2156025f032

• https://www.researchcghe.org/policy/understanding-graduate-skills-demand-in-britain-through-the-work-people-do-new-evidence-and-policy-implications/#:~:text=The%20demand%20for%20graduate%20skills%20has%20risen%20in%20response%20to,signaling%20a%20more%20uncertain%20future

• https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20240821-1#:~:text=The%20overall%20employment%20rate%20of,%25

• https://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/aug/29/uk-graduates-struggle-job-market

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-secondary-threshold-the-secondary-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-rate-and-the-empl/changes-to-the-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-secondary-threshold-the-secondary-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-rate-and-the-empl

Low-skilled Trap:

• https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/lowandhighpayuk/2024#data-sources-and-quality

• https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-labour-markets#dataBlock-3f17ff73-e698-411d-b072-0d705dfcc3f5-charts

• https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/media/lancaster-university/content-assets/images/lums/work-foundation/UKInsecureWorkIndex2024.pdf

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trend-deck-2021-skills/trend-deck-2021-skills#projected-supply-of-skills-differs-from-employer-demand 

Employment rate by education: 

• https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/adhocs/2492onslocalemploymentingraduateandnongraduaterolesbyqualificationandsectorbyukregion2023?utm 

• https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-labour-markets#dataBlock-39110230-1c3b-4b59-a248-3051eedf9bc0-tables 

Unemployment rate by education:

• https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/timeseries/mgsx/lms 

• https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-labour-markets#dataBlock-9a385f2a-51a5-4df8-a164-1cee54298134-tables 

Graduate and Non-Graduate Salary:

• https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-labour-markets 

Regional graduate distribution:

• https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/adhocs/2492onslocalemploymentingraduateandnongraduaterolesbyqualificationandsectorbyukregion2023?utm  

Full-time employment rate by degrees, 15 months after university:

• https://graduatemarkettrends.cdn.prismic.io/graduatemarkettrends/Z0Sn968jQArT1SXd_what-do-graduates-do-202425.pdf 

Full-time employment rate by subject:

• https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/629ddf52d3bf7f0372734740/Apprenticeships_evaluation_2021_-_learners_research_report.pdf   

Regional apprenticeship distribution:

• https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiZjQwODk2NjYtMDkwMC00OGRmLTg5MGYtZjRkNzY4OTc0NjU4IiwidCI6ImZhZDI3N2M5LWM2MGEtNGRhMS1iNWYzLWIzYjhiMzRhODJmOSIsImMiOjh9 

Full-time employment by subject area:

• https://graduatemarkettrends.cdn.prismic.io/graduatemarkettrends/Z0Sn968jQArT1SXd_what-do-graduates-do-202425.pdf 

• https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/629ddf52d3bf7f0372734740/Apprenticeships_evaluation_2021_-_learners_research_report.pdf 

University vs apprenticeship enrollment:

• https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/08-08-2024/sb269-higher-education-student-statistics 

• https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7857/ 

• https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/2023-24 

• https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2022-23 

• https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2021-22 

• https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2020-21 

• https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2019-20