I have four kids, all of whom have recently been to university. This is despite that I knew that the jobs they were likely to end up in would likely have nothing to do with their degree subject, that they were more than capable of performing well in the workplace if given a chance aged 18, and that the student loans would be a burden they could do without.
But the system that our boomer generation has created over the last 30 years of mass higher education, involving drastically rising participation rates, meant that just like most of their peers they didn’t really have much choice about it. Unless they fancied being a builder or a plumber, then there didn’t seem much for them in the job market beyond working in retail, hospitality and so on.
All around them their teachers, parents, media, politicians, are telling them that going to university represents success. And university looks like good fun. The chance to move out away from your parents is sold as a rite of passage – and it isn’t a hard sell. It certainly looks more appealing than working full time, and crucially employers are increasingly making even the most basic trainee jobs graduate-only, so there aren’t any other options open to them anyway. So, of course, my four kids all went to university.
