Almost a third of UK graduates are ‘overqualified’ for their work

Almost a third of UK graduates were overeducated for the work they were doing in 2017, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.

The figures show that 31% of graduates were overqualified for their work in 2017, and that the highest incidence of graduate overeducation was in the Arts and Humanities.

Moreover, in 2017 21.7% of those who graduated before 1992 were overeducated, whereas the corresponding figure for those who graduated in 2007 or later was 34.2%. Although, the overeducation rate for all workers, at 16% in 2017, is largely unchanged since 2006.

The ONS classifies those who are overeducated as “individuals whose highest qualification is above one standard deviation of the average level of educational attainment for their occupation”. They further clarified that a person is overeducated if “they possess more education than required for their job”.

Dr Maja Savic, an ONS economist, said: “While overeducation is more prevalent in recent graduates, it is also common for those who left university some time ago. Our findings show that people who studied arts, biology and humanities are the most likely to be overeducated.”

London had the highest proportion of overeducated workers in the UK, with about 25% overqualified for their job in 2017. The ONS suggested that this is due to high proportions of migrant workers. They stated: “Many foreign nationals working in the UK come to the country to improve their English, hence they may be willing to take a lower-skilled job.”

A reader of The Guardian responded by saying that this is “less a matter of overeducation and more one of undervaluing and prejudice in the employment market.”

Our findings show that people who studied arts, biology and humanities are the most likely to be overeducated

– Dr Maja Savic, ONS economist

They also stated that “the fact that many people in the first 10 years of their career have higher qualifications than their current job requires, is because it is rather early in their working lives to decide what skills they will need.”

Furthermore the ONS has revealed that the incidence of overeducation is higher for certain age groups, in particular for those aged 25 to 49 years.

“The relatively high incidence of overeducation for the 35 to 49 years age group indicates that overeducation is a persistent phenomenon in the UK labour market,” it said.

Marketing director for the UK, Ireland & Benelux at Monster, the recruitment company, told The Telegraph that “the latest ONS figures shouldn’t come as a surprise”.

“It has become far more common that people are keen to challenge themselves in a different career sector and will be encouraged to re-train to go down a new career path,” Mrs Goodman said.

“This has also become more commonplace due to the shifting skill sets and labour shortages in the workforce.”

The relatively high incidence of overeducation for the 35 to 49 years age group indicates that overeducation is a persistent phenomenon in the UK labour market

– Office for National Statistics

She added: “Indeed, people are no longer seeing a career change as negative but rather a challenge and something that can be used to reinvigorate their working life. Furthermore the rise of adult education could be one of the factors why it appears that this age bracket are over-educated.”

Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “Nearly two decades after Tony Blair decided that 50 per cent of young people should go to university, we find large numbers of graduates in non-graduate work.

“There was never any reason to think that the British economy required half the population to have degrees. The result is that we have a large and growing number of people who find themselves in jobs they could have got without racking up student debt.

“A whole generation has been sold a lemon by politicians who made claims about graduate work that could not be delivered.”