To think people are overeducated in the UK?

[Watdidusay]

I am raging about this too be honest and I'm not sure why.

One of the mums at the school apparently lost her corporate job 8 months ago. Found this out today when I ran into her in Lidl in the next town - she was working as a manager there.
We ended up talking later in the day and turns out four of the staff there have masters degrees or above (one has a PhD). Apparently this is a common thing people are doing now as they cant get jobs in their fields
AIBU to think we are completely over educating people in this country now?

Feeling angry I think as DS (18) tried so hard over the summer to get a job like this but am finding out now they are all being taken up by people with lots of degrees!

Feeling angry I think as DS (18) tried so hard over the summer to get a job like this but am finding out now they are all being taken up by people with lots of degrees!
Is this yet another ageist post? "How dare older people have houses or jobs that the younger generation want!! They should all do the decent thing and book themselves into Dignitas."

Yabu but also the jobs market is the issue on this one.

I need to make myself clear

I did not mean my son should have a managerial job at Lidl. I just think it's so strange that young people who have not yet received full education are now competing with very educated people for retail jobs when before these were jobs we would do as we working our way up in the world. I do not understand why you need a PhD in mathematics to work in Lidl (yes that's what the PhD is in - not what I would consider a "Mickey mouse degree" but maybe I'm wrong).

I am not criticising the mother for taking that job. I think good for her and it seems to be working for her for the time being (she was a regional director in a multinational company).

I just find the whole situation very strange.

What is strange though? There were more people better qualified than your son, the degree may or may not be relevant.

I dont think we are an overeducated nation-quite the opposite. Far less skilled per capita than China, for example. There is a poor fit between industry need and degrees offered. Universities don’t have a vested interest in what degree you take. Sometimes they don’t care. Workforce need is slow to gather and filter through the system, and most often individual students don’t get to hear about it. I have astounded prospective students I’ve met by suggesting they check a courses destination data. Also destination data is poor, as it’s often gathered too early after graduating for a student to make useful judgements about it.

what are the correct attributes?

I think under-education is more of a problem and lack of skills for many roles.

An educated society is a good thing.

We are under educated compared to other European nations - the problem is lack of growth, we don’t have the new jobs markets emerging that we need

My friend worked for Lidl and thought they treated their staff appallingly. No matter how much work they did, the company always demanded more, more more.

I think Brexit briefly tilted the employment market in favour of employees, but in the long-term, it's had a chilling effect on the economy, so now there are fewer opportunities for all of us.

Also this

I just think it's so strange that young people who have not yet received full education are now competing with very educated people for retail jobs when before these were jobs we would do as we working our way up in the world.
Times have changed. Tell him to look elsewhere, where self-service / robots / AI will not take the jobs e.g. the trades.
At that age my DS was serving in a sandwich bar, doing Deliveroo type stuff, labouring in Construction, etc

That’s why they don’t check it! It’s useless info. I think it should follow grads through 20 years or more.

You don't think it's a huge waste of skills? 3 of the staff with masters are not managers, just shop assistants. It's tens of thousands of pounds of debt to end up working as a shop assistant. Why are the degrees and debt necessary?

I'm surprised other people don't find this strange. Maybe I'll just keep my mouth shut 😅

I used to work in one of those universities looked down on for not being RG, offering some degrees that fall into the Mickey Mouse cliche (alongside many vocational and traditional degrees) and for attracting many students with lower Alevel/Btec results.
A lot of our students were first to uni, often from within a 100 mile or less radius. They learned critical thinking, research and verbal and written presentation skills. They learned to love learning. Some flew, Masters and PhDs at RG/Oxbridge, many went into the jobs they had trained to do alongside their degrees. Some went home. To villages and towns with high unemployment and dearth of graduate jobs. By all monitoring standards they were failures. But were they? They were the first in their family to go to university, they had stepped out of their comfort zone and place, they learned skills and experiences that they will pass on to their children. They are social mobility in action and we won't see the real proof of the opening up university experience until we see their children's educational outcomes. It's a long term game and I am so proud to have been part of it. Otherwise who is university for? A few deserving first to universities and the middle classes?
Oh, and those Mickey Mouse degrees? The uni I worked in were one of the first to offer them and those graduates were poised when the media and sports worlds changed. They are doing very well for themselves.
Education should be for everyone who wants it. We need more of it, bringing back Adult Education, ensuring everyone who wants it has the opportunity to learn and grow.

What degrees are your kids applying for @Ukefluke? And what careers are they interested in?

👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼

Because a lot of people want an education, this can be totally separate to how they choose to earn a living. Many many people do degrees and masters because they love learning and the subject, not because they have a career in mind.

I do not understand why you need a PhD in mathematics to work in Lidl

You don't in theory, obviously, but jobs for such qualified people are thin on the ground (have you been following what Labour are doing to universities and education?) and they need to work. Come on, you know this.

Because obviously these people didn't EXPECT to be working in lidl as shop assistants...

Your child did not miss out on a job because of this woman. If she was working the till or stacking shelves, maybe.

Managing a supermarket is, I would imagine, quite a complex job needing high level skills and mosty likely some type of degree, although I am sure it is also possible for e very bright and hard working 18 year to eventually work up to it over several years.

It's pointless having any qualification unless you have a clear idea of what you are going to do with it. What profession to you want to follow, are there going to be jobs you can actually apply for, is it worthwhile doing it in terms of the cost of taking the qualification and the salary. I worked with so many people who had degrees but hadn't thought about any of that. What they did have were fairly substantial student loans.

Once they’re doing Masters and PhDs they’re funding it themselves so they’re educating themselves not being educated by an amorphous lump you call “we”, so I don’t think it’s any of your business.

Isn’t your son the unemployed one here? So your argument isn’t really standing.

Unemployment is going up that needs to be addressed by the gov. I’m sure each would prefer to use their skills.

I think you are thinking about it backwards. You don't need degrees or debt to get these roles. People are settling for applying for roles they are overqualified for as there are no roles available in their chosen field.