Tough times hit harder on a student budget. Hannah Charrington at Wiser considers what role employers can play in access to higher education.
Most of us have come across the idea of ‘the penniless student’. It might bring to mind someone with an old, holey, jumper, always short on money, snapping up a reduced offer at the supermarket, living in cheaper student accommodation, maybe borrowing from the bank of mum and dad…
With the rising cost of living crisis this romantic narrative is taking on a much harsher reality, and was a key discussion point at this year’s ISE Student Recruitment Conference.
The struggling student isn’t a romantic idea
Since March 2020, average private rent costs in Great Britain have increased by 26%, resulting in university students in England reporting that they have 50p a week to live on after rent.
Meanwhile, the overall price of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose around 25% between January 2022 and January 2024.
When you consider all of this together, it is clear why only 3% of students feel they have enough money.
Perhaps the starkest measure of the poverty that some students experience is the fact that 18% of students said they used a food bank in the last academic year, compared to 10% who said the same in 2022.
What’s the impact of this new reality?
After completing their summer assessment, young people need to decide what is next. Do they wish to stay in full time education? Begin work? Think about an apprenticeship?
With each of these options, the cost of living will be a factor in decision making, as well as the cost of education – is continued study a genuine option and what form will it need to take if it is pursued?
The rise of the commuter student
One way students are looking to lower the costs of college and universities is by becoming commuter students.
40% of Higher Education (HE) students in the UK are commuter students: students who continue to live at home while studying, rather than moving into student accommodation.
Of these commuter students, alongside navigating to and from their university, 70% said they were working alongside their studying in a recent Blackbullion study.
In between the lack of funding, cost of travel to and from classes and general cost of living, how many young people will be able to fully participate in further education full-time in coming years? And is further education really available to all?
Are apprenticeships the answer?
Apprenticeships are centered around training up students and equipping them with role-specific skills, with the goal of creating a new generation of practitioners for a particular profession.
Degree apprenticeships focus on enabling students to gain a full understanding of a particular field whilst achieving a full undergraduate or master’s degree alongside their work.
One of the particularly appealing elements of the apprenticeship for employers is the government subsidy that they come with, through the apprenticeship levy. The result is more than 750,000 people participating in an apprenticeship scheme last year.
Case studies from top rated employers across the country detail how apprenticeship programmes have benefited their business. Capgemini, was featured in a 2021 report showing that their apprenticeship improved employee morale, increased levels of client satisfaction, and provided long term value with a 95% retention rate of participants.
There are plenty of success cases to be found. The British Army obtains 95% of new recruits through the offer of an Army Apprenticeship, top consultancies like PwC and Deloitte use apprenticeships to fill the pipeline in harder to hire areas like Audit and Tech and to create a talent pipeline in regional offices.
With the government covering large training costs and results like those listed above, it can be tempting to think that apprenticeships are the answer to student cost of living worries.
Being realistic about the drawbacks
Unfortunately, life is rarely that simple. The most recent government figures on retention rates, show that 45.7% of apprentices didn’t complete their programme. The top three reasons people left were: the offer of another job; not enjoying the apprenticeship; and poor quality training from the provider.
A company thinking of setting up an apprenticeship is looking at making a significant investment in the programme set up, the time spent from managers bringing in more junior talent and cohort support given centrally.
Even with the government support provided, this is a very real cost – and the fact that on average only just over half of apprentices that you take on will complete is a worry.
Are there other ways companies can support education?
Setting up a full apprenticeship may not always be an option available to companies, or companies may want to look at other ways in which they can support young people to get the skills needed for the future workforce they are after.
Blackbullion Report looked at student money and wellbeing, asking students what support would have made a real difference to them over the last 12 months:
● Food or supermarket vouchers (52% of students surveyed wish their university had provided this over the past 12 months)
● Subsidised travel (51%)
● Award of a scholarship or bursary (49%)
● Award of funding from a student support fund or grant (49%)
● Financial education (49%)
If you are looking to encourage more students into education, or are trying to gain relevance with young people – offering food support, travel support or financial advice – is both a sought after and simple way of helping more people have access to education.
Apprenticeships have an important role in the creation of our next generation of talent, but increasingly employers should also consider where they could support more immediate needs of students through their study.
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