The university promise was a lie - and it’s bankrupting a generation

The tale was told by politicians, teachers and universities and it became an accepted truth. Clinging to that lie badly harms our young people and all of us via a damaged economy.

This summer the University of Sunderland ran an advert declaring: “Students who choose university will earn more.” That’s just not true. The statement might have been accurate fifty years ago when far fewer went to university and the average graduate did earn more than their peers. But today, that message is certainly false and is being told by those with a financial incentive to mislead – this is a case of mis-selling.

The data tells the truth: Income Data Research finds that degree-level apprentices’ starting pay has risen by 31 per cent since 2018, compared with just 8 per cent for graduates and NFCE says that five years after completion, Level 4 apprentices earn about £33,800 a year more than graduates aged under thirty, who average £31,500. And while university students rack up debts of £50,000 or more, apprentices start earning from day one.

This certainly isn’t an attack on education. Universities can do enormous good for their regions and for Britain. But most now operate like sales machines, marketing glossy promises of success and wealth that are just untrue for most students. If a finance company made the same claims, the regulator would hastily step in and the media would be buzzing with outrage. I expect that one day soon, universities will face that scrutiny.

Every September, hundreds of thousands of teenagers are taken out of the workforce for three or four years to study courses with no connection to the jobs and skills Britain needs. Instead of earning, producing and paying tax, they’re building debt and propping up a flawed system. And while they sit in lectures, now and then, our economy is harmed by the lack of engineers, builders and technicians.

Politicians of all parties share the blame. They championed their local universities for their ‘investment’ while the truth is that they were merely throwing around a cocktail of public money and private student debt. The politicians worshipped the statistic that “50 per cent of young people now go to university” as if it were progress. It’s not. For most students it’s a waste of time that financially harms them and sells them a lie. The truth is that mass university attendance has weakened the workforce, reduced productivity and left millions poorer.

Universities themselves aren’t villains. I believe they’re fulfilling the mandate that politicians sent them and they certainly do some good, bringing £billions into the country from foreign students who pay a huge premium for the chance to earn a UK degree. But when the institutions repeat slogans like “Students who choose university will earn more,” they’re mis-selling to youngsters and encouraging them to take on huge debt.

It's time to stop pretending, for most university is no longer a gateway to progression and prosperity, it’s an expensive detour from the normal route into adulthood and earning a wage.

Britain should be building pride around apprenticeships, technical training and real-world work not loading teenagers with debt for degrees that don’t pay off.

Our economy will always depend on people to innovate, sell and make things, not just those who write essays about it: we need our institutions to instil more of these skills. If we want a richer, more balanced country, we need to stop mis-selling the university dream and start giving practical education the respect and the funding it deserves. This will make us all richer.

I think that we will soon see organised groups of graduates, each demanding a refund of the £thousands they spent to attend university. Every year that number will grow, so we need to take action now.

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Andy Preston is a former elected Mayor of Middlesbrough and is a private investor. He is also the chair of homelessness charity CEO Sleepout which he founded in 2013

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