Tag: university

Britain’s growth strategy needs training boost, expert says

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Britain will struggle to boost economic growth without investment in training and skills but this sector of the economy is getting little help from the government, business expert Nigel Driffield told The Sentinel.

   Britain’s left-of-centre Labour government, elected with a strong majority in July 2024, is trying to lift people out of poverty and provide better public services without sharp rises in the tax burden. It is looking to faster growth to close that gap, but that strategy has failed to bear fruit so far. Gross domestic product grew at only 0.1 percent in the third quarter of 2025, down from growth of 0.3 percent in the previous quarter.

    Concerns about the cost of living, coupled with worries about immigration, have given the right-wing populist Reform UK party a strong lead in opinion polls.

   Manufacturing in Europe has been lagging the United States and China, fueling a rise in populism, as The Sentinel has previously reported. Productivity is particularly slow in Britain, according to Driffield, professor of international business at Warwick Business School. 

    “We have a major productivity problem in this country, much more than an employment problem. We have a lack of investment in capital, and lack of investment in skills.”

     Britain issued its closely-watched annual budget statement in late November, delivered by finance minister Rachel Reeves. The government has provided an extra 1.5 billion pounds to help employers train young people. However, such money is often diverted for use for higher-skilled workers, Driffield said.

    “Businesses send people on an MBA, that doesn’t necessarily address the lower skills problem.”

    For university students from poorer families, the government said it would reintroduce small student grants. However, its plans to charge each university a levy of £925 per student for most international students are a counter-productive measure, according to Driffield.

     “Can you imagine a situation where the government says, ‘we are going to put an export tax on Jaguar cars’? Name another sector where it would do that.”

    Driffield said the latest budget was mainly about lifting people out of poverty. The government finally removed an unpopular cap on child benefit for families with more than two children, introduced by the previous Conservative government.

   The minimum wage was also raised in the budget by 4.1 percent to £12.71 per hour. However, campaigners argue that the minimum wage is still not enough to live on.

    “A very high proportion of people on benefits are also in full-time work, because they are on very low earnings,” said Driffield. “We are effectively subsidising low-wage employers. That’s why I advocate for investment in skills. If people working full-time on the minimum wage are still eligible to claim benefits, that tells you there’s something wrong.”

     Income tax rates did not rise in the budget, in line with a promise by Labour in its manifesto. But the government announced a further freeze to the income thresholds above which people have to pay higher tax rates, effectively meaning higher taxes for many in the future.

      The extra three-year freeze will cost the typical worker £220 a year, according to a post-budget report from the think tank Resolution Foundation, which focuses on living standards. Most workers would be worse off than if Reeves had raised income tax by 1p instead, the Resolution Foundation added. 

    The High Pay Centre, a think tank for fairer pay, was also critical of the tax strategy.

    “Given the scale of inequality in the UK, the government would have been better served by increasing taxes on a banking sector turning in its most profitable results in decades, or via a wealth tax on the very wealthiest in our society,” High Pay Centre spokesperson Paddy Goffey said.

    At the same time, in addition to the latest minimum wage increases, businesses are still smarting from the government’s decision in the previous budget to require employers to make national insurance – social security – contributions for lower-paid workers.

     “It wouldn’t surprise me if we start to see some impact on employment, given the weakening labour market situation,” said John Forth, professor of human resource management at City St George’s, University of London.

   Driffield said the extra wage costs would be hard for employers in some sectors to bear, for instance in the hospitality industry. 

    However, higher employment costs for more skilled workers, such as lab technicians, could encourage more investment in training by employers, Driffield added.

    Britain is behind other countries such as France in productivity and growth, due to low levels of public and private investment, according to the British government’s own figures. Britain’s GDP-per-hour-worked has grown by 0.6 percent since 2010, compared with around 1.0 percent in France, according to a report from Britain’s prime minister’s office in 2025.

      “One of the big differences between the UK and France is that the French labour market is great if you are an insider,” said Driffield. 

“Business will invest in you, but getting in is quite hard. If you are a North African migrant living in one of those banlieues (outer suburbs of Paris), you are frozen out. In Britain, you have a labour market that is very good at getting people into jobs, but not very good in training.”

Which Students Does University Life Really Cater To?

Posted on by Jonathan

When I received my offer to study at a prestigious institution, The University of Edinburgh, I was overjoyed. Still am. I am incredibly lucky to study in the same place as brilliant academics, in a city immersed in culture and history, and to be able to live with my best friends. I will be eternally grateful for the opportunities I have come across here. However, I am almost equally aware that my journey within this university is starkly different from the majority of students — I have a part-time job, I do not have any contact in any large industry, and I cannot afford to financially juggle my food, shop, and additional fees. A phrase that often comes to mind is a well-known one: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”.


(Photo courtesy of the author)

From state school to uni

I grew up in a small town in North East England and attended state schools my entire life. I did not realize how defining this would be to my identity until I began to attend university. I am not claiming to have an “underprivileged” background or lifestyle: I have a happy family with a lovely home, pets, and yearly family holidays. Yet there’s no doubt that the school I attended has wholly defined my friendship circles, social activities, where I live, the societies I’ve joined, and, essentially, every aspect of university life. 

The varsity’s expenses — a paradox

The first reason for this is arguably the most obvious one: money. Rent prices in Edinburgh are notoriously high, and so the location and size of your flat — as well as who your flatmates are — are, of course, defined by what you can afford. Although notable, I suppose this is more of a universal issue rather than intrinsically linked to university life. What is more significant to the university is the extracurricular activities that are available to students. On paper, every student is entitled to join whichever societies or sports clubs they wish. Practically, this is not the case. 

To join most sports, students are required to pay for sports union membership, gym membership, club membership, kit or uniform, race or game fees, travel fees, and so on. But ultimately, this is not accessible to students of all economic backgrounds. I hear you ask, “But surely the university has done something to help with this?” My answer: “sort of.” I heard from my flatmate of something called the “Learning Opportunity Fund,” where the university would pay up to £350 to any student impacted by recent strike action. This money would provide financial aid to go towards certain opportunities, such as joining university sports clubs or unpaid internships. I thought to myself, “Fantastic! What a step in the right direction!” However, when I went to apply for this aid, I found that it was already closed, surprisingly the funds exhausted, meaning it was not made available even for a full semester. Here, I began to question how the funds could be exhausted when Sir Peter Mathieson, the Principal of The University of Edinburgh, has recently had his expenses for 2022/2023 published under Freedom of Information laws, exposing the fact that the university has increased their payments by £26,000 more than the sum of the previous academic year. This is meant for a range of different expenses, but arguably the most notable is spending £1,089  towards landscaping for Mathieson’s eucalyptus tree upkeep and some painting work. So how is it that the most elite members of the university receive five-figure sums in funding, but I am unable to join a sports club?

Loud whisper of stereotyping

The second experience that has stuck with me as a state school student is certain acts of discrimination. I recall, during my first year of university, a conversation I had with some fellow students. We were discussing topics such as which degree we’re studying, our A-Level subjects, and, by association, the school we attended. Upon revealing that I was state-educated, those students turned around and muttered, “She must have got into this uni on the inclusivity program,” and walked away. 

Based on this experience, I can see why so many students at prestigious, traditional universities experience imposter syndrome. Every day it becomes clearer that getting the same grades and attending the same university does not mend the strikingly obvious class divide in the UK, and that if you went to a state school your work ethic and academic ability are likely to be sneered at. Attending a lecture, tutorial, university event, or social occasion and feeling welcomed should be the norm rather than a privilege reserved for society’s elite. Why is it standard for my peers to be shocked when they have never heard of my school? Or to gasp upon learning that I did not pay for my primary and secondary education, but ended up in the same room as them, nevertheless? To clarify, I do not speak for all private school students here: I have many privately educated friends who aren’t bothered where I went to school. I also have no idea about the schools attended by other friends because it’s simply not on my agenda! But things like scholarly confidence and social engagement should not be conditioned by my education or social class; they should be influenced by my ability to dedicate myself to my studies and who I am as a person.

(Photo Courtesy of K. Mitch Hodge via Unsplash)

Need a little help here

My time at university has always treated me remarkably well, and I’m sure it will continue to do so. I’ll always be grateful for how lucky I am to attend such an elite institution, and I have, indeed, been presented with a range of opportunities, both academic and extracurricular. However, it is my inability to access these opportunities that separates me from a lot of the students here. I feel I speak for many students when I say it is remarkably frustrating to be denied opportunities due to the high cost of living and the university’s lack of financial aid. It must be noted that I truly love Edinburgh and that everyone at this university has worked hard to be here and to achieve their goals. 

However, when discussing students’ pasts and futures, it is clear that university culture embodies the UK’s class divide remarkably well. 


(Photo courtesy of the author)

It’s Okay If You Never Use Your Degree

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Students are told they need to go to college or will never succeed. 

I was also told this when I was in high school. 

I wanted to go to college, but this mindset scared me. 

I did end up getting a bachelor’s degree. In 2019, I graduated from Boise State University. I majored in media arts with a journalism emphasis, excited to be a journalist. After graduation, I applied to dozens of jobs in journalism. But I got slapped with rejections instead of landing a picture-perfect post-graduation position. Plus, journalism itself stressed me out. I realized I didn’t want to do it full-time. But journalism was a big part of my major and coursework, so I felt obliged to continue pursuing it.   

I felt pressured to appease society and family by using my degree. Maybe one day, I’ll have a job in journalism. But I’m not actively pursuing one. Now I enjoy my job that doesn’t even require a degree. I’m no longer giving into the pressure.

The pressure to pursue

I believe a degree is absolutely worth it for those who want one. But at 18, we are told to either choose the right subject to study or be ready not to make much money. The journey from college to career is portrayed as a linear one. There’s a perception that one’s career path is determined solely by what their degree is in. 

A street sign against a sunset.
(Image courtesy via Javier Allegue Barros via Unsplash)

But from my experience, I’ve found that the value of a degree is a spectrum. Even though my job isn’t related to my degree, I still find plenty of worth in my studies. It may not be the worth people typically expect, but that’s nothing a change in perspective can’t solve.

Through introspection, I found happiness outside of the confines of my degree’s subject matter. Plus, it’s not the piece of paper that matters most. It’s what we learn while working toward it.

The hidden value of a degree

Attending classes, reading textbooks, and completing assignments are valuable. The diploma itself won’t display the years of our late nights and the best and worst memories. The degree is about more than what we studied.

Working toward that degree built lifelong skills. These include teamwork, critical thinking, communication, adaptability, problem-solving, and more—skills needed in the workforce. Using them means that the degree is being used, regardless of whether or not the name of the degree fits the job description.

So, even without a career related to the degree, those interdisciplinary skills are being implemented in that career or job search every day.

Finding joy in life is important, and a dreadful job won’t help that. I followed the path of passion, not the narrow one society expects everyone to go down. Getting a degree is an accomplishment in itself. It’s not a stepping stone to a potential accomplishment. As students, we learn life skills we can bring to every facet of our lives. 

And more importantly, during the short lives we have here, we learn more about the world and ourselves.

How To Bid Adieu To University: My 4 Tips For Navigating Your Return to The Real World

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How often in your life have you closed your ears to the cliché “time flies” and prefer instead to throw yourself into the “having fun” part? Never does that expression feel more true than when you find yourself standing on the precipice of the end of your time at university.

“How can you possibly be at this point already? What have you been doing? What happens next?” When you graduate, thousands of questions flood your mind, threatening to overwhelm you and drown any joy you might feel at having reached this point. 

I recently completed my studies in Classics at the University of Cambridge in the UK, and as my final days there approached, I had my fair share of these doubts and anxieties. However, I was determined not to allow them to outshine the joy that should accompany graduation. After all, it was a huge achievement! 

Nevertheless, it’s undeniably hard to say goodbye, especially when the future feels a little hazy. I kept smiling by reminding myself of the concrete positives of everything that was happening: I was receiving my degree, I was celebrating with my friends, and I had so many wonderful memories to look back on. 

During my time at Cambridge, I wrote as an advice columnist for a student paper. Here is one sort of question often submitted to the column: “How do I cope with the mixed feelings and confusion that come with leaving university?” 

I had the idea of writing this guide to navigating this situation not only because I wanted to reflect upon my own experience, but also because I wanted to provide a helpful and comforting resource for others going through the same thing. So, here are my four tips for navigating your return to the real world, from one graduate to another.

Take a trip down memory lane

I believe one of the best ways to anchor yourself in this sea of uncertainty is to journey into your past. 

I’m nostalgic by nature. In my final months, weeks, and days of university, I was constantly reminiscing about the slightest things, reminding my friends of meaningful moments and revisiting the ridiculous number of special spots in the city which had dominated the last four years of my life. It felt as though we were constantly attempting to squeeze in another goodbye: one last brunch in Murray Edwards Dome, one last trip up Castle Mound, one last glimpse of the punts as we crossed Clare Bridge.

(Image courtesy of Lucy Swanson)

I became hyper-aware of just how beautiful my walk home from the town center was. I couldn’t help but smile at the blue and white crockery and generous greenery in shop windows as I meandered across my beloved Bridge Street.

So why not pause for a second and look back? Scroll through your camera roll, head out to that one particular place, and laugh at the silly things you’ve said and done. Your memories are proof of all that has passed. They show that while the years may have flown by, you have filled them with fun. They are the perfect place to turn to for comfort when you’re panicking about where all that time has gone. 

Remember reality

This may seem like an odd point to make, having just suggested that you spend some time wallowing in your past. However, it’s really important to find a sense of balance. 

(Image courtesy of Rosina Griffiths)

For me, this meant leaving university-related Facebook groups and group chats that made it difficult for me to move on properly. This didn’t equate to cutting myself off from people, it just made it easier to turn the page to the future. Making the decision to remove myself from writers’ groups for student papers was a wrench, but it also drove me to send my words out into the wider world. 

Your university community will always be there for you to come back to and the friends you made are a phone call or a visit away.

Remembering your journey is vital, no matter what the experience. But if you’re experiencing your last days at university, make sure you’re living them as they’re happening. Stay present and make the most of this time. You can immerse yourself fully in your memories in those first few days after you’ve left. After that, though, prepare to embrace the next chapter.

Make moving out fun

It can be quite hard to grasp the fact that you really are leaving. There’s nothing that can symbolize the truth of your departure better than the act of moving out. 

You’re taking your fairy lights down from your apartment or dorm, your books are back in the library, and you’re packing up your clothes. This really is goodbye. Making moving out into a big deal is a good thing in that it helps you to come to terms with the reality of your situation, but it is a shame that it has to make you feel blue. 

Why not take steps to turn it into a joyous occasion? I didn’t end up moving all my things out of Cambridge until several weeks after term had ended. Leaving still didn’t seem real to me. My mum and I decided that we might as well make the most of it, seeing as we had to make the trip down from North Yorkshire. 

Once everything was all sorted, we had a lovely evening watching the world go by from the Cambridge Wine Merchants, before wandering along King’s Parade with a Jack’s Gelato.

(Image courtesy of Victoria Heath via Unsplash)

Moving out was undeniably sad, but marking it properly allowed me to acknowledge and validate my feelings; it felt like a true celebration of the last four years. So, schedule an afternoon, or even a whole day for packing up – anything that will help you avoid a panicked, angry, sweaty rush as you try to cram everything into the car while you get berated for your obscene amount of belongings.

Get organized and plan a treat for you and whoever is helping you. Seize this opportunity to spend some more time enjoying yourself in your university city. Bring your time living there to an end with a smile on your face.

Give yourself a break

A huge part of what can make leaving university so difficult is the expectation that you immediately know what you’re going to do next. This is often very far from the truth. 

Remind yourself that getting through your finals and revision and handing in that dissertation is more than enough. The future can wait, and you’ll be glad that you focussed on those things when you did. 

Give yourself some breathing space after leaving. You’ve just completed a degree; you’re probably in need of a rest! 

I was fortunate enough to go on holiday almost as soon as I had completed my final year. It was exactly what I needed. I was able to embrace my brief freedom from work, to relax and enjoy the sights and experiences of the present moment. Taking that break allowed me to clear my mind, and I returned home ready for the next challenge.

When you feel up to facing the future then it is time to get that laptop open and begin searching for your next steps. Feeling refreshed, energized and confident will make that world of possibilities seem pleasantly exciting rather than pressurizing. The right thing for you will come along. 

Good luck to everyone coping with the thought of leaving university, whatever stage of the process you’re in. Hold fast to your memories, be proud of all that you have achieved, and look forward to what your future might bring.