Make work part of study

Every student, no matter their degree, ought to undertake work experience,says David Blunkett.

Students today are increasingly applying for modern vocational courses, those related to information and communication technology. They want clear job prospects at the end of a degree. (In some cases they make mistaken choices, opting for courses where over-subscription and over-saturation have exhausted the market.) But the career prospects of students of humanities subjects are less clear. This is why I am trying to encourage universities to make more effort to bridge the gap with the world of work.

I am keen that we move to a position where every student is expected to undertake a minimum period of work experience. I am also keen that there should be a module within non-vocational courses related to enterprise, work and the potential for creativity. This might be a study module giving insight into the world of work or the opportunity for universities to offer more help in finding students employment during the holidays. In subjects such as engineering and business there are pilot graduate apprenticeships that integrate higher level study with work-based learning.

It is an important fact that, though it has only about 1 per cent of the world's population, the UK carries out more than 5.5 per cent of the world's research and has an 8 per cent share of world scientific publications and a 9 per cent share of world citations. But universities must recognise that the employability of its graduates and academic excellence are not mutually exclusive.

Indeed, if work experience is offered to humanities students, more people may apply to these courses. I have a deep love of history and believe it is vital that our universities continue to provide world-class academic study of subjects with less obvious practical application. Students who take such subjects often have a greater creative capacity than those who opt for narrower subjects. Many rightly see a history degree as more valuable than some media studies courses. Yet many students choose the latter because, rightly or wrongly, they see a clearer link to future work.

We have the lowest unemployment levels among newly qualified graduates in Europe. But there are worrying indications of unemployment and underemployment in some areas that suggest that universities must increase their efforts. Six per cent of graduates are unemployed six months after graduating. Last year, a third of graduates went into fixed-term or temporary employment. Many take more than a year to find permanent work. More graduates enter jobs previously filled by non-graduates.

At the moment we measure employment six months after graduation. This figure is used as an illustration of when students should be employed. We are trying to work with vice-chancellors to cut the number of unemployed graduates. After all, we are taking people with fewer skills back to work after six months through the New Deal.

Students and taxpayers make a substantial contribution to the costs of higher education. It is only right that individuals and society both see an appropriate return on that investment at as early a stage as possible in a graduate's career.

Some universities claim, quite rightly, that the status enjoyed by their institution means that their graduates have no difficulty obtaining employment appropriate to their level of qualification. But increasingly, opportunities will be in small and medium-sized firms. There are few resources here to support sophisticated graduate development schemes. Jobs are becoming more demanding, with many employers defining more rigorously what they need from graduates. Against this background I wonder how comfortable graduates with no experience of work will be. And how long will it be before they are able to perform to the full extent of their potential?

All this can be achieved only by working in partnership with employers - with local businesses as well as multinationals. Employers have their part to play by providing the work placements that will enable students to develop the work-based skills they tell us are essential. But if they are to do this in any number they need to be helped to understand the benefits a student on placement can offer.

None of this conflicts with the role of higher education to develop the potential of the individual or of ensuring that reflection and thought give rise to a more rounded and fulfilled individual. Scholarship and entrepreneurship should go hand in hand.

David Blunkett is secretary of state for education and employment.