Every undergraduate to get work-based learning experience

English universities and employers have agreed on a plan to provide work-based learning experience for every undergraduate.

The Future Jobs Roadmap, published by Universities UK (UUK) with support from Pearson and the British Chambers of Commerce, sets out a series of practical steps for universities, business and governments should take to improve support for getting graduates into work.

The plan would ensure that the 1.4 million undergraduate students studying in England each year in the 2030s benefit from work-based learning as part of their degree.

The recommendations include provision of lifelong career support and regionally based graduate schemes for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The aim is to strengthen the UK’s skills pipeline, improve the route into employment for graduates and drive economic growth, as the labour market changes.

The plan comes at a pivotal moment for the economy, as the government develops its ten-year plan and industrial strategy, and was drawn up in consultation with 200 employers and with the help of insights drawn from a survey of 500 business leaders.

While graduates are far less likely than non-graduates to not be in education, employment or training (NEET), the overall number of NEETs recently passed one million for the first time and is a priority issue for the Labour government under its new prime minister, Andy Burnham.

However, 88% of new jobs are expected to be graduate level by 2035, the report says.

Lack of work readiness is considered the central gap that has to be filled, and it is a moving goalpost, as 33% of core worker skills are expected to change by 2030.

Key commitments in the Roadmap include:

• An ambition for all undergraduates to have access to meaningful work-based learning by 2035, with a milestone of reaching 50% by 2030.

• Ensuring AI tools are accessible to every undergraduate student and every course has a lecturer who is an ‘AI trailblazer’ so that graduates have the skills to be AI pioneers in the workplace.

• Providing graduates with universal lifetime entitlement to careers support both while they are at university and throughout their career to ensure they are set up for success and can navigate labour market change.

• Expanding employer co-designed learning and modular provision.

• Supporting regional graduate schemes to connect graduates with SMEs.

• Reducing the cost of hiring entry-level graduates.

• Making it easier for employers to engage with universities.

The Roadmap also calls on government to support youth employment through targeted measures to encourage recruitment and strengthen pathways into work, including extending the relief on National Insurance Contributions to all young people under 25.

Universities ‘heed employer concerns’

Professor Malcolm Press, president of Universities UK and vice-chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University, said the roadmap is the result of universities listening carefully to employers about the challenges they face and the skills they need and responding with action.

“The message we heard was clear: graduates possess significant talent and potential and employers value them highly. But we need to do even more to help students gain workplace experience, develop professional confidence and prepare for a changing economy.”

He said universities want to work even more closely with employers, students and government to strengthen opportunities for graduates and support economic growth.

He said the Roadmap commitments reflect the fact that careers are becoming longer, less linear and more frequently reshaped by technology. And they recognise that universities have a role not only at the start of that journey but throughout it.

“We must equip graduates with the specialist knowledge employers need today, while developing the judgement, adaptability and creativity they will need for jobs that do not yet exist.”

Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said giving firms better access to graduates with the right technical and practical skills is a crucial part of unlocking economic growth.

“The Future Jobs Roadmap is full of practical ideas that reflect what businesses are telling us they need and could make a real difference for both employers and employees alike.

“By closer collaboration between businesses and universities, we can get more students workplace ready. Chamber-led Local Skills Improvement Plans across England can play a role in that stronger relationship.”

’Strong focus on outcomes’ backed

Minister of State for Skills Baroness Jacquie Smith said she was glad to see a strong focus on outcomes and employability in the Roadmap.

“Every student in higher-level learning is investing in their future earnings. The Roadmap is an important step towards universal recognition of this fundamental outcome.”

Rebecca Mameli, head of vocational higher education at Pearson, said: “Employers consistently tell us that they value the high-level skills graduates bring but want stronger connections between education and the workplace.

“The Roadmap’s focus on meaningful work-based learning, human and digital skills, and stronger employer partnerships offers practical ways to widen opportunity, support graduates into employment and contribute to economic growth.”

Paramedic Science BSc (Hons) student Carl Birks, 36, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, who is entering his final of four years’ study at the University of Bradford, which includes a placement sandwich year with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said the opportunity to gain real-world exposure to the role, while also earning a wage, was a major attraction in choosing to study at the University of Bradford.

“The year has had a huge impact on my confidence, clinical decision-making, and overall knowledge of the paramedic role.

“Being able to work on a double-crewed ambulance and attend a variety of patient call-outs in a frontline clinical environment, and being able to apply the knowledge gained so far through university to real patients, has helped me to develop both professionally and personally.

“It has ensured I am in the best possible position to complete my degree and embark on my career as a paramedic.”

Case studies of implementation

The Roadmap is packaged with case studies of how similar commitments are already being addressed by universities.

Lancaster University, for instance, offers a 100 Hours Work-Related Learning Guarantee, which ensures every undergraduate on a campus-based programme in 2026/27 has a minimum of 100 hours of employer-informed, work-related learning, built directly into their course.

By embedding employer-informed teaching and assessment into every undergraduate programme, the university encourages staff to design meaningful learning experiences that expose students to professional contexts and challenges and prepare them for the world of work, the case study notes.

“Alongside initiatives to promote a research mindset, global citizenship and AI literacy, the Guarantee equips students to be critical thinkers and agile learners, to be resilient and innovative in tackling problems, and to be ready to work collaboratively across boundaries.”