In April 2023 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that 91 per cent of students were somewhat or very worried about the rising cost of living and 78 per cent were concerned that the rising cost of living might affect how well they do in their studies.
In response to the cost of living crisis universities have taken a number of measures, including helping with the cost of accommodation and travel, and providing free meals. But there’s a broader impact on students’ employability.
Employability relates to the development of skills and attributes which will enable graduates to be successful throughout their careers, and is different to employment which measures the number of students in graduate level employment. Acquiring subject knowledge helps to develop some skills, but gaining real employability skills requires a broad range of experiences.
When students do not have spare cash they need to be using any spare time that they have on earning extra money to see them through their studies. They have less time to engage with a broad range of experiences outside of the curriculum, and this could impede the development of their employability skills. The cost of living crisis has brought this issue into sharp relief, and looks unlikely to change any time soon – but it’s also worth adding that there have always been students who have needed to work, and whose complex lives have made it difficult to engage with a broad portfolio of student activity.
