Is university still worth it in 2026?
By Grace Wilson · 12 June 2026 · 10 min read
By Grace Wilson · 12 June 2026 · 10 min read
A decade ago, this would not have been a debate. University was the default option for ambitious students. If you wanted a professional career, you got a degree. Schools encouraged it, parents expected it and employers treated it as the safest route into a well-paid job.
However, it is different now. The average student in England graduates with approximately £53,000 of debt. Graduate recruitment has become increasingly competitive. At the same time, apprenticeships are expanding across industries that once relied almost entirely on university graduates. In the 2024/25 academic year alone, there were 354,500 apprenticeship starts in England, a figure that continues to grow. For the first time in decades, university is no longer the obvious choice.
That does not mean degrees have lost their value. Many of the nation's most respected professions still require them. What has changed is the number of alternatives available. young people can now enter industries such as finance and technology through apprenticeships that offer qualifications and a salary from day one.
The question facing school leavers is no longer whether education matters. The question is whether university offers enough of an advantage to justify the cost.
The Degree No Longer Guarantees a Good Job.
One of the strongest arguments in favour of university has always been employability. On the surface, the numbers still look good. Graduate employment currently stands at 87.6%, while unemployment among graduates sits at just 6%. Those figures suggest that most degree holders will eventually find work.
The problem is what happens between graduation and employment. The graduate market has become crowded. More people are competing for the same opportunities. According to the Institute of Student Employers, some graduate schemes now attract around 140 applicants for a single vacancy.
A degree still gets attention from employers. It just doesn’t stand out in the way it once did. This is reflected in the graduate wage premium. Graduates continue to earn more than non-graduates on average, but the gap is shrinking. Research from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research suggests the wage premium has fallen from around 35% twenty years ago to roughly 24% now. Although a graduate earning 24% more than a non-graduate over the course of a career is hardly a failure. The point is that university no longer provides the near-guaranteed financial advantage it once did.
Students are becoming more and more aware of this reality. Many are looking at the cost of university and asking a simple question: if a degree no longer guarantees a high-paying job, what exactly are they paying for?
Why University Still Matters.
Despite growing criticism, writing off university would be a mistake. Many careers remaincompletely dependent on degree-level education. Nobody is becoming a doctor through a traditional apprenticeship route. Professional accreditation and specialist knowledge still makes university essential in large parts of the economy.
The long-term earnings data also remains difficult to ignore. Research suggests graduates earn around 20% more over their lifetimes than non-graduates, even after student loan repayments are considered. Graduates are also far more likely to end up in highly skilled occupations. Government figures show that 67.9% of graduates work in highly skilled roles compared with just 23.7% of non-graduates.
These numbers highlight something that often gets lost in debates about tuition fees. University is not simply a three year investment. For many people, it is a forty yearinvestment. A medical student may spend years studying before earning a substantial salary. An engineer may not immediately outperform an apprentice financially. Yet careers built on specialist qualifications often offer stronger progression opportunities over time.
There is another benefit that is hard to measure. University gives students room to build networks and develop interests that may influence their career later. Some of the most valuable opportunities available to students happen outside of the lecture theatre. Placements, internships and networking events often matter just as much as academic results.
The problem is that these benefits are not distributed equally. Students studying subjects with clear pathways tend to see stronger returns. Those studying courses with weaker links to the labour market may find the transition into employment much harder. This is the one reason the conversation around university has become more complicated than it was twenty years ago.
A degree can still be a great investment. It just isn’t automatically one.
The Apprenticeship Revolution.
The biggest challenges facing universities are not from one another, instead they come from employers.
Apprenticeships have changed dramatically over the last decade. The old stereotype of apprenticeships being limited to trades no longer reflects reality. Today, some of the UK’s largest employers such the Bank of England and Amazon offer apprenticeship programmes in fields ranging from investment banking to software engineering.
For many young people, the appeal is obvious. While university students are paying tuition fees, apprentices receive a salary. While students are attending lectures, apprentices are gaining experience inside real organisations. By the time many graduates enter the job market, apprentices may already have several years of industry experience behind them. That experience matters.
Around 85% of apprentices move directly into employment after completing their training. The figure is high because apprenticeships are designed around employment from the start. Employers are not only training future workers. They are investing in workers they aim to keep.
The emergence of degree apprenticeships has made the comparison with university even more complicated. Degree apprentices earn a qualification while working. They study part-time and avoid most of the debt associated with traditional higher education. In some sectors, employers cover the entire cost of that degree.
For students looking at a £53,000 debt burden, the attraction is obvious. The trade-off is that apprenticeships are not easy to secure. Competition for places at major employers can be just as intense as competition for graduate schemes.
What Employers Actually Want.
The debate often assumes employers are choosing between qualifications. Most are not. This distinction matters. According to ManPowerGroup, 72% of employers report difficulty finding skilled talent. If graduates were emerging from university with everything employers needed, this figure would not be so high. The issue is not shortage of qualifications. It is the shortage of people who can contribute from day one.
Employers consistently talk about experience and commercial awareness. They want candidates who can solve problems and learn quickly. Both a degree and apprenticeship can develop these qualities.
What employers increasingly seem to value is evidence. They want proof that candidates can apply what they know. This explains why internships and work experience have become so important for university students. It also explains why apprenticeships have become more desired. Apprentices spend years producing that evidence before they even apply for their next role.
For graduates, the message is clear. A degree on its own is rarely enough. The students who stand out are usually those who combine academic achievement with practical experience.
So, Is University Still Worth It?
The answer is yes.
The more interesting question is whether it is worth it for everyone. Twenty years ago, that argument was easier to make. Degrees were less common, student debt was lower and graduates faced less competition in the labour market.
Today’s students face a different calculation. University remains one of the best routes into many professions. It still increases earnings on average. It still provides access to careers that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Yet apprenticeships have shown a weakness in the traditional argument for university. They have shown that young people do not necessarily need to choose between education and employment. In some industries, they can have both.
For students who know exactly where they want to go, an apprenticeship may offer a faster and cheaper route to the same destination. For students pursuing careers that require specialist qualifications, university remains difficult to replace. The biggest mistake is assuming there is a default option. There isn’t.
The students most likely to succeed will be those who understand the demands of their chosen industry and pick the route that gets them there. Today, it might be the most important career decision a young person makes.
References:
The Guardian: Richard Adams, ‘Students in England now graduate with average debt of £53,000, data shows’ (20th June 2025)
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jun/20/students-in-england-graduate-average-debt-increase.
GOV.UK. 2024. “Apprenticeships, Academic Year 2024/25.” Service.gov.uk. 2024. https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/2024-25.
Gov.UK. 2024. “Graduate Labour Market Statistics, Calendar Year 2024.” Service.gov.uk. 2024. https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-labour-markets/2024.
“Why Is the Graduate Wage Premium Falling in the UK? - NIESR.” 2026. NIESR. April 13, 2026. https://niesr.ac.uk/blog/why-graduate-wage-premium-falling-uk.
Brophy, Sean. 2025. “University Still Pays off – Even in Lower-Wage Britain.” Edited by Grace Allen, November. https://doi.org/10.64628/ab.eanh3dakd.
“Global Talent Shortage Reaches Turning Point as AI Skills Claim Top Spot.” 2026. Manpowergroup.com. 2026. https://www.manpowergroup.com/de/news-releases/news/global-talent-shortage-reaches-turning-point-as-ai-skills-claim-top-spot.