Richard Lambert, CBI Director-General, said that businesses will need to do more to support and encourage young people if the new higher education funding legislation is approved by Parliament today.
"The Government’s proposed higher education legislation will lead to a steep and unwelcome decline in public funding for human capital but from a business perspective, the consequences of it failing to get the votes at this stage would be too grim to contemplate.

At one extreme, there would be a steep cut in student numbers as universities adjusted to a much lower revenue base. At the other, the Government’s fiscal plans would be badly damaged. If the legislation does go through in its current form, business will have to play a much more active role than it has in the past in informing students about its likely future needs.

It will need to help them to choose the right subjects to study, to offer relevant work experience, and where appropriate to work with universities to develop courses that will provide attractive employment for graduates. In a demand-led system, employers will have an interest in helping to shape the choices made by the most talented students, rather than waiting until their university career is almost over.”

Many businesses and CBI members are already widely involved in supporting students in higher education, but under the expected new student loan structure, companies will need to do even more: Students will need much higher quality information, advice and guidance than they have today about the type of job and salary that will come with success in a particular course at a particular university.
Employers will need to do more to articulate their future needs from employees, and to spell out potential career prospects.

Companies need to engage with potential future employees at an earlier stage in their studies than they typically do today, perhaps by providing support in the form of bursaries or other forms of sponsorship, or by offering relevant work experience, including the rebooting of much valued ‘sandwich courses’ along the way.

Some businesses will also want to rethink their relationships with universities, as well as with individual students. If they are looking for a particular set of skills, companies may find it makes sense to work more closely with those institutions that are best able to develop relevant courses.Some employers will also look to universities to meet company-specific training needs for their existing staff, as part of their professional development.