IOP response to Tony Blair’s call for increase in young people going to university

Responding to a report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which recommends expanding the proportion of young people entering higher education to 70% by 2040, Institute of Physics Director of Science, Education and Skills, Louis Barson, says: “Today’s report from the Tony Blair Institute rightly highlights the enormous economic and social benefits which high levels of young people going into higher education deliver but that’s not the whole picture.

“Half of all the two million high-value skills jobs we need to fill do not require a degree and further education is also incredibly important along with apprenticeships and workplace training.

“We need multiple routes for diverse people to access education rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.”