# University degrees failing to prepare young people for work

> A new report warns traditional degrees lack skills employers need, as a million young people sit outside education and employment.
- Title: University degrees failing to prepare young people for work
- Summary: A new report warns traditional degrees lack skills employers need, as a million young people sit outside education and employment. A Policy Exchange report…
- Keywords: higher education, university degrees, technical education, youth employment, policy exchange, lord david blunkett, sir james dyson, nmite, skills gap, politics, news, University
- Source: The Independent — https://independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/university-skills-technical-college-neet-crisis-young-people-b3069392.html
- Published: 2026-10-20T10:49:21+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: higher education, university degrees, technical education, youth employment, policy exchange, lord david blunkett, sir james dyson, nmite, skills gap, politics, news
## Traditional degrees failing young people
A new Policy Exchange report backed by Lord David Blunkett and Sir James Dyson warns that traditional three-year degrees have not delivered the skills the modern economy needs.

> not delivered the skills that the modern economy needs
## Million young people outside work and education
The number of young people aged sixteen to twenty-four not in education, employment or training topped a million earlier this year for the first time in more than a decade.
## Employers cannot fill vacancies
Employers have reported more than two hundred fifty thousand vacancies they cannot fill because applicants lack the required skills, qualifications or experience.
## NMITE model offers alternative path
The report studies the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering in Hereford, an employer-focused technical institution teaching engineering through block-taught modules and offering two-year degrees.
## Government funding for new technical colleges
The report calls on the government to establish a fifty million pound fund to seed up to ten more new NMITE-type providers in higher education cold spots across the country.
## Britain needs more engineers
Sir James Dyson said Britain does not produce enough engineers. Only about one in eleven British graduates studied engineering or related subjects, limiting Britain's ability to compete globally.

> Britain doesn't produce enough engineers
## Key takeaway

A Policy Exchange report backed by Lord David Blunkett and Sir James Dyson warns traditional degrees fail to equip young people for work, as over a million aged sixteen to twenty-four are not in education, employment or training.