The CBI today (Tuesday) commented on the Government’s Higher Education framework.
Richard Lambert, CBI Director-General, said:
"It's good that the Government has recognised the need to support subjects with the greatest economic benefits, for example through greater prioritisation of funding for science, technology, engineering and maths subjects, while still maintaining a diverse HE system. Business will need more graduates with these skills in the future.
"Students will benefit from better and clearer information about the performance and quality of different universities, and the Government is right to see them as ‘consumers’ of a university education with increasingly powerful choices to make.
"Students should know what they’re getting for their fees so they can make informed choices about which course to study and where. I’m sure they will want to see which courses deliver most in terms of enhanced career prospects, but this will require significant improvements in the quality, quantity and accessibility of HE data.
"The framework document is light on the need for a greater focus on improving students’ employability skills. Business has a role to play here in providing internships and work experience, but universities must also do more to ensure that graduates are ready for the world of work.
"Businesses on the CBI’s HE taskforce have committed to do more to support UK universities, and we will need others to do the same if we want to reap the rewards of having a world class HE sector in this country."
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