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The UK is going through a worrying fall in functions by mature college students to review strategically important professions reminiscent of nursing and educating, the top of the nation’s college admissions service has warned.
Jo Saxton, UCAS chief govt, mentioned forward of the discharge of A-level and BTec outcomes on Thursday that whereas college functions from 18-year-olds had been the second highest on file, the mature scholar market was struggling.
“The bit that issues me is the decline in functions from mature college students and, significantly, curiosity from that cohort within the sorts of programs that the nation actually wants extra of — so something healthcare-aligned, nursing particularly, and educating,” Saxton advised a webinar organised by the Greater Training Coverage Institute think-tank on Tuesday.
Slightly below 34,500 functions to UK programs had been made by college students aged 30 and over in 2024, down 15 per cent in contrast with final 12 months, in line with UCAS.
Nursing and educating are sometimes extra reliant on functions from older college students, so the drop will add to headwinds for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. His Labour occasion has named enhancing UK expertise and fixing the NHS as two of its 5 core “missions” for presidency.
About one-third of scholars making use of to nursing and educating coaching programs are aged 30 and over.
In 2023-24 postgraduate trainer recruitment in England was 38 per cent under goal, in line with the Home of Commons library. In June, the Royal School of Nursing mentioned functions to nursing programs would want to rise by a mean of 11 per cent annually till 2031 for the NHS in England to fulfill its long run workforce plan.
In a wide-ranging webinar Saxton, who joined UCAS in January after heading examination regulator Ofqual, known as for renewed focus from the sector on serving to college college students from deprived backgrounds attain college.
Saxton mentioned she had additionally intervened to make sure that faculty and college candidates from faculties affected by final 12 months’s porous concrete scandal weren’t deprived on account of disruption to their research.
Considerations over the security of buildings utilizing bolstered autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) required 119 faculties in England to rebuild or refurbish at the very least one constructing, in line with up to date authorities information from February.
“We’ve shared info with these universities of candidates in affected faculties in order that we may make certain universities are conscious,” she added.
Saxton additionally weighed in on the persevering with coverage debate over the way forward for the T-Stage. The flagship vocational qualification was launched by the final Conservative authorities alongside a plan to take away funding from BTecs and different technical {qualifications}, however it has suffered low take-up and completion charges.
Starmer’s authorities has introduced a evaluation of the curriculum panorama, however Saxton expressed her help for persevering with BTecs, arguing that UCAS information confirmed the {qualifications} had been “completely essential” in serving to much less advantaged college students discover a route to school.
Of the candidates that took up a college place within the 2023-24 tutorial 12 months with BTecs, Saxton mentioned 40 per cent had been from essentially the most deprived backgrounds, in contrast with about 20 per cent of those that had are available through the A-level route. “I’m actually, actually involved about their [BTecs’] elimination,” she added.
