These are the countries with the most graduates in non-graduate jobs

More than half of UK graduates (58.8 per cent) are in non-graduate jobs, according to a new study that highlights how a shortage of high-skilled careers is frustrating the ambitions of millions of debt-laden young people.

Only Greece and Estonia among Western nations have a higher proportion of graduates working in positions that do not require a degree, the study shows.

With graduate numbers increasing much faster than the creation of high-skilled jobs, many employers are starting to insist on degrees even for positions that did not traditionally require university-level skills, the report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) warns.

The assumption that we will transition to a more productive, higher value, higher skilled economy just by increasing the conveyor belt of graduates is proven to be flawed.

It’s crucial we as a nation take stock now of whether our higher education system is delivering desired returns for graduates, for organisations, and society.” Around one in 12 people working in low skilled occupations – such as in coffee shops, bars, call centres and front of house at hospitality events – are now graduates, according to the figures.

• Peter Cheese, chief executive of CIPD

Countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Slovenia, which have a history of strong vocational training, have 10 per cent or less of graduates in non-graduate jobs.

Around 54 per cent of young British people graduated from university. Germany, by contrast, has a rate of just 31 per cent.

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