According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, nearly a third of all graduates, and two thirds of those studying law, end up in jobs paying less than £20,000 a year, and while graduates are less likely to be unemployed, many end up working in sectors where their degree is irrelevant. We have to ensure that the costs associated with achieving a degree do not outweigh the benefits of studying an extra year or so. We also have to ensure that the supply of university courses matches the demand of the job market. Of course, young people should be free to study whatever they wish, but they should be equipped with all the facts, which is why we are calling for HEFCW to review degree courses for expected earnings and to publish the results. Prospective students should be equipped with all the facts to enable them to make fully informed choices.

We should also utilise student finance to incentivise young people to study for degrees in shortage subjects. Wales has a massive shortage of GPs, nurses, radiographers and endoscopists, yet we are not doing enough to encourage more young people into these fields. If we were to abolish tuition fees for medical students, for nursing students and those studying STEM subjects, we would incentivise more people to become radiographers or endoscopists. More young people would consider becoming a doctor or a nurse if they were unsaddled from student debt. Our NHS has shortages in many areas, and by eliminating tuition fees, we could encourage young people to study for an appropriate degree, rather than risk the burden of debt and a low-paid job at the end of years of hard work and study.

We also have a shortage of carers and a range of occupations within our health and care sector for which a degree is unnecessary. We have to reach out to young people and highlight the fact that you don’t always need a degree to get a good job. We have to place as much emphasis upon vocational training as we do upon higher education. Our education system is supposed to equip young people with the skills to enter the labour market. We are doing a disservice to many young people by solely focusing on higher education. We have to equip young people with the right skills and the whole picture when it comes to the labour market. We need more doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, computer programmers and data analysts, not more young people with a law degree, thousands of pounds in debt and earning below the national average for graduate earnings.

I urge Members to support the motion before you today, so that we can take steps to ensure that we incentivise young people to study subjects where their skills will be sought and rewarded. Thank you.