England has highest proportion of adults ‘overqualified’ for their jobs – report

England has one of the highest rates in the developed world of workers overqualified for their roles, a report has suggested.

Nearly two in five (37%) workers in England are overqualified for their current job, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Survey of Adult Skills.

This compares with 23% of workers who are overqualified across OECD countries, with data available.

The report, which assesses the literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills of adults from 31 countries and economies, ranks England as having the highest percentage of overqualified workers.

Being overqualified is associated with economic and social costs, it said.

In England, overqualified workers’ wages are on average about 18% lower than peers in well-matched jobs who have similar educational attainment.

A worker is classified as overqualified when the level of their highest qualification is above the qualification level typically required for their job.

The findings of the OECD study, which assessed about 160,000 adults aged 16-65 in 2022-23, were published at an event on Tuesday in London, where skills minister Jacqui Smith gave a speech.

Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the OECD, said there could be “better use of alternative pathways” in England as efforts to strengthen these routes had “not been terribly successful”.

When asked about the high rates of overqualification and participation in higher education in England, he said: “I do think there are signs that the British university system has been overextending itself.”

Mr Schleicher, who highlighted data which showed that high school graduates in Finland have similar or better skills than university graduates in England, told the PA news agency: “I do think there is reason to give young people a more varied choice of further education than currently exists.”

He said: “There are clear signs that the rise in numbers of people going to tertiary education, to college education, to university in England has been matched by a decline in the skill levels of that group.”

He added that England should consider giving “more prominence to other ways of learning than just academic learning”.

Speaking at the event in London, Mr Schleicher added that the skills agenda is not probably one of Britain’s strengths, as the country is “quite heavily” geared towards universities.

The study, in which 4,941 adults in England took part, also found that about a fifth of adults in England scored no higher than Level 1 in literacy and numeracy, the lowest level on the OECD’s scale.

In numeracy, 21% of adults scored at or below Level 1 proficiency, compared with an OECD average of 25%. This meant they could only do very basic sums.

In literacy, 18% of adults scored the lowest level, compared with an OECD average of 26%. This meant they could understand short texts.

Jacqui Smith, minister for skills, said: “We are determined to break down barriers to opportunity by developing a culture of lifelong learning, and this report shows that we can and must do more to ensure everyone has the skills they need to get on in life.

“There are few skills more important to life chances than literacy and numeracy so, whilst it is good that England has improved, the number of adults with low basic skills remains stubbornly high.”

Speaking at the launch event, Baroness Smith highlighted that eight and a half million working age adults in England do not have “crucial” skills.

She said: “That’s far too many people, too many who may be stuck in a job they don’t like, or who could only dream of a career that is out of their reach. In fact, some of course [are] not even able to find a job at all.

“And it’s particularly disappointing to see that this number has not gone down much since the last time this assessment took place 12 years ago.

“We simply can’t accept this lack of progress.”

Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), said: “Government research shows increasing levels of highly qualified skills and labour were the only factors making a positive and consistent contribution to increases in productivity in recent years.

“The UK’s productivity challenges have a strong regional character, with areas of high participation in higher education reporting the highest levels of productivity, while other regions lag behind.

“Across all regions, there is a strong association between productivity and the share of workers with a higher education qualification, a metric that has been increasing over time.

“All of the growth sectors identified in the Government’s industrial strategy are powered by a graduate majority workforce.

“This includes the life sciences sector with 73% graduate workforce and digital and tech sector with 70%.

“Indeed, the Government’s own analysis shows that, by 2035, we will need 11 million more graduates in the UK to fill our skills needs.”