Newly released figures back the NUS’s claim that upfront living costs “are emerging as the number one concern for students” in 2013/14 as they face an average funding deficit of £7,654 – £7,693 per year.
The NUS’s Pound in Your Pocket research has uncovered that half of students regularly worry about paying for basic living cost, which increase year-on-year. The increase in living costs have not translated into increases in funding as loans and grants remain frozen for 2013/14. The level of household income at which students receive maximum government support has also remained frozen at £25,000 since 2008.
Some ameliorative steps have been taken by universities such as Exeter to bridge the funding gap through bursaries; however accommodation prices set by universities undoes some of the additional help of a bursary. A self-catered single occupancy room in University of Exeter accommodation can cost between £3,914.40 – £6,705.16 per year, putting it in-line with NUS rent estimates of £4989 per year. These figures suggest that many Exeter students may fall victim to the so-called ‘cost of living crisis’, according to the NUS’s calculations.
Beth Hanson-Jones, a post-graduate student at Exeter University and former undergraduate at Oxford University said: “Students are facing a cost of living crisis. During my undergraduate degree for the vast majority of the time my rent was higher than my maintenance loan. I have been lucky enough to be able to ask my mum and dad for help, but if I couldn’t I would have been unable to afford my rent, let alone eat anything.”.
Toni Pearce, NUS President, said: “Many students starting university are facing a cost of living crisis, with available financial support in loans and grants failing to keep pace with spiralling bills for basic essentials. We need a financial support system that ensures students get what the support they need, when they need it.”
Four Exeter students have entered themselves in MTV’s nationwide competition to find the Student of the Year.
The prize package consists of a paid summer placement at the “famous MTV headquarters in Camden, London,” alongside “a trip for two to the MTV Europe Awards” as well as a host of other “money can’t buy” prizes totalling around £7,000.
The competition was open to anyone over the age of 18 in higher education. Entrants had to submit a short video, a CV and a description of themselves which were then displayed on the competition’s website. A shortlist of 20 finalists will be released today. The winner is decided by votes and will be announced on 24 June. Competition will be fierce with 106 entrants vying for one position.
The shortlist is created by a panel of expert judges, including the NUS President, Toni Pearce, the creator of Geordie Shore and head of MTV UK, Kerry Taylor. The vote is carried out by the general public, with everyone who votes being entered in a draw to win tickets to the Isle of Man festival on 6 July.
Bryony Andrews, an entrant and second year English student said: “Internships and placements are the only way to get into the media business so this is an ideal opportunity! The best part is definitely the placement, the other prizes would be an awesome bonus, obviously, but I didn’t even consider them when I applied. Paid internships are really hard to come by and this would be a really good beginning to a career in media.”
Another Exeter student, Alexandra Hall, who is in first year studying Business and politics, hopes her “love for music”, being both in a band and working as a Technical Gear Intern for the Music Office, will help her “stand out from the crowd” in her search for the prize.
Claudia Hogan, a second year English student, and Ashley Jenkin, a fourth year English student, are the two remaining entrants from Exeter.
The Student of the Year competition is being supported by the film Monsters University, the highly anticipated sequel to Monsters Inc.
Conor Byrne takes a closer look at NUS President Liam Burns’ comments concerning youth unemployment and graduate job prospects and suggests that the situation is not as bleak as many would make it out to be.
According to Burns, current university undergraduates face a three-pronged attack on their futures due to the possibility of the UK economy facing a triple dip recession. Burns warns that a serious consequence of this for young people is a lack of ‘opportunities, jobs and prospects’ – very bleak, one might think in light of this. He went on to castigate the labour market for ‘failing to deliver economic prosperity, social justice and wellbeing for the majority’. This seems very accurate in light of recent statistics, which show that 672,000 16-24 year olds in the UK are currently unemployed; while 1.62 million 18-24 year olds in all can be classified as being ‘economically inactive’.
“It is surely too broad a claim that all students face bleak employment prospects, caused by the ineptitude of the government and the struggling nature of the British economy.” Photo Credit: The Guardian
Notwithstanding this, of course, it’s true that, for many professions, it is more competitive than ever and students require much more practical experience and need to show greater originality than they perhaps needed to a decade or two ago. Statistics indicate that many students are not realistic in what they hope to achieve by the time they’re 35, for instance. So a realistic approach to finding a career, and what students want to achieve in life, is essential.
Burns’ comments are fascinating, but it needs to be remembered that it will always be easier for students to find a job in one sector than it is in another. Nonetheless, statistics indicate that many employers do not focus greatly on the degree subject studied, but the skills gained from it, as well as evidence of extra-curricular interests. So it surely shouldn’t matter too much if a student is studying History, or Business, or Law, or Geography, or whatever – obviously for some careers (medicine an obvious one), a certain degree is vital, but for others, these degrees are exciting in opening up many different doors.
Many students are uncertain of what career they want to pursue following the completion of their degree, and Burns’ comments are hardly reassuring in light of this. It’s undeniable that unemployment, particularly for 18-24 year olds, is a very pressing problem in the UK.
But let’s not be too hasty. Just look at the situation in struggling countries where the economy has completely failed: Spain, Portugal, Greece, and much of Eastern Europe, for instance. There, unemployment rates for young people are as high as 25%, and according to Dominic Sandbrook, Angela Merkel is very much a hate figure in these countries because she is blamed for the fact that young people there shave a high likelihood of never securing a career.
Employment prospects depend a lot on the degree students do, the results they achieve, the institution they attend, and a multitude of other factors. It is surely too broad a claim that all students face bleak employment prospects, caused by the ineptitude of the government and the struggling nature of the British economy. Indeed, investment banking, teaching, and retail, for instance, are sectors which will always need people to work for them; and students who are desirous to enter these sectors will probably not face too many problems in attaining a job. The media is very keen to publicise high rates of unemployment, but in context of the European – even world – situation, and the nature of employment in the UK as a whole, it is inaccurate to suggest that university students will all face hardship in trying to achieve their desired career.
Burns’ comments are to some extent truthful, and do reflect a bleak situation in the UK at present, as in much of Europe. But we need to remain optimistic, for pessimism never achieves anything. Exeter students have an excellent chance of achieving great things and finding exciting careers, as do many other students across the UK. Surely an uninviting economic situation shouldn’t prevent students from doing what they want to in life – it might just be a little harder than beforehand.
Conor Byrne
Do Burns’ comments go too far in condemning all graduate employment prospects? Do you feel confident in your ability to pursue a career come graduation, or do you worry that the recession will leave you without the necessary opportunities? Leave a comment below or write to the Comment team at the Exeposé Comment Facebook Group or on Twitter @CommentExepose.
NUS President Liam Burns told students at the annual NUS conference in Sheffield yesterday that they face a three-pronged attack on their futures, with the UK economy edging towards a triple dip recession.
Amongst the 1,000 delegates were five Exeter representatives, including outgoing President Nick ‘Welshy’ Davies.
Burns told the congregation that “the real triple dip recession” facing young people is a lack of “opportunities, jobs and prospects.”
Labelling the job market an “abyss” for young people, he said:
“The current youth jobs crisis is not simply a recessionary ‘blip’ but a long-term and deep seated problem. Our labour market is failing to deliver economic prosperity, social justice and wellbeing for the majority.”
Nationally, figures are more disheartening, with 672,000 16-24 year olds remaining unemployed and 1.62 million 18-24 year olds “economically inactive.”
Alongside warning against a looming “summer of misery,” which is likely to see youth unemployment pass 1 million nationally, Burns told the conference that the NUS needed to make greater gender equality another priority.
Despite criticising government initiatives such as the trebling of tuition fees and scrapping of EMA, he also stressed the need for realistic campaigns.
The three day conference will see national issues debated and a new NUS committee elected. No Exeter affiliated students are standing.
As such, delegates will be disappointed that the event has not receive more widespread publicity thus far, in the wake of Margaret Thatcher’s death; the news of which sparked controversial cheers from some delegates.
Even with limited media coverage, Burns will nonetheless hope that his words can influence the body’s agenda in the coming months and galvanise the membership into making a significant impact upon government policy.
James Crouch and Meg Drewett, Features Editors, slug it out over whether or not the Students’ Guild should offer their support for the NUS demonstration
Photo credits to Matt_Baldry
James Crouch – NO
The NUS demonstration, to be held on 21st November, has a clear reasoning: to “educate the public” in the demands of the student body and really hammer home to “policy makers” student demands.
What anyone who may support this demonstration fails to realise is that it’s highly unlikely that anyone in government has forgotten student opinions on this subject. It wasn’t that long ago that a bunch of belligerent students smashed in the windows of HM Treasury. Quite frankly, any confusion on this ended months ago.
And, anyone who is delusional enough to believe another march – even a more peaceful one – is going to make the government U-turn on policy which has already been enacted should not be making the decisions.
What’s more is that the Student Guild’s job is not just to support the NUS, it’s to remind it that it should be doing the best job for students. And that means thinking of the best route to achieve policy change. We are in this government’s third year, someone tell me where the NUS’s current methods have got us? Nowhere.
Rather than angering the public by organising marches which drain police resources and damage property (as happened last time), they could become an ‘insider’ group. They could say that they are prepared to feed into government plans and suggest improvements to them. This would result in getting more done, rather than just citing a lack of common ground and demanding marches until they embarrass (if that’s the plan?) the government into retreating.
We should not be supporting the NUS in their children’s crusade. We should be saying ‘change tack, try something different’. Public gatherings don’t grab the agenda and we have clear evidence that they’ve failed. And the only possible success you’ll get is a new party in government, which will also ignore student needs unless you engage with it, not fight it.
James Crouch
Meg Drewett – YES
Let’s be clear: the National Union of Students’ ‘Demo 2012: Education, Employ, Empower’ march is about grabbing both the government’s and the public’s attention and reminding them that students aren’t just willing to sit around whilst their education is messed with. It’s fairly obvious that there isn’t going to be a massive change in policy following the demo and in real terms, it might not have that much impact.
But should the Guild support the march? Of course and here’s why.
It doesn’t matter if the march is ineffective in getting politicians to make a U-turn. What matters is that the roll of the Guild is to represent and facilitate students who stand up for what they believe in. If a selection of students wants to go and demonstrate, then the Guild should support them in doing so. These students shouldn’t have their voices quashed because another group of politically opposed students disagree with them.
And in addition to that, you don’t elect delegates, send them to conferences, vote for a march and then several months later turn around and change your mind. It’s utterly ridiculous to suggest that you can take part in a democratic process and then label the NUS a partisan organisation and claim that taking part in the march isn’t representative of all student views.
The Guild is part of the NUS and if we’ve helped steer them towards a march, then we should stand by them and our fellow students at other unis in seeing that through. You can argue all day and night about the nitty-gritty of the NUS and its political inclinations, so if anyone’s got better suggestions of how to get the public to hear what all students have to say about issues that matter to them, put them forward. But until then, the Guild is signed up to the NUS and owes it to our students to help them express themselves on a national stage.
exeposedev 