§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the average lifetime financial return of(a) a single female, (b) a married female, (c) a married man, (d) a member of an ethnic minority and (e) those who were on full maintenance support at university. [102531]
§ Margaret HodgeThe Department has not made any estimates of the average lifetime financial return for the specific groups named. Higher education is a good542W investment and the White Paper, "The Future of Higher Education", highlighted how those with higher education qualifications earn on average around 50 per cent. more than non-graduates. There will inevitably be some variation in individual lifetime returns because graduate earnings are influenced by a number of factors, including subject studied, institution attended, occupational choices, and other personal characteristics and demographic factors.
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what research the Government has carried out to compare lifetime earnings of graduates with those who had the qualifications to go to university but chose not to; [102532]
(2) what recent estimate he has made of the average lifetime financial return of (a) a university graduate and (b) a person with two A levels. [102539]
§ Margaret HodgeThe White Paper, "The Future of Higher Education", highlighted how those with higher education qualifications earn on average around 50 per cent. more than non-graduates. Higher education is undoubtedly a good investment. Our estimate of the average additional earnings of those who get two or more 'A' Levels but choose not to go to university is £120,000.
However, nine out of 10 of those who obtain two or more 'A' Levels go to university. We have no analysis of how the small minority of one in 10 differ from the majority, so comparisons should be treated with caution.