m*****n
发帖数: 1513 | 1 A university degree in Hong Kong is no longer worth what it once was
Alex LoAlex Lo
UPDATED : Wednesday, 9 Sep 2015, 1:56AM
33
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, there were only two local universities. So just
being a uni student marked you as a future member of the local elite. Upon
graduation, the largest banks and firms queued to hire you. If you entered
the civil service, you automatically joined the elite administrative grade.
You could reasonably look forward to a lifetime of career advancement and
social prestige.
How things have changed. Graduates get little respect these days and are
treated like Form 5 secondary school graduates once were. Depending on which
survey you look at, the median wage of new graduates has either risen
slightly in the past 20 years or actually gone into reverse.
According to a new study by the Chinese University's business school,
tertiary graduates aged 20 to 24 earned a median monthly income of HK$10,800
last year, compared with HK$9,000 in 1994. That's the rosy study. According
to a different study by the New Forum and New Youth Forum think tanks, the
monthly salary for fresh graduates in 1993 was HK$13,158, but actually
dropped to HK$10,860 in 2013.
Either way, things have not turned out well for the average graduate. Or
rather, a university degree no longer guarantees the good life. Today,
having a degree may not confer much of an advantage, but not having one is
still a serious disadvantage.
The problem is, of course, the rapid expansion of tertiary education since
the 1990s. Today, we have nine such publicly funded institutions and myriad
self-financing schools that confer degrees. Only 10.6 per cent of young
people in 1993 obtained a degree. Today, it's almost one in two. Back in the
70s, it was less than 5 per cent.
There is a mismatch between market demand and university oversupply.
Vocational skills such as those in construction, engineering and computer
programming are in hot demand, but we are not producing enough graduates
with technical skills.
Instead, we have university students being encouraged to be activists
advocating such causes as Western-style democracy and xenophobic nativism.
Most of them have backgrounds in the humanities or social sciences. Many
have poor language skills and limited exposure to the outside world. Until
we close this mismatch in the job market, our economy will suffer. | m*****n
发帖数: 1513 | 2 Today, it's almost one in two. Back in the 70s, it was less than 5 per cent. | m**c
发帖数: 1012 | 3 Education arms race. Now you need a master degree to start a career |
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