Proposal #20: Introduce post-graduate loans

By Cath Arakelian

Life isn’t a bowl of cherries and it isn’t predictable. You choose your A levels at 17, graduate at 21, you get a job, you get bored, you get another job, you start a family, you get a different job – different industry, place, sector. The modern portfolio career structure means that skills and knowledge constantly need to be updated. To prosper the country needs many more people to voluntarily re-skill as they get older.

To nudge people into continuing to upgrade their skills, the Labour Party Election Manifesto must offer to people of all ages student loans for post-graduate qualification on a similar basis to those available for first degrees.

The number studying at post-graduate level has increased by 27% in the last decade. Since 1997, the Government’s support for the UK science research base has risen from £1.3 billion to £3.4 billion, including providing significant funding for internationally acclaimed research activity through the various research councils which support post-graduate study. In 2009/10, the research councils are funding for additional post-graduate places in the four key priority areas of ageing research, bioenergy, bioprocessing and environmental change.

To help learners tackle the challenges arising from the economic downturn, in 2008 the Labour government repositioned Career Development Loans as a key additional source of support to help people finance learning, as new Professional and Career Development Loans (PCDLs). In May 2009 the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills announced funding for around 14,000 additional postgraduate places – supported by 30,000 extra Career Development Loans. The Government will have increased the number of PCDL from 15,000 to 45,000 by 2010/11. PCDLs offer more people the opportunity to improve their employment prospects by offering more generous terms for the learner, such as loans up to £10,000 and lower interest rates.

Because PCDLs are commercial loans offered by participating banks, which the government now has a majority stake in, the number of loans in any year is in the government’s hands. In view of the opportunities now opening up in a wide variety of innovative fields, such as green technologies, there is no need for access to finance to be a barrier to aspiring post-graduates.

A manifesto commitment to provide easily accessible post-graduate loans will make it possible for all our people, whatever their age and experience, to fulfil their personal potential, and revitalise our country’s long-term prospects for growth.

Investing in people is good business!