Unlock free Digest editor
Roula Khalaf, editor of FT, chooses her favorite story in this weekly newsletter.
Future students of undergraduate studies are turning to engineering courses in increasing numbers, while graduating in teaching and nursing diplomas, according to the British reception service.
The information published on Thursday showed that nearly 217,000 applications were filed with engineering and technology courses until January, an increase of 14 percent compared to 189,560 last year.
However, applications for teaching and nursing were the lowest because the information was first reported in 2019, reducing 11 percent and 2 percent in last year at 3,140 and 30,550.
About 80 percent of students are usually applied by January.
Data come as numerous universities Cut the fundamental courses of science and Start Schemes of Shipping Staff despite the training of financial pressure and increasing deviations between the upper and lower institutions.
UCAS data showed that lower-level institutions continued to lose on top level universities When attracting students.
Applications at universities with higher Britain ranking increased by 4.3 percent in the last year, reaching a record 1.25 million in January 2025, while universities with lower ranks recorded a drop of 3.1 percent.
The decline of lower -ranked institutions encouraged a 7.4 percent drop in undergraduate entries of lucrative international students, despite the total increase in foreign applicants of 2.7 percent in the sector.
Universities in the UK rely more and more to international students to collect their financial drawbacks.
Despite the increase in undergraduate foreign students, changes in visas have led to a sharp fall in recent years by postgraduate studies outside the UK, which make up about three quarters of new international students.
The record 323,360 18-year-old from the UK has filed a report in January, which is an increase of 2 percent at the same time last year, but the reports of the applications still have fallen slightly because the increase is lower than the population growth for this age group.
An increase in the applicant at engineering courses was the second year of double -digit growth.
Jamie Cater, head of employment and skills in the Make UK trade body, said the rise was “encouraging news” for British manufacturers. “As demand for technical skills at graduation level increases in response to digitization and stimulus for net zero throughout the industry, this is a positive sign that companies will be able to hire highly qualified workers who they need for the future.”
But he added that a university diploma is not the only option available to acquire these skills, and “the apprenticeship route remains highly appreciated by the manufacturer.”
The demand for nursing courses and teaching fell for the fourth year in a row, asking questions about the Government’s hinterland to resolve the employment crisis in both professions.
Nicola Ranger, Secretary General and Executive Director Royal College of Nursing, said the students distracted from the care of low initial salaries and the “broken education model” that made him obsessed with debt.
“These figures are devastating to the sister profession and a hammer hit for Government -planned NHS reforms,” she said.
“Ministers have to launch an emergency this spring, a fully funded student employment campaign to reverse this situation before entering in September.”
