We don’t need no education: why more and more London employers are ignoring degrees - or a lack thereof

School’s out for summer — but if you’re worrying about your uni application then don’t. Some businesses aren’t so big on degrees, reports Susannah Butter
Geek tragedy: Thomas Middleditch as programmer Richard in the HBO series Silicon Valley (Picture: HBO)

In an episode of Mike Judge’s HBO series Silicon Valley an investor is giving a talk where his main point is that if you want to make it in tech one rule is clear — do not go to university. As he is leaving an upstart approaches to pitch an idea. The only way that he can make the investor listen is to make a threat. If he doesn’t give him time, he says, “I’ll just head on back to university then.” That captures his attention.

The scene is based on real-world Silicon Valley grandee Peter Thiel who has previously dismissed college as a waste of time and money. And it’s part of a phenomenon. All over London, from Tech City to the actual city, companies are opening up their talent pools to people without degrees. In certain companies the lack of a degree can even be an advantage.

School’s out for the summer but don’t worry if you have no plans to continue your education in September. When it comes to getting a job a degree is now worth less than it was 10 years ago. According to a report released this month, three out of four medium-sized enterprises said they don’t focus on university education when hiring, while a record number of firsts and 2:1s were awarded to students last month — meaning it can be even more of a challenge for future employers to distinguish between job applicants.

Alice Bentinck, co-director of the company Entrepreneur First, says the job market has changed and if companies don’t take those without degrees seriously they can miss out on the brightest talent. “Degrees in the past were a useful indicator that you had certain skills. It was an easy way for employers to find and source the right people. Now we’re seeing that traditional university degrees aren’t providing the skills required by employers — particularly in the tech and digital sector.”

But it’s not just new industries benefiting from the change in culture. At PricewaterhouseCoopers an increasing number of employees are joining straight from school. The company expects to recruit more than 140 this year, says Gaenor Bagley, head of people and executive board member. “Ultimately it means we’re bringing a range of perspectives into the business, which helps give us a competitive edge. We are now seeing a generation of young people weighing up their careers differently, whether because of university fees, economic forecasts or reduced graduate employment, and employers have to adapt to that change.”

Kathryn Parsons, founder of programmnig school, Decoded, says when she looks at CVs, “I don’t automatically go for academics. My focus is on projects. Have they started a business, or how many apps have they created? It doesn’t matter if the business has failed. If someone has incredible creativity we can teach other skills.”

There has been a shift, according to Parsons. “There are more options and you don’t necessarily need to go to university. People are looking at things differently. If you have energy, passion and ideas you can go anywhere and be incredibly valuable to companies.”

The old guard recognise this too. In a recent interview, Sir Stuart Rose, former head of M&S who is now shaking up the NHS said that “good manners and common sense” are what matter. “Going to university can blight you for life. You go in straight lines rather than in tangents.”

As for that Silicon Valley character, you’ll have to watch and see how not spending years locked up with books works for him.

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