Katerina Tilliakou
Are you feeling disappointed after Brexit? Are you concerned how the divorce from the European Union will affect your career prospects?
Immigration Impact
There is no doubt that many students are feeling unsure and insecure about their career post Brexit. One positive effect of the EU was that young Britons could live and work in 27 countries without a visa meaning a much wider pool of graduate jobs to choose from.
It is now uncertain whether Britons will be able to work abroad under the same terms after Brexit.
Education and Brexit
75% of students between 18 and 24 voted REMAIN. Regardless of the surprising result, UCL was among first to confirm that the tuition fees for European Students will not change for the next academic year. The European University Association said to the Independent that ‘British institutions are and remain and an essential part of the European family’.
According to the University UK (UUK) analysis,European Students contributed 3.7billion pounds to the UK economy. As a result, British universities are ‘gravely concerned’ about Brexit.
In addition, the National Union of Students (NUS) also expressed its disappointment in the result of the EU referendum.
Negative Impacts of Brexit
One of the reasons that many students are against the LEAVE decision is because the EU contributes to large capital spending projects on buildings and facilities at universities. It also funds a number of learning and training programmes for young people from different backgrounds and students who want to study abroad through ERASMUS (a program for exchange students).
Moreover, leaving the EU would likely end the funding of research and Britain’s membership of Erasmus would be uncertain. Erasmus is a well known programme allowing 250,000 students to undertake cultural and educational exchanges throughout Europe over the past seven years. This loss of research funding could have a profound impact on students in the UK, potentially lowering the quality of research at these institutions unless the UK government picks up the additional cost.
According to the Independent, one of the biggest fears of British students is the fact that half of top UK graduate employers warn that they may cut recruitment, owing mostly to the loss of the single market provided by the EU.
Positive Impacts of Brexit
Neil Woodford, one of Britain’s most influential fund managers says to the Guardian ‘It is a nil-sum game. If we stay or if we leave the fundamentals of the economy will be relatively unmoved’. So, any changes will be temporary.
Furthermore, there are some people who think that the European Union in favors European students compared to international ones, as the latter require visas for their stay in the UK which can prove problematic and costly for some employers. As a result, Brexit will restrict the opportunities for EU citizens to secure a job in the UK thus levelling the playing field.
Another significant argument against the EU is the fact that the government could reassign EU membership costs to fund an increase in apprenticeships and training throughout the UK.
What do students think about Brexit?
Tom Inniss, 22, graduate student in Journalism, from Bury St Edmunds, says: ‘If young people have sense, they will emigrate abroad to countries more accepting of change. Countries more forward facing, more united. Leave Great Britain behind. Let them dwell on their past glories, and pick the country back up without the help of the youth they’ve just completely disregarded’.
Jaspreet Singh NoCaste, 22, undergraduate student in Finance and Accounting, from India, who lives in Birmingham, says ‘Brexit will bring fairer career opportunities in the UK for international students all across the world’.
Sana Sarwar, 20, undergraduate student in Journalism, from London, says: ‘As a student I’m horrified, unis rely heavily on the EU on funding and as a result of leaving out tuition fees will now increased why do we have to be so divided. It only serves to weaken Britain’.
All in all, it is too early to say whether and how Britain’s divorce from the EU will affect student’s future careers however, the decision does not reflect the choice of nearly 75% of students that took part in the vote across the UK.
Aberdeen Uni vows to cover cost of admitted and current EU students regardless of outcome of Brexit negotiations https://t.co/c9olr6sUtl
– Julia Macfarlane (@juliamacfarlane) June 24, 2016
Brexiters still telling everyone to stop ‘scaremongering’ about economic shock; once it’s actually underway, it’s called ‘reporting’
– Gaby Hinsliff (@gabyhinsliff) June 24, 2016
So far we’ve lost our place in the European Union, a prime minister and ВЈ200billion from the stock market and it’s not even lunchtime.
– Matt Chorley (@MattChorley) June 24, 2016
