There is a chill wind blowing through the campus of Keele University these days and it's nothing to do with the weather.
Students fear the recession (经济衰退) and the downturn in graduate recruitment may mean their studies lead them nowhere. Students' Union president Talah Omran AI Rubaie already has her degree, and will give up her union post this summer, but she's not looking forward to launching herself onto the job market. She said, "For most of us, the fact that you are graduating today or tomorrow but might not be able to get a job is a very scary prospect. I think it also has an impact on the students that have just graduated from high school, who're thinking 'Is it worth coming to university, is it worth getting a degree?'"
In the Union café, students' life goes on as it always has. But these undergraduates know the bubble of academia will not protect them from the recession for long. Particularly over Christmas and Easter when you're only home for months, no one's got any jobs to give out for a few weeks.
As the recession deepens, some students find themselves in a dilemma: to stay at university, continue their studies, and hope the graduate job market improves by the time they leave, or to start right now and take a job, any job, so they don't get left on the employment shelf.
Keele's performance in the graduate jobs market has been good so far. The latest figures available show 95% of students leaving do get a job, but that was before the economy fell off a cliff, and the university is working hard to equip its students with the skills to compete in an ever gloomier employment field.
