Tag: degrees

Happy Anniversary! Elsie and Bulabari celebrate a degree each and 14 years of marriage

Usher Hall ceremony is added to couple’s list of October milestones

BEAMING Elsie Francis today celebrated with her husband as she emulated his achievement of graduating from Edinburgh Napier – on their wedding anniversary!

Elsie collected her MSc in Business Information Technology 15 months after the university awarded her other half Bulabari an MBA in Leadership Practice.

But with his graduation ceremony being lost to Covid-19-related restrictions, like so many public events in 2020, they decided to turn her big day today at the Usher Hall into a joint celebration as they also marked 14 years of married life.

Elsie said: “What a wonderful day this is. It was disappointing for Bulabari and other 2020 graduates not to be able to walk across the stage at the Usher Hall to get their degrees last year.

“But the way things have turned out we can now celebrate both of us becoming graduates on what was already a special date in our diaries!” 

Elsie and Bulabari, of Kirkcaldy, first met in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in October 2006 and were married there exactly one year later.

Bulabari was first to move to Scotland, to study for his MBA at Edinburgh Napier, in January 2018 while Elsie stayed in Nigeria to juggle her post-graduate studies with a busy job as an Executive Assistant and caring for their three children.

However, they all spent a wonderful family Christmas together in Scotland the following December and decided that was where their future lay.

Elsie said: “We decided I would not be going back to Nigeria. Career-wise it was a very difficult decision for me; however, in the end family and love won.”

At first Elsie stayed at their then home in Rosyth to look after the children while Bulabari continued with his studies, basing his dissertation on the use of digital marketing to promote small African businesses in Scotland.

She soon decided though that she wanted to build on her flair for IT and business and management experience by applying to study for an MSc in Business Information Technology.

Elsie, 40, said: “I chose Edinburgh Napier firstly because of my husband’s experience, but also because they offered the modules that suited my career goals, and naturally I got a lot of support from my husband since he already knew how to use all the online facilities.”

After completing his studies last year, Bulabari, 48, is now working as a Project Planning Specialist with an English-based gas distribution company.

Elsie had a part-time job as a customer service advisor with the Royal Voluntary Service while she studied, but now she too has finished her studies she is looking to pursue a career in Business Analysis.

Today’s Edinburgh Napier autumn graduation ceremony is the first to take place at the Usher Hall since the pandemic struck.

Elsie said: “October is a truly significant month for me, and for us as a couple. I was born in October. Bulabari and I first met in October. We got married in October. Now I am graduating in October with my husband and fellow Edinburgh Napier graduate at my side which really makes our story complete.”

The couple – whose children are Glenn, 13, Collins, 11, and Valerie, seven – are in no hurry to leave Scotland now they have completed their degrees. Bulabari said: “We have moved from Rosyth to Kirkcaldy but we really love it in Scotland and are looking forward to growing old together here.”

More than half of UK students considering dropping out as mental health plummets

University degrees lose value with employers

  • 55% of students are considering dropping out of their courses, while 63% say their mental health and wellbeing worsened since the start of the academic year
  • Three in 10 businesses say a job candidate’s degree doesn’t matter at all, while 56% say that it is generally not important
  • However UCAS data reveals university applications have risen

More than half of UK students were considering dropping out this academic year, while two thirds have suffered a decline in mental health, a new study has found, alongside the fact that 56% of companies do not consider a degree important when recruiting.

The research by money transfer service RationalFX found that student mental health is declining, with a recent ONS survey revealing that 63% of students said their mental wellbeing had worsened since the start of the academic year in September 2020. Furthermore, 55% of students say they are considering dropping out of their courses.

In addition, new graduates will encounter a job market where 30% of business owners say a degree is not important at all when recruiting, while a further 26% rate the qualification as not very important, according to a poll by YouGov.

Despite this, the numbers for university applications this year have risen. New data from UCAS reveals that there have been 10% more applications for this Autumn, rising from 281,000 last year to a record 311,000, with 44% of school leavers applying for university places.

Commenting on the study, a spokesperson for RationalFX said: “Choosing whether to study for a degree has always been a big decision, but the impact of the pandemic has probably made it even more significant.

“For the majority of employers, a degree is far from essential, and for many students the last academic year has been very difficult. And with the cost of attending university higher than ever before, it is certainly not a decision to be taken lightly.”

Only 14% of businesses say a degree is very important while one in four consider it somewhat important. Larger businesses are more likely to consider a degree valuable when hiring a new employee, with 56% saying that it is important, compared to one in five small businesses.

The employment sector that places the greatest importance on degrees during the hiring process is Legal, with IT & Telecoms coming in second.

Finance and Accounting comes in third, followed by Media & Marketing, Manufacturing and Construction.

Marketing is split with 47% of businesses believing a degree is important, and 50% saying it is not. The sector that places the least importance on having a degree is hospitality and leisure.

Younger business owners are much more likely to value a degree, with 23% of those aged under 35 rating one as very important, compared to just 8% of UK business owners aged 55 and over.

Businesses in London are more likely to value a degree when they are looking for new hires, with 62% considering it at least somewhat important, while nearly of half of businesses in Wales (46%) say the qualification is not important at all.

The analysis was conducted by RationalFX, which is one of Europe’s leading international payment providers. Its competitive exchange rates, market expertise, suite of FX products and online payment platform enable bank transfers in more than 50 currencies worldwide.

Employment Sector and their opinion on the importance of a degree for a new hire
SectorVery importantSomewhat importantNot important at all
Legal402611
IT & Telecoms193917
Finance and Accounting213318
Media/Marketing/advertising/ PR & Sales182923
Manufacturing132531
Construction112540
Retail141635
Hospitality and Leisure61348
UK businesses and their opinion on the importance of a degree, split by region
RegionVery importantSomewhat importantNot important at all
London273517
Southeast72529
Southwest72437
Wales111346
Scotland141936
North62239
Midlands152128
https://www.rationalfx.com