Caroline Carter
THE problem of young people not returning to Guernsey after university is not one that can be solved entirely via the proposal of an extra couple of affordable housing sites, or initiatives like GradRoutes.
It is impossible to eradicate the mass exodus of graduates as Guernsey simply cannot compete with the opportunity and connectivity provided by the UK or elsewhere.
While Guernsey was an idyllic and comfortable place to grow up, especially before the shut down of the bowling alley, many young people want to explore a world beyond their comfort zone, a difficult feat when returning to an island with limited space, career opportunity, and transport connectivity.
Several years studying off-island also means our personal and professional connections have been cultivated elsewhere, worsening Guernsey’s hand when it comes to post-university pathways.
And, the nail in the coffin; the UK provides these benefits for a fraction of the price it would cost to return to Guernsey. With rent averaging at £2,000 per month on-island last year, I could live with friends in London or Manchester for half the price, cities with a wealth of professional opportunity and extremely convenient transport links. For those who aren’t already drawn to live back in the Channel Islands or want to pursue the path of least resistance into the Big Four, there is not much incentive on any front to return here to work, especially when so much of our lives is now rooted elsewhere.
So, while affordable housing will, and GradRoutes can, benefit the island, I don’t believe they will serve as the silver bullet for ensuring graduates return after their studies.
Ivan Deverick
TO READ that so many graduates will not be back in Guernsey due to housing issues is sad, albeit not surprising.
Rental prices soar. Those most affected are those with low income or without a job.
Often, these are graduates who have lived three years elsewhere, in cities with a more attractive housing market, with better employment and social options, and a style of living which no island can offer.
In February 2023, the States identified population as a key challenge to housing. People age.
This brings labour shortages alongside the need for more economic support.
To be an employed Guernsey graduate is to be an asset to the island.
It’s to fix long-term demographic issues which won’t affect you and I so much as our children and their own.
This existential threat requires genuine government initiative.
I suggest one simple fix – more graduate schemes.
You won’t convince anyone to stay unless three years of education goes into something worthwhile.
If graduates know there is a place to work among family and friends, which there always should be, then they won’t leave.
As graduates claw for employment nationally, having options in Guernsey encourages them to return home now more than ever.
The States must listen and businesses must advertise. Graduates who have seen the wider world require good options to come home.
Those that exist should be made known, and if not, then created.