Gareth Jones BBC Wales business editor

Five times more people go to university now than 25 years ago

Five times as many of them will go into higher education than they did 25 years ago. That's a huge increase and it's being driven by government policy.

But are youngsters doing the right courses at university to get themselves a job?

Are more graduates good for business? And do you have to have a degree today to succeed?

The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) wants more graduates so we can compete globally. Last year a snapshot survey suggested nearly two-out-of-three sixth formers are now going on to higher education. That compares with just over one in 10 back in the late seventies.

Representatives of big business say we need more graduates because having a university degree indicates certain standards.

Wales needs more graduates for industry, assembly ministers say

According to David Rosser of CBI Wales: " A university degree should show - if students haven't been spoon fed - that you are self-motivated and capable of independent thought and learning."

Not everyone thinks graduates are necessarily good for business, though.

One of the country's most famous entrepreneurs, Sir Alan Sugar, has gone on record as saying he'd rather employ people who've made their own way in the world straight after school. The two finalists in his TV show The Apprentice had only five GCSEs between them.

But a visit to the noisy, vibrant floor of one of Wales most successful new companies, Communications Direct, suggests that all kinds - graduates and people with more vocational training, are needed in modern business.

Science and technology

The company is expanding rapidly and has half a million mobile phone customers. Perhaps most significantly of all, its co-founder, Marc Winchester, of Swansea, left school at 17.

"I'm a big believer in the "university of life", he says. "Leaving school early gave me a hunger for money and now I have a company employing 500 people."

With WAG emphasising the need for more of us to start our own business, shouldn't we be cultivating more people like Marc with his money-making nous rather than getting more into university?

WAG says no, because many of the new industries of the future will require graduates in science and technology. The problem is many of our young people don't seem interested in studying these subjects.

According to the union Amicus, the growth in university entrance may not do every student or the economy much good.

Cath Speight, who represents Amicus in Wales, says: "Too many youngsters are doing degrees in subjects like media studies or 'football studies'.

"There needs to be more consultation between government, business and education. But I think this is beginning to happen in Wales."

Clearly, with other countries producing more and more highly qualified people, we need to as well. But there's still work to be done on exactly what careers we should be asking our young people to follow.