'I feel like I am wasting my life': readers on being overqualified | Guardian readers the Guardian September 2017 According to a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research, the number of people in the UK stuck in jobs for which they are overqualified has increased by nearly a third since 2006. We asked readers to tell us how they feel and what can be done to ensure that employees’ skills are fully used. Some names have been changed to protect identities. Tony, 43, labourer, London: I feel like I am wasting my life I have a first class degree in history of art, a higher national diploma (HND) and a foundation in both graphics and design. I have worked as a book cover designer, been the opening manager for a number of restaurants managing teams of up to 40, and I even spent four years at a major auction house researching and writing catalogue essays. While I enjoy the physical demands of my role I am left intellectually unchallenged. I feel wasted and as if all I did before was for nothing. I was made redundant in October and after five months of no replies to many job applications I was forced for financial reasons to take this role. I am tremendously frustrated by the terrible recruitment agents who have been anything but useful and respectful. Sarah, 26, marketing assistant, Sheffield: I don’t feel confident in my abilities any more I am a graduate in languages who undertook various work placements before finding my part-time job during my part-time MA. I was told that alongside my everyday tasks there would be opportunities for me to learn more and do more jobs with the manager. However, almost three years later these additional opportunities have never materialised. Organisations seem increasingly unwilling to properly train staff in skills that will benefit both them and the staff who undertake them. aIf overqualified workers were able to retrain at an organisation in an area they are interested in, this would create greater loyalty and allow organisations to fill skills gaps with people who already know the company. I am now unproductive because I am bored and not challenged. Simon, 55, parcel delivery worker, Coventry: British companies don’t really cherish and develop their employees When I started my current job I was actually a chartered IT professional but I have let this lapse as it didn’t seem appropriate or to be doing me much good. I have a degree and am also qualified as a teacher but it isn’t a job I am gifted at. My situation makes me laugh and cry. I laugh because I earn more than a lot of teachers do in a job for which, technically, I require no qualifications at all; I cry because with “grade inflation” my degree is now not good enough to get me on to the graduate development programme in the company I work for. I don’t think British companies have ever really thought of their workers as a resource to be cherished and developed. Being overqualified really means no one wants to take you with the qualifications you have. Kim, 52, administrator, Plymouth: I rarely get the opportunity to use my wider skills I have three degree-level qualifications, some HNDs in project management and business as well as 15 years in a management role running large projects. I love the charity I work for and am passionate about what we do but the combination of very strictly adhered-to roles and everincreasing demands on very limited resources mean I rarely get the opportunity to use my wider skills which is frustrating. I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all solution. My observation is that this affects four groups in particular: new graduates, older workers who are 40-plus, anyone who’s had a career break (say, maternity leave), or anyone who needs shorter or flexible hours. We can’t magically create graduate jobs for everyone with a degree (and some employers may now ask for a degree when A-levels would have been sufficient 20 years ago). Nor can we force employers to be less prejudiced towards those who fall outside their expectations. What we can do is outlaw unpaid internships and enforce anti-discrimination laws. Proper funding of public services would also help as they used to be a great place for the less traditional candidate. 736 words