Is this the story you're referring to (or one like it)?

Times Online Feb 13 2010

If you're talking about graduates, i.e. those who have taken their degree and finished their university career, then this has nothing to do with universities. The university I worked in for many years had, and has, a very high rate of graduate employment, through good contacts with industry and the professions, and a high quality careers counselling. But it's a hard economic climate, and getting a degree doesn't automatically get you a job in the real world. But note, paying for voluntary work after graduation has nothing to do with how the degree itself has been paid for.

If you're talking about work placement, i.e. work carried out during the study period, this is an essential part of some degrees - clinical placement for a physiotherapy student, for example, requires a 1,000 hours of practical experience in various hospitals throughout the course. This is set by the Chartered Society, by the way, not the university. And, yes, this is covered by student fees - it's an alternative way of teaching and learning to conventional classroom contact.

But why take a swipe at all degrees in all universities? Of course there are relative social values in degrees of various sorts - I'm not a huge believer in degrees in "Media Studies", for example - but I'd rather have a well-qualified doctor than not...