A chain goes something like this...
New Labour attempt to establish better education - decided everyone with a degree is best way forwards - campaign so successful that degrees lose their value and not having one is begun to be seen as a bad thing - little interest in practical jobs
why?
because a banker can earn £50 000 right out of university if your lucky. Whats an electricians wage? or even an engineer? Not that high early on.
Greed, its a wonderful thing.