Parents increasingly expect a good return on investment from sending their child to university according to a new report from HSBC, The Value of Education: Springboard for success.

The report, which surveyed over 4,500 parents in 15 countries, found that parents expect a university education to prepare their child for a successful career.

Globally, more than two in five parents (43%) say the ability to compete in the workplace is a key expectation of a good university education. This is most important to parents in Mexico (57%) and Malaysia (52%), while income-earning potential tops the list of requirements from parents in India (41%).

More than a third (37%) of parents believe that university degrees should contribute to income-earning potential in adult life, and a similar proportion believe that university should provide vocational or professional training (34%) and access to opportunities in life (34%). More specifically, parents in Australia (43%), Turkey (43%) and France (33%) believe vocational or professional training is the top requirement of a good university education.

Parents around the world are united in having high aspirations for their children when it comes to education. Nearly nine in 10 (89%) parents want their children to go to university and 62% want their child to go on to study at a postgraduate level – Malaysia (91%), Turkey (86%), Brazil (84%) and India (83%).

Education is an Investment for the Future

Globally, more than half (58%) of parents believe that paying for a child’s education is the best investment you can make. This belief is most strongly held in Brazil (79%) and China (77%).

Education is considered a top priority for parents all around the world. When deciding how they would allocate money to support their children financially in life, parents put education first, ideally setting aside 42% of their funds for the purpose of their child’s education. Parents in Canada would allocate the most money towards their child’s education (54%), while parents in the UK would allocate the least (24%).

While parents have high expectations of what education should provide, many feel anxious when planning their child’s education – more than a third (38%) say they find making decisions about their child’s education daunting and just over half (51%) wish they had started to plan and save earlier for their child’s education.

Simon Williams, Group Head of Wealth Management, HSBC, commented: “It is clear from the research that parents around the world still believe that a good education can improve children’s opportunities and prospects in an increasingly globalised and competitive world”.

“Yet parents are also aware that all of this can be put at risk by a failure to prepare adequately. There are choices to be made and often some financial implications to these choices. These decisions weigh heavily on parents, and many regret not starting their planning sooner. It is never too early to start investing and saving for your child’s education.”