Universities must move away from the traditional three-year courses and offer more “fast-track” degrees to help reduce education budgets and boost the economy, the British government said on Wednesday.

Cutting next year’s higher education budget, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said he wanted to see more students taking degrees that last just two years.

With Britain slowly emerging from the longest recession on record, he said the recovery would need more graduates with work-related degrees in areas such as science and engineering.

Teaching unions said the announcement was a “Christmas kick in the teeth” that would lead to job cuts and a two-tier education system which benefits privileged students.

But the government said the changes would help cut public spending, make universities more flexible and create more graduates able to contribute to the economic recovery.