Depends on what you want to do. I don't think uni is for most people though. We also have far too many university's for such a small country.
I'm in quite a bit of student loans debt myself. I needed Uni or nepotism to do what I'm doing. Nepotism wasn't an option so I went to Uni. The reality is that we need University and their graduates. Plenty of work needs years of classroom training prior to entering the workforce. Simple as that While the world needs plenty of builders, plummers, sparkies and so on it also needs a lot of people with formal tertiary education. The trouble is the UK has slipped too far and too many are going to Uni.
Maybe we do (i was never gonna go to uni so thats one less place that would have been needed) but as has been said there are to many unis and for sure some are taking an easy kop out for a few years. Certainly not all but some.
It was a short sighted policy. 30 years ago only around 5% of teenagers went to Uni, that hit circa 25% in the Blair era. It lead to skills shortages across the spectrum and employers were having to import skilled labour from all over the globe. Students were then leaving Uni with non career specific degrees, with no experience of doing anything, and wondering why they couldn't find employment at the level that they were hoping for. There's going to be a huge surge in work based degrees in the coming years which makes far more sense.
It's the labour market innit, if it was up to me, right now to decide my future, I'd look at what The US or Canada has a shortage of, then go and do that at Uni, that's with the benefit of hindsight, which nobody has aged 18 and deciding what to do with their life. People are learning, getting 'qualified' then finding themselves competing with literally thousands of other applicants for single positions. It's not as easy as it looks is it, when the fun stops and it's time to get a job.
Had a quick look. There are 106 unis. Most of them are ****! Outside the top 30 or so, there's no point.
The simple solution is to find work, preferably that you like, and get qualified in that. For me, that's the best way to have a skilled and competent work force.
Maybe not so simple when you're 18, half the kids are gormless idiots who sit there wanting somebody else to think for them. You normally don't enjoy doing things until you find out you're good at it.
My daughter graduated last year. She received a statement of her uni fees a few weeks ago with, if I recall correctly, about a £100 quid interest going on each month. She's got a good job now but she's never going to be able to pay it off. My youngest finished his engineering apprenticeship at Tata Steel last year and he's doing reaĺly well. Can turn his hand to any practical task, something I can't do. The oldest didn't do either, was a bit of a handful but he's calming down now! He's head chef in a good restaurant. Teenagers need to think hard about further education. Not about the loan debt though, I wouldn't give that a second thought. I'd be more concerned about the quality of the degree and whether there's a meaningful career path following it. My daughter graduated in Architecture but just couldn't get into the business.
Some people haven't got two brain cells and are academically hopeless. But, boy, some are absolute geniuses when it comes to doing stuff with their hands (which they usually really enjoy} Instead of forcing extra education on them, encourage them in say the woodwork or metalwork pointing them towards a trade. I would do a deal with them, ok drop history, geography,biology. but replace them with, and work hard at, business studies instead - then say if you fancy being a plumber, then one day maybe instead of grafting for others, you could be the one who owns a plumbing company.
Wh At the risk of being nosy, where did your daughter get her degree and what did she get. My place (in the London office) might be looking for an architect AND she would have the pleasure of working with me . I can always put in a good word if we are looking.
Derby Uni. She now has a job in Recruitment and is loving it. Its at the high end of the market, working for blue chip companies recruiting mainly from overseas it sounds like. She's loving it and can expect to be on a bloody good salary within a few years. Thanks for the offer but you're getting nowhere near her
Yeah recruitment is highly lucrative if you can sell! Good luck to her! she's probably too young marra plus I could never be with an architect!
If things continue as they are, they're gonna be gooners anyway!! Looks like grandad (god I'm not ready for that yet) will have to be taking them on a 200m round trip every couple of weeks to brainwash them into red and white!
