Further education
Should your students go further? F
or it, against it, everyone’s got an opinion on it. Suzy Gunn, Operations Director of Active IQ, discusses the pros and cons of pursuing further education
Over the last decade or more, university has gone from being just an option to becoming an almost obligatory educational route for young people in the UK. Strongly supported by government initiatives and directives for many years, going to university and attaining a degree has become the norm – often irrespective of the intended career of the individual. Of course, university can be a fantastic option for students, and many careers require specific academic degrees and learning that only a university can provide. However, this is not always the case, and the fact that university has been presented to a generation as the way to achieve a good career has actually created some real difficulties – not just for the prospects of our young people, but even the economic prospects of our country. Obviously, the dramatic change in the country’s economic fortunes since 2008 has played a big part in bringing these issues to the fore, but the truth is the UK’s funneling of young people into university was by no means a risk free strategy. Clearly it is great to have degree-qualified young people, but in order to establish themselves as key parts of the workforce, they need to be qualified specifically for something.
Degrees fall short
To provide an example, in the Active Leisure industry (which is the industry in which I work), there are degrees, such as sports science, that young people often undertake as a means of breaking into the health and fitness industry. However, such degrees are often primarily theoretical, and therefore do
not allow graduates (as they might reasonably expect!) to go straight into industry positions. More often than not, they still require further qualifications – ones that give them the practical credentials and soft skills that employers in the sector are really looking for.
From the perspective of the student, it is a question of value, both in terms of experience and finance. If, having completed a three-year degree at considerable personal expense, graduates are told they are still not appropriately qualified for the profession in which they wish to enter – then that is a real problem. No matter how highly one values the social benefits of university, I doubt that many could think that it stretches to £9,000 a year!
In the last twelve months, the Government has launched a number of initiatives to encourage apprenticeships, vocational courses and work experience as alternatives to university. This is exactly what is needed, and although university enrollment numbers have dropped, I suspect that this might have more to do with pure cost, rather than be the result of the attitudinal shift needed to convince students and parents that progressive, rewarding careers can be pursued without university. Naturally, this is something that will take time – after all, successive governments over the last 10 to 15 years have been telling people the exact opposite.
The right option
But don’t confuse my message – university is the right option for many young people who want to further their education or get closer to their chosen career. It’s just that in specific sectors further education needs to be a choice that is related to a working future. Likewise, greater effort needs to be made to communicate to our young people about the skills that employers really value. This is particularly important now, given that one
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of the more troubling consequences of so many going to university, is that the value of a degree inevitably devalues. The flipside, of course, is a far greater emphasis upon practical and work experience. Though this truth can be painful, young people need to know this.
Apprenticeships may well be the solution as, both employer and employee have a chance to ensure a specific workplace skillset can be achieved. However, in the short-term, there are not enough apprenticeships available, and more companies need to get involved to really ensure that the further educational options available to young people reflect the skills and learning needed in the UK workforce. Another option which can help address the issues in this article looks at a solution adopted at a number of progressive universities; to embed practical qualifications on more vocationally orientated courses within the structure of the degree. This way the student not only receives the social and academic education that they want, but they also gain the skills they need, graduating in a position to directly enter employment in their chosen field. This would benefit the graduate, the university and UK employers. Instead of encouraging a mindset whereby university is just a rite-of-passage experience that precedes the serious business of getting a career, school and college leavers need to be encouraged to see their further education and future career as part of the same route; to see that
apprenticeships and vocational skills-based education is an extremely viable, rewarding and in-demand option. Once this happens, not only will our young people find the job market to be a more welcoming place, but the skills gap that is stifling the UK at present will begin to narrow.
uFor more information on Active IQ please visit
www.activeiq.co.uk June 2013
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