Notgoingtouni.co.uk are backing Lord Digby Jones in his call for a rethink to university focus. Lord Jones, the ex-Director General of the CBI, believes that people need to get out of the mindset that you can only succeed by going to university which is our core message at notgoingtouni.
With undergraduate applications to start university this September up by 12%, UCAS predicting 200,000 young people will be unable to attend university and an average of 70 graduates applying for each graduate level job, it has never been more important for people to look into the alternatives and realise that a successful career can be achieved without attending a full time campus based university degree course. Lord Jones believes that we need more young people working towards a vocational training course or work based learning option, rather than believing that they are a failure if they do not follow the tradition route of going to university.
Carl Gilleard, from the Association of Graduate Recruiters, believes that there may have just been too much emphasis on going to university and agrees that many young people would be better off choosing an alternative path. A YouGov poll found that only 35% of teachers could see a clear progression route for Vocational Qualifications, compared to 85% who could see a clear progression route for the traditional academic path. Thisshows an alarming knowledge gap in thosetasked with providing careers guidance and must be addressed as a matter of urgency. It is incredibly important that teachers and careers professionals learn about all of the alternatives to the academic route, in order to accurately inform students about their options and allow young people to make an educated decision about their future, rather than pressuring all young people to attend university because it is the option they know most about.
Sarah Clover, Communications Director at notgoingtouni.co.uk, is glad that other people are finally taking a more common sense approach to university saying: "While I believe that university is a valid option for many people, I feel that young people need to be made aware of the marketplace which awaits them when they graduate so that they can decide if it is the best route to take. The fact that 52 per cent of employers believe the jobs market has too many people with purely academic qualifications, and 68 per cent of employers think there are too few candidates with vocational qualifications and practical skills, also shows that ignoring any alternatives to the academic route during careers advice is actually putting young people at a disadvantage when they enter the world of work."
Notgoingtouni.co.uk offers an extensive range of alternative options to university including Apprenticeships, Foundation Degrees, distance learning and employer funded study as well as training courses in over 40 different sectors.
