Further Education vs Industry Recognised IT Training
When he originally came to power, Mr Blair proudly announced that his party’s mantra was “Education, Education, Education�. A admirable enough focus and certainly not an area one would think of associating with frustration and high personal debt. But as time has gone on, as more and more colleges have gained the status of a university, and student loans have become easily available to everyone, schools have encouraged greater numbers of young people to go for higher education without really pointing out the cost.
There’s no doubt that we need a more educated society, but are youngsters often getting the very best advice? In reality; it isn’t a hard sell to persuade the youth of today to leave home and live with mates, not concern themselves about obtaining a job for three or four years and get cheap beer at the university bar. A over simplified interpretation maybe – inevitably there’s a spot of studying to be done, and a careful balance to keep afloat, then the rewards will be worth it in the end. But is that really so? For a lot of families, the cost of university education can go on for many years after graduation, both in social and financial terms.
Student Loans (the best method of funding for university undergraduates), tuition fees, accommodation and day to day living expenses over the course duration can set you back well over £30,000 – without any guarantee of a job. It’s to nobody’s amusement that freedom-seeking teenagers out to conquer the world too often are forced to return home because they can’t find work. Not only do mums and dads find themselves still stumping up the cash, but frustrated adult children back home again can definitely get in the way!
Formal education can be a great thing for young people, and is the only course for many of our professions. But advisors and families need to be aware that in some disciplines, there are other, frequently superior alternatives. As far as IT is concerned, employers are desperate for professionally qualified IT professionals. Those who’ve been to University often end up having to top up their IT training skills to be industry ready and compete in the job market against Microsoft, CompTIA or Cisco professionals. The sorry thing is they could have qualified two to three years earlier and not had a really large debt if they’d studied with a commercial interactive computer training provider. Maybe drinking in the student union bar isn’t quite so cheap after all – surely the family coffers would be a lot less used up, and life would be lot more comfortable for all.
(C) Scott Edwards - www.learninglolly.com. Scott Edwards has been involved in the IT and Training Industry for 30 years.
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