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Further Education vs Industry Recognised IT Learning
When he first came to power, Mr Blair proudly announced his party’s mantra was “Education, Education, Education�. A worthy enough focus and seemingly not an area a person would think of associating with frustration and high personal debt. But over the years, as more and more institutions have gained the status of a university, and student loans have become easily available to all, schools have encouraged many more young people to go for higher education without really spelling out the cost.
There isn’t any doubt that we need a more highly educated society, but is everyone often obtaining the best advice? In reality; it’s not a tricky sell to promote to a young adult to leave home and live with a bunch of friends, not bother about finding a job for several years and get cheap beer at the student union bar. A simplified interpretation perhaps – obviously there’s a bit of lessons to attend, and a careful balance to make ends meet, then the rewards will be worth it in the end. Or will they? For many families, the real cost of university education lasts for a long period after graduation, both in financial and social terms.
Student Loans (the best method of lending for university undergraduates), tuition fees, rent and day to day living expenses over the time spent studying can set you back well over £30,000 – and still no guarantee of work. It’s ironic that intellectual adolescents too often are forced to return home because they can’t find work. Not only do mums and dads continue having to pay for everything, but frustrated adult children back home again can obviously make things awkward!
Formal education can be a rewarding time for young people, and is the only way for many of our professions. But advisors and families should know that in some areas, there are other, often better alternatives. In the world of Information Technology, employers are always searching for professionally qualified IT professionals. Only having a university degree means students often end up having to bolster their computer training skills to be industry ready and fare in the job market with Microsoft, CompTIA or Cisco professionals. The disappointing thing is they might have saved themselves three years and been without a unmanageable debt if they’d studied with a commercial interactive computer training provider. Maybe drinking in the college bar isn’t such good value after all – it’s true the bank of mum and dad 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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