When he originally came to power, Mr Blair proudly stated that his party’s mantra was “Education, Education, Education�. A praiseworthy enough focus and seemingly not something a person would immediately link to frustration and growing personal debt. But as time has gone on, as more and more institutions have acquired the status of a university, and student loans have become effortlessly available to everyone, schools have encouraged a lot more young people to go for higher education without really pointing out the cost.
There isn’t any doubt that we should have a more educated society, but are young people actually getting the very best advice? Let’s face it; is it such a hard sell to persuade a young adult to leave the family home and live with their pals, not bother about getting a job for several years and get discounted beer at the university bar. A facile interpretation maybe – of course there’s a bit of studying to be done, 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 can go on for a long period after graduation, both socially and financially.
The student loan system (the best method of funding for students at university), fees for tuition, rent and general costs of living over the course duration can set you back well into five figures – without any guarantee of work. It’s not a funny joke 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 time on their hands adult children who’d previously flown the nest can definitely cramp their style!
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. University graduates frequently have to bolster their computer training skills to be industry ready and fare in the job market against Microsoft, CompTIA or Cisco professionals. The sorry thing is they would have saved themselves three years and been without a really large debt had they gone straight to a distance learning computer training provider. Perhaps the beer 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.
More Resources for Computer Course
