Skipping university and starting a job can be best, minister tells A-level pupils

BRIGHT sixth formers picking up their results this week should consider vocational courses to save money and get a job quicker, the skills minister has said.

Anne Milton urged youngsters to look at foundation qualifications for jobs like nursing, engineering and IT, which in some cases can take as little as a year and are highly sought-after by employers.

She stressed that while a traditional degree is right for many people, others may just want to get stuck into work as quickly as possible. And she said it was wrong to be snobby about job-focused courses – as in many cases they can lead to better- paid employment than degrees.

Former nurse Mrs Milton made the comments days before pupils pick up their A-level results on Thursday. She said young people should ‘consider all the options’.

‘You might have automatically thought you should go to university ... [and] have got your grades,’ she said. ‘But have another look, and see what’s out there.

‘And if you haven’t got the grades for the course that you wanted to do, then there are loads of other options.

‘A full-time academic degree is not the only way to succeed. You can get just as high if not higher on other paths.’ She said one option is to do a level 4 or 5 qualification, which is a step beyond A-levels and often involves much shorter study than a degree.

These qualifications include foundation degrees, diplomas of higher education and apprenticeships. The courses, which can be done part-time, are offered at universities and further education colleges, and can lead to jobs such as rail engineering technician and junior nurse. Mrs Milton added: ‘If you start applying for level 4 or level 5 qualifications, you will actually find it is quite a competitive market ... You will be with some very able people. Don’t be snobby or think that anything is better than anything else, because that’s not the case.’

Her intervention comes at a time when around half of pupils go to university – where fees are £9,250 a year – meaning there is an oversupply of graduates in some fields. It means some graduates leave with up to £50,000 of debt but still end up in non-graduate jobs.

Meanwhile initial findings from a Government review of levels 4 and 5 have shown there is a growing demand for those with vocational qualifications.

Mrs Milton said some people taking vocational routes can find they are better value-for money.

Discussing degrees, she said: ‘You have to ask yourself whether it is a good investment – am I going to get good value for money ... Think very hard before you take that step.’