Student protests in Westminster LIVE right now!

They should encourage more apprenticeships / sponsorships.

I work 4 days a week, and go to uni for one day, which is a pretty horrendous 9 hours of lectures and 2 hours of labs. I still have all the coursework / self learning to do, which is done in the evenings after a full days work. Slightly confused how I have more lectures in one day, than some supposedly full time courses have in a week.

There aren't a massive amount of opportunities out there, which is why there needs to be a change. Industries should realise that training up juniors without degrees is a good idea - UK needs to get out of the situation of having a degree as the entry level qualification.

[jamesterror]

Originally Posted by TazDaz

They should encourage more apprenticeships / sponsorships.

I work 4 days a week, and go to uni for one day, which is a pretty horrendous 9 hours of lectures and 2 hours of labs. I still have all the coursework / self learning to do, which is done in the evenings after a full days work. Slightly confused how I have more lectures in one day, than some supposedly full time courses have in a week.

I agree with that, I'd happily have my full time uni course that consists of 12 hours over two days and work the other 3 days a week, probably at the weekend too.

More and more students leave school with a quadzillion A*****'s Well more stars then you need to serve chips in MacD's with and yet this is reported in the paper this morning
HERE
How does that work?

[MisterTommyH]

Our company generally doesn't employ graduates. They either take on a junior and train them up through day release or take on people who have at least 5 years experience. To them a graduate it just a junior that they have to pay more. They may have a greater amount of background knowledge but they still have to learn the industry experience which the junior is learning from 18.

Plus, how can you send the graduate to fetch the cakes?

It's how i served my time. 4 days working 1 on my BTEC/HNC/HND and now going for a degree and in comparision to the full time students us part time ones are a million times smarter. They have no practical skills which doesn't help when they go for a job. Degree without practical skills doesn't help.

Originally Posted by thefallenangel

It's how i served my time. 4 days working 1 on my BTEC/HNC/HND and now going for a degree and in comparision to the full time students us part time ones are a million times smarter. They have no practical skills which doesn't help when they go for a job. Degree without practical skills doesn't help.

Same...straight from school, BTEC, HNC and now BEng. In third year of in-house graduate development scheme, X amount of project management courses/certificates and earn more than a fresh graduate does, despite only in the office 4 days. Entry-level money was **** to start with though.

Government should support, not necessarily financially, these sorts of career routes as opposed to the leave school, go to college, go to uni, can't get a job.

[tigersaw]

Coming from the other side of the desk as it were, I despair at how totally unsuitable and unprepared graduates often are for the job market.
Fortunately I don't have to interview directly, but I do get involved in pre-assessing engineering applicants. Many of the graduates I see tend to be over confident, **** sure and fatally useless. I've had more suitable school summer placements. Really.

Originally Posted by Tommy H

Plus, how can you send the graduate to fetch the cakes?

If they're not prepared to do that then they should get the sack.

For some people, one of the hardest lessons in life is that we are all in the same boat, we all have feelings, and we all like to be treated with respect. A graduate is not above anyone else in terms of doing the sh!t jobs. If you can't do the sh!t jobs then you have no understanding of what really happens in any given organisation. Cut a bin man, he bleeds.

Not that getting cake is a sh!t job

[maviczap]

I propose a new qualification to study for

'A degree in common sense' or 'Degree for life skills'

A lot of newbies at our place haven't got the slight bit of common sense

Example:

The electronic barrier at our place is fubarred, new parts on order, so you have to go the long way out, untilo it gets fixed

Newbies in a van, couldn't be arsed to go the long way and proceeded to try and raise the barrier by hand

All caught on CCTV and all to save about 2 mins

heres my perspective, free education is a good thing which i thoroughly support for children and not adults. if you want FURTHER education then pay for it. i learned to drive a car and paid for it. i learned how to ride and paid for it.
i have suffered two years on 3/4 day weeks without a touch of o/time or bonus. my annual income has fallen around 12k. i have a family, mortgage, utillity bills, loans and so on. its still a struggle but thank god we are all still together in the home that our children are growing up in.
i haven't once protested, destroyed and beaten anyone because it will not solve anything. students do have my sympathy but in this world no-one should get a free ride.
are students above any personal financial hardship while i trudge on.