Employment value of university alternatives underestimated
Many parents do not understand the range of different routes into a career that students can take after they leave school, research has showed.
A survey of 750 parents by City & Guilds found that almost half (49 per cent) of respondents said they didn’t fully understand the educational alternatives to GCSEs, A-Levels and university, which meant that 34 per cent felt ill-equipped to give their children advice about career paths.
The majority of parents (72 per cent) said they did not want their children to follow in their footsteps after leaving school.
Almost half of respondents (49 per cent) thought that university was the best option for an 18 year old, while 24 per cent said that higher level and advanced apprenticeships were the best option.
Most parents (47 per cent) also said that teachers have the most responsibility for advising young people on their options, while 33 per cent felt parents have the greatest responsibility for giving their offspring educational advice.
In 1990, when many of the parents surveyed were making their own educational choices, the number of students obtaining university degrees was 77,163. In 2011, that figure had rocketed to 350,800.
However, City & Guilds research in 2013 showed that 55 per cent of employers agree that young people who have taken a vocational route are better equipped for the workplace than those with an academic qualification.
And 44 per cent of last year’s university graduates were predicted to be unemployed or underemployed six months after leaving full time education compared with 4.5 per cent of people with a Level 4 apprenticeship, according to an AAT and CEBR report.
“The educational landscape has changed enormously since these parents were sitting their exams. It is worrying, but understandable given the pace of change, that so many parents are not fully aware of all the options available at each stage of education,” said Kirstie Donnelly, UK managing director of City & Guilds.
“Although there is still a bias towards A-Levels and university, we are gradually seeing more young people waking up to the benefits of further education routes. What’s important for parents and young people to understand are the real opportunities for progression available through further education.”
City & Guilds plans to launch its TechBac in September, with a new curriculum that sits alongside A-Levels and has industry endorsement to help young people develop the necessary skills to get work ready.
The parents surveyed came from a range of educational backgrounds. The highest proportion (31 per cent) left school at 16, 17 per cent had a bachelor’s degree and 12 per cent left school after A-levels.