When he first came to power, Tony Blair proudly announced his party’s big focus was “Education, Education, Education�. A praiseworthy enough focus and certainly not an area one would think of associating with frustration and increasing personal debt. But over the years, as more and more institutions have gained university status, and student loans have become easily available to all, schools have encouraged greater numbers of young people to go for higher education without actually pointing out the cost.

There isn’t any doubt that we need a much more educated society, but are youngsters actually receiving the most appropriate advice? Let’s face it; it isn’t a difficult sell to persuade the youth of today to leave the family home and live with their pals, not worry about obtaining a job for several years and get cheap beer at the university bar. A facile interpretation maybe – of course there’s a bit of lectures to go to, and a careful balance to keep afloat, then the rewards will be worth it in the end. But is that true For a great deal of families, the cost of university education can go on for many years after graduation, both in financial and social terms.

The student loan system (the best method of lending for students at university), tuition fees, accommodation and day to day living expenses over the time spent studying can set you back well over £30,000 – without any guarantee of work. It’s not a funny joke that freedom-seeking teenagers out to conquer the world too often become back-at-home twenty-somethings who haven’t even conquered their first job. Not only do parents continue having to pay for everything, but time on their hands adult children who’d previously flown the nest can significantly make things awkward!

A university education can be a rewarding time for young people, and is the only course for many of our professions. But schools and parents need to be aware that in some subjects, there are other, sometimes better alternatives. As far as IT is concerned, employers are desperate for professionally qualified IT professionals. Those who’ve been to University 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 qualified two to three years earlier and been without a really large debt if they’d studied with a distance learning computer training provider. Possibly drinking in the college bar isn’t such good value after all – certainly the family coffers 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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