Is education preparing us for work?
A Youth Ambassador story… by Aidan Darrall
Is education preparing us for work? Indeed. As a graduate, it is a question that I
have asked myself repeatedly over the last few weeks as I struggle to find work. As of today, I am a graduate who works part-time in retail, which I have done for four years now. Personally, I feel like my employment has prepared me more for full-time work than my education has. My degree has prepared me in some ways though, in terms of organisation and leadership skills and strengthened my ability to listen etc… but reading books hasn’t necessarily prepared me for the wider world of work!
HR Magazine’s David Woods said, “The education system needs to focus on preparing students for work.” He argued, that society needs to look at the ways in which the education system has failed and continues to fail to prepare students for work, saying that “a commitment to hard work, presentation and punctuality is more important than literacy and numeracy skills when firms fill entry level jobs.”
I chose English Literature because it is quite an open subject and I didn’t want to limit myself to one career choice. Although I did enjoy reading English, I cannot help but wonder if choosing a more specific, career-focused degree would have been better in preparing me for work. It is the strange situation that we currently find ourselves in that many employers demand experience as well as education, practical as well as proof of academic aptitude. Such a demand suggests that education may not be as important in preparing us for work as it once was and that there has been a seismic shift that prefers work experience and work-ready skills in the applicants they are willing to consider.
My top tips for those in a similar situation to myself would be:
- Get work experience. (Sometimes easier said than done)
This applies to people who opt to attend university and those who make the decision not to.
- Think clearly about the type of career you want.
If you are unsure about the career path you wish to follow, I would suggest thinking carefully
about the seemingly far off application to jobs three years later. Will it look more impressive to
have studied a broad subject that supplies you with a number of skills, or focus on a course that
is more career- specific and structured? You do not want to find yourself three years down the
line with as vague a plan as the one you started with, and more debt to boot.
- Do you really want to spend £30000 at university?
We have seen university fees increase by 30% making one year’s tuition fees just shy of £9000. It isa lot of money and it is important to weigh up the benefits of actually going to university over the multitude of other options available to school leavers today. Scour the Internet and ask these decisive questions. Aidan Darrall
