Once upon a time, when you finished secondary education the most logical next step to your career was university. But that was then, and this is now: apparently only 40% of people who’ve left university recently have managed to find themselves a graduate position, while many more still have yet to find any kind of work. When you add that to the rising cost of university fees and the reduction in available places, you’ve got a very crowded market – so naturally, people are looking for other options.
Entering work full time may be an option or a situation for many people. But that doesn’t mean your education needs to come to an end. There are many ways to combine education and work to your benefit. An apprenticeship within a company is one, and a part time course is another. Part time courses can encompass both distance and on-site learning, and you’ll be amazed at the breadth of subjects at your fingertips.
Just one look at what the Open University can provide you with in the way of courses will convince you that it’s easy to study any subject under the sun in your own time. Whether it’s philosophy… physics… criminology or classical studies – or anything in between – you’ll find it there. Financially speaking, a part-time course makes overall payment much easier because you’re only paying for as many credits as you’re studying for at the time. Each course represents 120 credits, and to be eligible you only need to cover up to 30 per year. So that splits the cost four ways, and even though the course in question will take longer, education and learning is going to last you a lifetime. Besides, sometimes haste really can make waste.
From September 2012 onwards, new university students will be eligible for a government grant enabling them to hold off and spread out their payments once they start earning more than 21,000 a year, and after four years. At which point, your part-time course should have launched you into the career you really want.
But if you prefer your studies the old-fashioned way, in a classroom, many of the UK’s best educational establishments offer alternative short term learning options.
Notgoingtouni.co.uk helps young people with their future by showing jobs as well as training that they can find outside of university. There are a lot of apprenticeships currently available as well as free career guides as well as over 300 videos on distance learning, apprenticeship, foundation degrees, gap years, voluntary work as well as guidelines on finding a sponsored degree.