13th August 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The Confederation of British Industry has said that the UK’s higher education system is failing to close what it calls its “chronic skills gaps” because of the tendency to encourage students into traditional academic degrees. Business leaders have said that traditional courses and universities are seen as the default route, the result of which is that too few graduates leave higher education with the high level technical skills needed to fill the gap in industry. The report released this week warned that the demand for technical skills was rising and is not being met by the traditional options open to students. The CBI has recommended that short and part-time degrees be made more widely available, along with advanced apprenticeships which would allow students to develop the necessary skills.
The report predicts that by 2020 almost half of employment will be in highly skilled roles, meaning that a legitimate alternative to university is needed to allow graduates to meet the demand. The CBI notes that technical and vocational courses have long been undersold as a soft, non-academic option, and that perceptions urgently need to change. They argue that school pupils are not provided with information about the technical courses open to them, and that schools push all students towards academic degrees whether it is best suited to them or not. The report calls for a vocational UCAS alternative, which should have the same prominence and standing to the traditional university entrance system.
A key recommendation is for businesses and universities to work together to provide vocational courses and flexible degrees, with businesses committing to providing a larger number of apprenticeships, training and fast track schemes which would be a viable alternative to a university course. They note that the rise in tuition fees means that students are already thinking more carefully about which courses are right for them, and recommended that universities offer a large number of “earn as you learn” courses which would allow students the opportunity of on the job training and an income while they study. Universities UK has already expressed concern about the low uptake of part time and vocational courses, and said more needed to be done to make these opportunities more attractive to students. The government has pledged to open up more paid apprenticeships across the UK, in subjects ranging from engineering to manufacturing, which would help encourage young people into vocational routes.