If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
With the job market becoming more competitive, with fewer jobs for graduates than before, many employers often demand good work experience over qualifications - even for their graduate training schemes.
A revolution has happened and over the last decade increasingly many undergraduates want something different. We want to start our own businesses - inevitably small at first, but hopefully large one day.
Open Letter: Why Sir David Bell is Wrong to Smack Down Employability Concerns of University Students
Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor of the University of Reading, recently smacked down the employability demands. In a riposte he said that it was vital that academics resisted such pressure in order to protect traditional courses; adding that the demands risk undermining the intellectual integrity of degrees.
It may provide ready-made commentary when looking at the Prime Minister's inner circle, but it's an all too easy excuse for the wider issue of why non-public school students have failed to meet their ambitions.
At some businesses internships are used strategically to identify talented people for hiring, whether now or in the future, and others use them as manpower for valuable research projects. It's time to change mentality that interns are hired to make tea, take photocopies or file papers.
They should still be fighting for their values, utilising a life-time of experience and wisdom. It isn't good enough to pass on the baton while you are still capable of running, even if your failing health means you are "running" at your computer.
University in this country has become something that we take for granted. It shouldn't be a privilege just for the rich - that wasn't my point - but a privilege for the people who were going to give their degree 110% knowing that when they came out, they needed to earn good money in order to pay off the debts they've accumulated.
You lie awake at night, tossing and turning, unable to think of anything else. You try to do some work during the day to take your mind off it all, but it's no use. You can't concentrate, so instead you end up exploring the area around your would-be office on Google Streetview.
It must be tough being a graduate at the moment. Unemployment among university leavers is at a record high - yet even where jobs are available, businesses are quick to criticise the skills of those spending thousands of pounds on their education.
It's exam season, so I'll forgive you for not wanting to think too much about the stresses of moving out right now. The start of a great summer might feel like a lifetime away, but really it's not too far on the horizon, and there's a lot you need to think about and prepare for.
With youth unemployment just under a million, young people are turning their hand to gardening, graphic design, baking and beauty therapy to escape the dole queue and kick-start their careers. For many young people, the transformation from unemployed to entrepreneur is life changing; giving them back the skills, confidence and motivation that being out of work has taken away.
