When he first came to power, Mr Blair proudly announced his party’s big focus was “Education, Education, Education�. A commendable enough focus and certainly not an area a person would couple alongside the horrors of frustration and growing personal debt. But over time, as more and more colleges have acquired university status, and student loans have become easily available to everyone, schools have encouraged many more young people to go for degrees without really spelling out the cost.

There isn’t any doubt that we should have a much more educated society, but are young people actually getting the very best advice? In reality; it isn’t a difficult sell to promote to an eighteen year old to leave home and live with their pals, not worry about finding a job for several years and get discounted beer at the university bar. A bit of a basic interpretation maybe – of course there’s a bit of studying to be done, and a careful balance to keep afloat, then the rewards will be worth it in the end. Or will they? For a lot of families, the real cost of university education can go on for a long time after graduation, both in social and financial terms.

The student loan system (the best method of lending for students at university), fees for tuition, accommodation and day to day living expenses over three or four years can set you back well into five figures – with no guarantee of work. It’s to nobody’s amusement that freedom-seeking teenagers out to conquer the world too often are forced to return home because they can’t find work. Not only do fathers and mothers continue having to pay for everything, but frustrated adult children back home again can obviously make things awkward!

Formal education can be a great thing for young people, and is the only way for many of our professions. But advisors and families should know that in some subjects, there are other, frequently more advanced alternatives. As far as IT is concerned, employers are crying out for professionally qualified IT professionals. University graduates regularly need to supplement their IT training skills to be industry ready and have a chance in the job market with Microsoft, CompTIA or Cisco professionals. The disappointing thing is they might have qualified two to three years earlier and not had a unmanageable debt had they gone straight to a global online computer training provider. Possibly drinking in the college bar isn’t such a great idea after all – it’s true the family coffers would be a lot less exhausted, 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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