Apprenticeship and degree value

[harvey19]

An apprenticeship in a trade, plumber, bricklayer, joiner, mechanic etc. used to consist of 5 years theory and practical learning at college and on the job.

A degree course consists of 3 years at university in most cases(excluding vocational or medical courses).

Should an apprentice trained tradesperson be accorded the same status as a degree holder or be given more status than a person completing a 3 year degree ?

Entry qualifications are different for entry to both types of learning but the trade qualification can be more valuable to society and the individual.

[Sid Umpley]

add up the weeks as well.

 

an apprentice will get 4 weeks holiday a year so over 4 yr training will have 192 weeks training with full days every day

 

a graduate will have 3 years at 28 weeks a year so 84 weeks training,

 

less than Half. way less if you take into account that most degrees are not 5 days a week 8 hrs a day either.

 

I think that Status is already given to tradesmen in the form of income. A plumber will earn shed loads more than an arts graduate, or a school teacher, or indeed almost anyone apart from a doctor/lawyer.

[Jessica23]

What do you mean by status, exactly?

 

They're different kinds of learning/training. I'm not sure I see the point in comparing them in terms of status.

[Rupert_Baehr]

Add up the pay, too.

 

An apprentice will be paid (albeit at a lower rate) while (s)he is studying. A student will pay for the course and must find the funds to live whilst doing the course. (S)he must then earn an additional amount to enable her/him to repay the money spent getting qualified.

 

Do people with degrees (Baccalaureate degrees, Masters' degrees or PhDs) really get accorded an elevated status? (I hadn't noticed that.)

 

If I need a plumber, then I hope to find a qualified, skilled and competent plumber who knows the job. That plumber will (ideally) have served an apprenticeship and learned the trade under a master plumber.

 

If I want a doctor, then I hope to find somebody with a medical degree (and the appropriate post-graduate qualifications, training and experience.)

 

If I want somebody with a degree in underwater basket weaving then I probably won't have too much difficulty in finding such a person.

 

I can't imagine why I would want to, though.

[hyper]

you need to remember that for most professions, degree status doesnt mean fully qualified. So a medical graduate isnt a doctor, a finance graduate isnt an accountant etc, etc. There is then on-the job training and professional qualifications to pass, many of which can take years.

[Rupert_Baehr]

Unfortunately, it appears that many young people have been told: "Go to university and get a degree. Any degree. It doesn't matter what you study. There are employers queueing up to hire graduates."

 

It kept them off the unemployment rolls for 3 years, but now many of them are finding that employers do indeed care which subjects you studied at university and although they may well have a degree, the possession of a degree is not - in itself - a passport to a well-paid job.

[Strix]

A degree these days isn't worth the paper it's written on - just look at all the students posting on here who can't even spell

 

As mentioned above, the first scam was cutting the dole queues (and there's talk afoot to make education compulsory 'til 18 for the same reason), and the second scam was turning universities into money making businesses instead of educational establishments

 

Any tutor who stands his ground in wanting to fail a student who just can't make the grade will more than likely find himself out on the street, so damned good tutors are leaving in droves

 

Failing a student in year one only leaves the university short of their fees for the next two years, so why would they fail anybody these days?