To suggest everyone's DC train as roofers, builders and other "trades"?

[PolkerrisBeach]

Because I've spent about a month trying to get people to do work in the house and NOBODY'S INTERESTED. Nobody wants to come and quote for smaller jobs like putting four skylights in an extension ceiling, taking down a wall between two rooms and plastering.

They're all too busy doing 50k extensions and loft conversions.

So if anyone has a child considering their future, send them to learn to be an electrician / builder / roofer / carpenter - they are all so busy that they're turning work away.

My DB wants to be an electrician. He's got high functioning autism, ADHD, and does poorly in school because of those things. He's brilliant at tinkering and loves messing with a soldering iron though.

His dad thinks a trade is beneath him though and he should go to university because that's what I did Can't talk sense into some people.

We need more plumbers and less media studies degrees!

Absolutely right. And why is a university degree from a Z-rated university in a useless subject 'higher rated' than a good trade skill?

Yes I recommended trades to my children tbh.

After several years of living in my old university town I realised that I had no desire for them to become the pampered, soft-faced, entitled 'how do you use this washing machine', other-people's- offspring that I was encountering on a daily basis.

Not to mention the massive debt.

Unfortunately now you need GCSEs do a trade course at college

As my nephew found out. He just about scraped the required grades at GCSE for his college course, but he didn't get a place because the course was massively over-subscribed, so they chose the applicants with the highest GCSE grades!

Career progression is something to consider. There's a ceiling for earning as a sole trader working for mainly domestic customers. But expanding carries risks too.

I'd add that a degree is NOT the only way to get knowledge. I despair at the number of apprenticeships that require attending a sub standard 'university', taught by people who have little practical experience. WE need to bring back the tech colleges and polys that were more practical based, and less of the 'academic' .

My mum deals with apprentices e.g. brickies,plumbers,carpenter etc. The amount of parents who push kids into a trade post 16-18 education is remarkable as lots of parents think a trade is for life which yes it can be but when my mum talks about the apprentice who isn't interested in learning anything as they have been pushed onto a course they dont want to do and show this by not turning up or ignoring the tutor/employer or the lack of employers who will cherry pick the best apprentice who is at the top of their class while working a 60 hour week herself doing paperwork,health and safety visits and keeping on top of 100 boys in different trades,she does wish parents think twice before pushing their offspring into something they don't want to do.

People with daft degrees (media studies, and many others) end up working in MacDonalds

There are plenty of people with science and technology degrees working at McDonald's. Having a degree in something the mumsnet lynch-mob believes is "useful" doesn't make you employable. Being motivated and having the ability to apply what you've learned in your degree makes you employable. There is nothing any more "daft" about media studies than there is about English literature. In fact, given that a tiny minority of chemistry graduates will ever work in anything remotely related to chemistry, you could also say it's no more daft than chemistry. It's assuming that employers will be falling over themselves to give you a job simply because you have a degree that's daft.

I totally agree. My Dd2 got her degree 11yrs ago. She sort of coasted in several outreach jobs. She had the opportunity to go for her GNVQ levels 1 through 4 to compliment her degree. She went for it. It's the GNVQ that's got her on in her job. Not the degree.

That why apprenticeships worked better with day release in the experience of tradesman I've spoken to. The system is not popular on the ground.

Sorry that should have been addressed to Eddie16.

I’d be so happy if DS decided this was the way to go. Only top degrees from top unis are really worth much in the job market.

Unfortunately you now need GCSEs to do a trade course at college

I don't think that's unfortunate at all.

Well I do in some circumstances.

DH and I have agreed that both our children are welcome to go to university but not until they have each learnt a trade (most likely welding). Degrees aren't worth much and if you have a trade then you can make money if you need it.

lol I'd tell you to bog off if I were one of your DC. I'd bloody hate doing any practical trade and be awful at it too. My degree has meant I've always earned good money.

I do agree though that a trade is much better for some people than just continuing on the education treadmill.

@mummy you are completely incorrect

Well what are the in demand graduates? I don't know how to advise my kids.

The in demand graduates are the ones that can use their degree skills "sideways" into something they're not necessarily trained in but where they have the skills and the confidence necessary. But that requires a level of confidence in yourself and comfort in your skill level that only comes from doing something you enjoy. By the time today's undergrads get properly into the job market, there could be loads of new jobs that we can't even prepare for at the moment. Advise them to do what they're passionate about, but to work bloody hard at it.

There is a demand for graduates across many sectors. The idea that that's too many graduates and not enough jobs is a myth.

It would very much depend what they are interested in, good at etc. They'd be better off speaking to a careers adviser who could help them make some decisions and should have labour market information available to help with that decision.

*there's

My son is just staring a traineeship in engineering

The tutor at collage told them all the goal in a traineeship lads not uni

People think it’s easy it was harder for my son to get into this than it was for his mate to get on his graphics course

He will be on 14k I only earn 700 per month

At the end of the 4 years he will be sable to buy his house and have a secure job

His friends will have 30k plus debut and just moving back home

They will all have degrees just my sons work place is paying the bill

I know graduates with jobs where they don't need to be graduates. Maybe that's where the myth of no jobs for graduates comes from.

Sorry " not enough" jobs

The issue here is career advice in the U.K. is shit and many parents don’t help their young people to think about what actual job they can do with the media therapy cake degree and if their aren’t any crime scene investigation jobs then what’s the plan

A lot of jobs don’t actually lend them self’s to uni and I think they actually give to many uni places away

If you want to be a journalist your better off spending 3 years building your blog and social media platforms

Unless you want to work for the bbc then you pretty much spent 30k on a political degree while thabtha+7 is writing for vogue because she has 1m followers and works in Asda

My friends husband is a plumber, not house type plumber but huge commercial buildings. His business failed when the bigger companies who subcontracted to him went out of business owing him a small fortune. He's been working away for the last few years, coming home the odd weekend. He's been laid off, messed about and missed his kids. Last month his employer went into liquidation, owing him unpaid wages (a considerable sum) no fair to get himself or their work van home. He had to pay to get the van home on the ferry because it was full of his tools. He wants all his kids to go to university...