...to think needing a degree to progress is an outdated way of thinking?

[Iflippinghateplaydoh]

I (clearly) don't have a degree, I left 6th form and went to a business college and then spent 6 years working as a manager in my 20s.
I moved companies and went to a non-management role but a lot more money.
Now in early 30s and my children are at school I'd love to progress back into a manager role at this company that I've been at for 5 years (of which there are many manager roles here) however as I don't have a degree it's impossible.
Open uni will take me years

Although there's nothing I can do to change it, AIBU to feel like experience should be taken into account sometimes rather than saying "without a degree you can't go anywhere".

I love the company and am so frustrated as I'm more than capable and have been told so on many occasions, but if they accept 1 in without a degree it opens up a whole new can of worms so they won't budge.

Is this standard across most industries?

Or AIBU to think it's a bit of an old fashioned way of thinking?

It depends what industry you work in
I believe that to be a nurse you need a degree now
Some companies offer a refer a friend into employment
I work with people some have degrees, some do not
I think that a degree offers more opportunities, however people also need the right personality to be able to progress
Similarly, someone with no degree may have a great attitude & personality
Sometimes, it's about being in the right place at the right time

I do think it's ridiculous that these qualifications are made mandatory. I am academic myself but if I was employing a carpenter or plumber I couldn't care less whether he had his/her GCSE I just want them to be competent at their job.

I completely agree.

I've had quite a few invoices and quotes from tradesmen over the years and a lot of them have been written with very poor spelling and grammar. These are mistakes that I wouldn't personally have made.

I've had a lot of very highly skilled people do all kinds of essential jobs and fixed urgent problems for me - plumbing, electrics, gas, building, plastering etc.

Most of these are jobs which I wouldn't personally have the slightest clue as to what to do, much less how to do them successfully, or even where to start.

Should I ever want to employ a copywriter, I would very much judge them on their SPAG skills, but I wouldn't care how good they are at plumbing. If I need a plumber, the exact opposite is the case.

We needs a "lifeskills" style of exams for numeracy and literacy for the non academic kids to move onto college courses and apprenticeships - the existing GCSE's are not fit for purpose for those who struggle.

I'd far prefer using 11+ style exams for a certificate of basic numeracy and literacy competency. No point teaching algebra and trigonometry to kids who don't have numeracy skills - spend the secondary years on bringing them up to a basic standard of simple basic calculations, reading timetables, simple fractions and percentages, etc - stuff that is actually useful in real life. The "higher end" stuff such as pythagoras or trig can be taught as part of the college course or apprenticeship if it's needed for the job as the kids will be more engaged if they can relate it to the trade they're studying for.

My sister was very poorly taught Maths at school and ended up with a U grade. It stopped her getting the college course she wanted to do (advanced catering and hospitality), but she could get on a lessor catering course. Despite being hopeless at school maths, she readily took to recipe costings, portion control, etc., and got the highest grade with distinctions in all the course modules - she wasn't crap at numeracy at all - it was school maths she was crap at! Completely different.

There do seem to be a lot of apprenticeships around - in the public sector too as “business admin apprenticeships.”

www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide/pay-and-conditions The pay is £3.90 an hour!

A cynical part of me thinks it’s cheap labour for a year or two before the cycle repeats itself!

Should I ever want to employ a copywriter, I would very much judge them on their SPAG skills, but I wouldn't care how good they are at plumbing. If I need a plumber, the exact opposite is the case.

Except you need the plumber to be able to follow written instructions.

We've had two major "foul ups" by tradesmen who couldn't. First was someone installing a gas fire - completely screwed up the extraction which meant fumes came into our living room - had him back 2 or 3 times but he couldn't work out the problem and kept claiming it was right and we were imagining things. We finally got out the manufacturer's technician who couldn't believe how it had been fitted and showed us the fitting instructions - it was clear even to amateurs like us he'd put a couple of parts in the wrong way round!

Second was a central heating boiler installation. Afterwards, it kept cutting out, we had him back a few times, but he kept insisting it was all right. History repeating itself. Called out the manufacturers technician and yet again, the installer hadn't followed the instruction booklet - the page of tests/checks he should have done was virtually empty of the ticks and readings he should have put in.

A smaller scale foul up was a plumber we engaged to change washers in the kitchen mixed tap. What a right bodge up he made of that. He couldn't work out how to take the tap apart, then he went off and bought the wrong sized washers, then he couldn't put it back together again. All that despite us having the instruction booklet for the mixer taps - he was so blase, he couldn't be bothered to read it with the usual "know it all" attitude.

So, yes, I want tradesmen to have good literacy and numeracy skills - these days, things are more technological and advanced.

Kazzyhoward

Sorry to hear of all those problems you had - sounds a nightmare.

Of course, I would expect a tradesman to be literate, intelligent, observant and careful enough to be able to meet the requirements of the job and to do it safely and well - and to have completed any necessary courses and qualifications (e.g. Gas Safe).

I don't think anybody on here has been suggesting that people should not have the necessary skills, experience and qualifications for the job - just that a degree isn't a magic elixir that allows anybody to do any job perfectly whilst the lack of a degree guarantees that you'll be useless at anything remotely non-menial.