It’s all really interesting isn’t it.
I agree that A Level results or uni attended or degree result don’t always tell you who will do well at lots of jobs. For some jobs though, being very academic is a requirement and the firms that hire for top city graduate schemes seem to think generally that there’s a strong correlation between A Level results and uni attended and who they want ...not in all cases, but frequently.
A level results and uni attended are blunt instruments for sifting thousands of applications which come in for some graduate schemes. They are blunt instruments and they will exclude some exceptional candidates, but they have been used for many years because they are a speedy method and broadly show the strongest candidates.
Where different systems have been used, when talking about these very particular city graduate schemes or very competitive other schemes (and I recognise the majority don’t apply for these and there aren’t places for the majority) the vast majority of places still go to those with the very best A Levels and degrees from top unis. These things, even if they cannot be used for recruitment, are still very good indicators of being successful at interview and in those jobs. There will always be exceptions, and I think it’s right that those exceptions also have the opportunity to get onto the scheme too.
However, when we talk about this, I think we still need to recognise that students with very weak A Levels and who go to much lower ranked unis, are very unlikely to get accepted into these highly competitive schemes which are very niche. It simply is the reality. There is a correlation between having top A Levels and doing well in those aptitude tests and group tasks that form part of the selection process. It doesn’t mean some of those people with much lower A Level results or who have lower degrees from less well regarded unis can’t get good jobs or go into be as successful in the world of work as many of those who get into the schemes I’m talking about, and there are lots of different jobs which require different skill sets which might pay more or be more rewarding than some of the highly sought after jobs I mention. However, I think we can too far and tell ourselves or the teens of today that A Level results don’t matter or uni attended doesn’t matter and without good outcomes on these measures they have equal chances to those who have them, because that simply isn’t true. The world is even more competitive than previously and these core indicators of potential and attainment still count for a lot, even if they aren’t the only factors.