BOSSES are urging youngsters to sign up for apprenticeships — as figures show some graduates earn less than the living wage five years after leaving university.
Leaders from 18 businesses and organisations — including the NHS, Lloyds and Network Rail — have written an open letter claiming that technical training is the safest route to a secure career.
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Bosses are urging youngsters to take apprenticeships, saying it is the safest route to a secure career as some graduates earn less than the living wage Credit: Getty
Laura Trott said too many young people have been pushed into courses that leave them with large debts and poor job prospects Credit: Simon Jones
Their warning follows an outcry from university graduates who are now leaving their studies with more than £50,000 in student loans.
And it comes as more than a million young people aged 16-24 have been classified as Neets — not in education, employment or training — the highest figure for ten years.
John Banks, from Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Every day we see the positive impact technical education has on young people starting their careers.
“Pathways like apprenticeships and T-levels don’t just open doors — they help young people discover what they’re good at.”
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A Policy Exchange study has revealed more than a quarter of graduates in some subjects earned less than the living wage after five years.
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said: “For too long, too many young people have been pushed into courses that leave them with large debts, limited teaching time and poor employment prospects.
“Young people deserve far better from a system that is too often failing them.
“The report exposes just how unfair and demoralising the current system has become.
“Many graduates do exactly what they were told would secure a better future, only to find themselves burdened with debts for qualifications that do not provide the opportunities they were promised.”
PIP CLAIMS TO DOUBLE
THE number of young people claiming disability benefit PIP is set to nearly double to almost one million by 2040.
Department for Work and Pensions figures show 465,000 16 to 24-year-olds claim the benefit, and predict it will soar to 877,000 within 15 years.
And the cost will balloon from £4.3billion today to £9.2billion.
