It's that time of year again when students apply for student loans and those who have graduated groan at the level of debt they've acquired.
Before they can even begin to pay off the student loan there is a need to find a suitable job. Employers are not impressed with just a graduate certificate. More and more they want practical experience, too.
From the students’ point of view, they not only want a job they feel they justly deserve, but after studying for four years, they'd like the job to be well paid, too, so they can pay off that loan.
There's something to be said for the good old fashioned apprenticeship programs.
There was no need to get a loan in the first place and employers were always keen to have an apprentice who could do the jobs that senior members of staff shied away from. The apprentice learned from the master. They weren't only being told how it was being done but rather watching it being done. Finally they began to handle jobs under the gaze of the professional.
It's true the wages weren't that good for apprentices but they did not need a loan to get through the program.
There were other benefits such as seeing exactly what it was like to be a plumber, electrician or vehicle mechanic and perhaps determine the job was not what they really wanted to do after all. It was easy enough to make a switch in the early stages.
If you work out the mathematics you have to wonder if the big student loans are worth it in the long run.
Not only do students have a huge debt to pay off but they've had virtually zero earning capability during the years of study, too. Compare that with the apprentice who has steadily earned a wage, even if it is on the lower side, for four years.
The apprentices who attend college seminars prior to writing exams at each step of their program have an added bonus in that it is much easier to learn and remember the theoretical side of a task if you've had practical experience.
Perhaps it's time to take a look back and determine that some things simply were more practical the old way and made economic sense too.
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Gillian Slade is a News reporter. You may contact her at gslade@medicinehatnews.com

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