Vocational training 'a valuable alternative' to university

Vocational training could be just as valuable to students picking up their A-level results today (August 15th) as higher education.With the cost of university preventing many young people from seeing it as a viable option, it might be worth some talented individuals looking to training like apprenticeships instead.This kind of development is also guaranteed to benefit employers, as it means they can build a workforce that has the right skillset to make their firm succeed.According to business leaders at the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), companies and education centres need to work together to provide a solution to youth unemployment and make other forms of career progression more attractive to the younger generation, reports the Huffington Post.Helen Hayes, policy adviser to the NECC, claimed that as pupils deliberate over their next move, they may want to consider vocational pathways like apprenticeships, which will offer them the chance to learn essential workplace skills."It is vital that people coming out of full time education are equipped with the right skills to integrate into the regional workforce," she added.The expert also noted there are lots of companies in the north-east of the UK that want to work with young people and are looking specifically to train and employ them.She claimed there is an increasing appetite from schools, colleges and universities to engage with the business community and this is an encouraging sign for young people's prospects."We need to strengthen these relationships if we are to make a real difference - with emphasis on the qualities that future employers will be looking for to shape their workforces," Ms Hayes was quoted as saying.This comes after founder of recruitment specialist Persona HR Krista Brown blogged for the news provider about the current standard of apprenticeships being high, thanks to the work employers and training companies are putting in to give young people the best range of qualifications.