My second attempt!


I must make sure as I develop my style that these don’t simply become a rant, or a vent for my frustrations.

When the A-level results were issued in August there was a predictable stream of related articles.
I note a report that a number of leading companies are planning to recruit high performing students straight from school, and provide them with on the job training, with perhaps some of them going through university under company sponsorship.

This makes eminent sense, and is of course a logical consequence (intended or unintended) of the transition within the higher education fee regime. It will clearly take a number of years for the current changes to bed in, and for us to be able to see and measure the impacts.

There will still be a healthy demand for direct entry university places through the traditional route, and that’s as it should be. However, if direct recruitment of school leavers offers others the opportunity to “try before they buy” then that must be a good means of contributing to a reduction in the skills gap.

One of the issues this raises is that many of the brightest students may see this as the route to gaining sponsorship through university, and as the “bottom line” so often dictates outcomes, this could bias the outcome and have an unintended consequence. We’ll see.

For EDT this presents yet another opportunity. We have long offered companies the opportunity to gain early access to talented students through the various EDT schemes. These can be a way for companies to raise their profile amongst the students (and schools), whilst at the same time identifying potential future recruits. With the prospect of direct recruitment from school, the timeline is shortened dramatically, and the benefits more immediate.