Importance of the creative industries

We take creative activities very seriously at Beaumont despite the pressures from national curriculum guidance and league tables. We value these for the student development opportunities they offer.

Pleasing to read that recent government figures place the value of the UK creative sector at £84 Billion a year and suggest that 1.9 million people are employed in this sector. We also have record numbers of students successfully taking STEM subjects. In other words we offer a balanced curriculum to a balanced economy.

Not an eye catching headline but it is important that the creative element of our offer is recognised in hard numbers with education finances being stretched and increasingly difficult choices having to be made.

Career Earnings for graduates

There are many good reasons to go to university (and also many not to). The option, if available, deserves considerable thought. Much of this should not consider the financial aspect, but it is unavoidable.

As the number of graduates available for work increase it is to be expected that the differential between graduate and non-graduate earnings will narrow. This does appear to be occurring but at a slower rate than many expected. This is likely to be due to changes in the overall labour market which are increasingly rewarding high-skilled versus low-skilled jobs.

Recent figures suggest that over a career lifetime a female graduate will earn on average £250,000 more than a non-graduate and the figure for a male graduate is £170,000. Given that the average student debt is around £50,000, there does still appear to be a considerable financial advantage.

However, the analysis deals in averages and therefore treats all non-graduates the same in terms of average earnings. Those who take up higher apprenticeships will possess much higher skills than the average non-graduate and these will have been moulded to a specific group of employers' requirements. This is likely to mean that these individuals will command a commensurate premium in the market and will not have the either the burden of student debt or the job insecurity which can surround many new graduates.

It is not therefor surprisingly that many of these high quality apprenticeships are highly sought and competitive not just in terms of academic qualifications but also people skills.

An upset in the university rankings (Portsmouth top whilst St Andrews bottom)

I am often asked "where does [insert name] university rank?" which is problematic and complex to answer, not least because in literal terms it depends on what ranking table you look at.

To add to the choice the Economist has analysed information released by the Department of Education which address the impact of attendance at individual universities on future earnings. The Economist has used this data to produce a ranking comparing graduates' wages with expectation regardless of their university the average for a UK graduate with their qualifications prior to university entry (to give a fair test of the value the individual university adds). As well as Portsmouth, top universities using this measure include the often feted (Oxford and Nottingham) and the less familiar (Brunel and Robert Gordon).

To be clear the two biggest determinants of graduate earnings outcome are the difference in entry qualifications of the student intake and the subject studied - those with an element of maths being the most rewarded, financially. However the Economist study adjusts for these  effects to draw out universities which seem to inject a better (or worse) future financial outcome than expected. The lower performing universities (on other ranking tables) that do well on the Economist's measure focus on vocational courses that have consistent earnings outcomes, which implies strong demand for these jobs and/or have has success at establishing links with successful industries. Bournemouth (fourth in this table) has a global reputation for visual effects and therefore strong links with the film industry. Southampton Solent has links with maritime design and shipping management and logistics.

Of course, there is a lot more to university choice than expected future earnings. I have always been very clear that the ability to develop one's talent and interest must always be a prime consideration. If however a closer examination of the data allows more students to make more informed choices and also forces universities to consider the quality of their offer, then should all be for that.

Subscribers to the Economist can look at their work in more detail at Economist.com/UniRankings17

Approaching the new A levels successfully

The key issue for students faced with a return to terminal exams after two years of study must be planning consolidation of understanding and command of a much broader amount of content. It is no longer possible to chop up learning into bite size pieces and this is one of the intents of the new qualifications.

Despite the loss of Year 12 exam downtime, teachers will not be able to devote much, if any extra time to additional revision or consolidation, because the new content to be taught has often increased sizeably. This means students must be prepared to revisit previous studies continually to embed understanding. It requires a different approach, but Beaumont students have shown that they have greater independent learning than most, so take heart but take note also.

Nursing Apprenticeships Launched

As concerns rise about the impact of the government cuts to Nursing degree bursaries, a response has been made in the form of 1000 Nursing Apprenticeships, where recruits can learn and work and at the end of five years have earned a Nursing Degree. This could be attractive, but as always, with new schemes, careful consideration of the downsides as well as the upsides is needed.

Musings on the economics of university study

Is it "worth" it? There is more possible value to a degree than the pure future earnings/cost projections, hence the quotation marks around worth, but as there has been considerable recent analysis of the changing economics, it is worth a review here.

The cost of university study is clearly rising sharply. This is driven by sharply increasing accommodation costs, the ability of universities to begin charging over £9000 per year for tuition, and the sizeable interest rate charge being levied (about to rise to 4.5% per year). Additionally the Government has reneged on its promise to index the £21000 earnings threshold so a greater proportion of real graduate earnings will incur the 9% repayment levy.

At the same time, there is evidence of a decline in the earnings margin between graduates and non-graduates. Taken together an increasing number of students are likely to find that their degree is not "worth" it. However this year a record number (434,000) have secured places at British universities which suggest that the pure financial figures are either not fully recognised or that students see other aspects of gaining a degree, including greater career flexibility and the student experience, to still be worth "investing" in.

As always it is important to recognise that any figures of this type only have validity as broad averages. Many students will obtain much more value (in all its forms) from going to university than the cost whilst many others will, unfortunately, obtain considerably less.

Post CED Week Post

Best start to personal statements we have seen in several years. All prospective applicants should focus  on drafting and improving these over the next two weeks and, of course, the summer holidays. The Blog has been updated to pick up some new schemes and more particularly the increasing number of sites that attempt to combine these in to a hub.

Also have updated the Birmingham University link to take enquiries direct to the page prior to using the Offer Calculator. I hope many will use this either now or in September after UCAS projected grades known.

Aldi and Lidl offer market leading graduate salaries

Aldi offers £42000 starting salary rising to £70000 in 4 years plus benefits including Audi car. Lidl close behind. Average graduate starting salaries are in the £23- 26,000 range. Aldi currently have 400 graduate area managers and at Lidl 600 graduates are in management roles. The boss of Aldi UK started as a graduate trainee.

Amongst all the understandable concern about the costs and returns of going to university these examples should encourage university applicants in terms of the broad range of graduate job availability.

Law Apprenticeship Scheme

It is an extremely tough and to some extent risky route to approach a career in law via the university route. At some point it is essential to obtain a training contract to qualify to practice as a solicitor, and these positions are historically heavily oversubscribed.

SA Law, based in St Albans offer an alternative, which is the apprenticeship route. They are seeking to recruit two current 6th-formers. See the poster on the careers board in Common Room for more into or approach them direct via www.salaw.com

Source of Medicine Applicants Advice

The Medic Portal contains considerable support for students considering this career :- www.themedicportal.com

Name blind recruitment coming soon

I imagine that there are a complex set of reasons for ethnic minorities finding access to university and graduate employment careers more challenging than the average according to national statistics. However it is pleasing that there is now a co-ordinated attempt to tackle one possible cause, covered well in this article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11953841/Big-employers-agree-to-hide-names-on-graduate-job-applications-to-end-discrimination.html

Credit-Suisee Insight Days

This is for Year 13s who HAVE applied to university this year. They are designed to explain a career path in investment banking. General one on 22/7/15 and one for females only on 24/7. Both held at Canary Wharf. travel expenses reimbursed.

You must have an AAB or better A level prediction and a "record of high achievement outside of academia"

Deadline to apply is 31th May.

See Sixth Form Office for more details.

On the job training opportunities

Evening event 24th June in central St Albans. Chance to meet a range of employers in professional services i.e. accountancy, engineering, legal etc who offer "earning whilst learning" opportunities.

More details on www. cityofexpertise.com/events

Health Careers Advice

An interesting site is provided by St George's University of London. This gives video advice on many aspect of preparing for medical applications including interview advice. Try it :

http://www.tasteofmedicine.com

Investment Banking for School Leavers

Investment 2020 is a site which hosts 26 employers offering 12 month paid work experience contracts which often turn into permanent positions. Currently two firms actively recruiting for 9 vacancies all Sept 2015 start, but also worth examining if you a Year 12 at present.

www.investment.2020.org.uk

Close Brothers School Leaver Evening

Thursday Evening 2nd April in London. Learn more about their Aspire programme. To be eligible you need a B in Maths and English GCSE and be on track for at least BBC at A level.

For more: www.closebrothers.com/careers

Baker Tilly Accountancy Apprenticeships from Sept 2015

Train for qualifications and be paid.

Need to be in Year 13, but expect a similar scheme to repeat next year. Multiple Locations to start including London and Milton Keynes. Need predicted 80+ UCAS points equivalent (BBC) + GCSE B+ in Maths and English Language.

Apply via: www.getmyfirstjob.co.uk

Further more general info including summer schools via www.wpp.com/apprenticeships

Law taster Day - Jesus College Oxford

Open to Year 12s in state sector who considering reading Law at Oxford. 10th March. Apply via:

www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/admissions/law-taster-day

Interested in Food and Nutritional Science?

Reading University holding a 3 day short course: 22- 24 July.

You need to be taking A level Biology and Chemistry. Details via link below:

http://www.reading.ac.uk/food/shortcourses/foodbio-sixthform.aspx

Business Insight Placements at PWC

This is for Year 12 students for this summer. Deadline is Friday 6th March. A week during the summer holidays. Good opportunity to secure a school leaver role at the end of A levels.

Go to PWC website - on home page for more details and application.