When it's their money on the line, is it surprising that SME employers refuse to take on the unemployable products of the UK "educational" system? Extend this reasoning to other groups ludicrously over-favoured at the employers' expense (the chronically "sick", women of child-bearing age etc) and you have a recipe for "caring and sharing" to hit the buffers of reality.
Closer to home, my company has simply stopped recruiting anyone. The risks in recruiting a possible "rogue" employee far outweigh the advantages (of increased profit and less pressure on existing first-class employees). Even during the holiday season, the "employment" of temporary help is not a risk we willingly undertake. A possible plus side - for the Treasury spin meisters - is that we are far more open to investing in capital equipment. However, with a people business the opportunities to replace human with asset capital is limited.
The other alternative is outsourcing. This is OK as far as it goes but our clients are our clients. Why should they be forced to deal with somebody in Dundee or Bombay who only vaguely understands our business (and, more important, the client) because the government tries - and apparently succeeds - in fooling our young people (and their just as ill-educated parents - the problem of crap secondary education existed 25 years ago) that employee "protection", so-called "education", and lavatory paper "degrees" and "certificates" is the route to UK prosperity in the 21st century. Unfortunately, our clients aren't fooled: mind you they were properly educated either abroad, or in the private or "old" state systems here. Most of our employees (as was I) were schooled in and graduated from the secondary state system prior to the 70s: they are - literally - irreplaceable.
As an Edinburgh alumnus, I suppose I should say something comforting about high standards at my alma mater.
The champagne socialists want to "widen access" which basically means, cheapen degrees from the "elitist" universities, because they believe that ignorant peasants would flourish at these institutions. Sounds all very middle class guilt complex to me... Asking about background and so on on applications, and potentially weighting applications from lower social class groups, deprived areas and so on... I maintain that the only barrier to top class education should be - is this person capable of getting a good degree? The answer in many cases, as you have said, is a resounding no.
The socialists drive to render everyone equal will be the death of our finest universities, and indeed, our country. There are only so many useful jobs people with a PhD in applied basket weaving, arts and humanities, politics or other such flim-flam that makes them almost completely unemployable, or god help us, politicians.
Lions and tigers and bears oh my! where is a child to turn? (Sorry I've been watching too many school stage productions!)
I had a sinking feeling reading the article and comments that I'm one of Umbongo's "ill-educated parents from a crap secondary education" who isn't steering the next generation in the expected manner for a bright child. I even encouraged him to take a cleaning job to earn his own pocket money.
He has people in his Maths 'A' level class that slow the group down, possibly because they're doing qualifications that everyone else thinks they 'should' be doing rather than what they have ability and an interest in.
What a headache you've given me Wat, I didn't realise quite how important his choice of University was as well as the course. He has decided to apply to Oxford and has received strong support from his teachers (I must admit I worried about whether he would fit in not going to a private school or grammar school). oh my!
Then, should he saddle himself with £20,000 + worth of debt taking a Maths degree if he can't get a place in a top 13 uni. Would big employers really look at his GCSE's and say no this guy had too much 'fun' at school he should have taken Geography and French? oh my!
And if that wasn't bad enough I've got an opera singing, ballet dancing, mathematical diva following, who is choosing her options next year ! yikes.
Same thing's happened in Canada, mate.
For some reason of utopian egalitarianism, everyone must go to university, not just the rich-and-stupid, or the bright, but everyone.
Of course, nuclear physics or structural engineering can be a bit challenging. POLY-SCI, political science, (AKA sociology in the UK) is accessible to all; and a good start for a bureaucratic career.
What we are seeing is a classic example of the invisible hand: supply is outstripping demand, so the value is less.
BTW There is a shortage of good car mechanics, plumbers and like, here in Canada.
What is it about a "degree"? A car mechanic earns a swag-load of dough here.
"For some reason of utopian egalitarianism, everyone must go to university, not just the rich-and-stupid, or the bright, but everyone."
Didn't you know? If we don't get 50% of the population into university, the sky will fall in! We've been told so by a great thinker. It must be right.
It became clear to me that the rot was setting in while I was researching for a PhD (I'm a physics grad). This was around the time that NeuArbeit assumed power. The university was run like some big, money-grabbing factory. Not even a nice, Tesco factory. It was horrid, and many of the undergrads arriving there really shouldn't have been admitted (not really their fault --- the uni saw dollar signs) and the poor students, lured there under false hopes, had awful trouble (I recall that one girl broke down in a tutorial, because she couldn't do any calculus). I got so sick and depressed with everything there that I cleared off and left 'em to it.
I can't say I use my degree --- and had I bothered to submit, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have used my doctorate, either. People have twigged that PhDs don't signify intelligence --- just look at the government...
As for A's comment about her son's decision whether or not to bother, I'd say --- unless he's trying for a Fields Medal and can't wait to start his post-doc --- he'd be better off just taking his time. There's no rush. He can enter as a mature student, if he wishes (and he'll almost certainly get much more out of his studies that way).
...That's provided he doesn't just want to get in there for "three years' birding and boozing" (as Wat put it) --- in which case, he should get cracking whilst his stamina's at its peak. 
Whatever the case, tell him not to worry too much. He sounds a bright enough kid. Equip him with the facts of life (the economic ones, that is), explain that political correctness will rot his morals, and make sure he doesn't fall in with any bad crowds. Like statists.
Anent degrees as signalling devices: I used to know a guy who had a fairly simple mechanism for winnowing the piles of applications he received. Pass 1) reject out of hand any applications where the degree subject of the applicant contained the world 'studies'; pass 2) reject any applicant with a 2:2 or lower.
Commenting by HaloScan
