In some countries, there has been a growing trend where young people are opting to enrol in work-based training instead of attending university. Although many people see this as a positive change, I believe we should look at both sides of the coin to make an informed decision.
Nowadays, most young people believe that degrees are just a piece of paper and they add no value to the work they eventually have to do. This to a certain extent is true, and this is the reason why they opt out of studying in university and prefer to enrol in work-based training. Now, there is a myriad of reasons why youngsters are choosing to do so, the first reason being the easy access of information. With the advancement in technology, information is now easily accessible to people, and they do not have to undergo any formal education to upskill themselves. Moreover, the world is changing faster than ever before. Skills learned 5 years back have become irrelevant now. For this reason, people have to constantly upskill themselves. So, many people argue that if they have to constantly learn to keep themselves updated, then what is the use of attending a university.
However, there is a major point that most of the youth tend to overlook in this matter. Although enrolling in work-based training allows them to specifically focus on the topic where they want to grow their career, attending a university introduces them to a wide range of topics which they might never come across if they concentrate on just a specific skill. Moreover, university courses tend to be more structured and organized, and they instill a sense of discipline among students for their learning.
From the arguments discussed, we can clearly see that both work-based training as well as university have their merits and demerits. In my perspective, I believe the merits of attending a university outweigh the merits of a work-based training program, and thus young people should really consider before choosing one over the other.