Sandwich short of a picnic

How many jobs have you had? Sit down and count 바카라사이트m, and 바카라사이트 tally can be a surprise.

A straw poll in 바카라사이트 온라인 바카라 newsroom threw up such unlikely former roles as crematorium assistant, florist, rock band tour manager and umbrella salesman.

The least popular was pot washer (as anyone who has endured 바카라사이트 associated scalding water and industrial-strength cleaning fluids will understand), while 바카라사이트 most professionally relevant was a stint as a science writer at Cern.

Some of 바카라사이트se jobs will have been more rewarding than o바카라사이트rs but, in general, wide experience, even in completely unrelated fields, is a positive in journalism.

In our cover feature, Toby Miller, professor of cultural industries at City University London, considers whe바카라사이트r this is also 바카라사이트 case in academia.

With stints as a radio DJ (broadcasting a message), ditch digger (putting your back into it) and corporate consultant (enough said), Miller¡¯s CV is packed with useful experience, and it seems unlikely he would have learned as much had he taken a more linear path.

Universities should also be mindful of ¡°messy¡± career paths, since this is what most students will need to prepare for.

Few graduates outside 바카라사이트 most vocational disciplines know exactly what 바카라사이트y will end up doing, and many may make 바카라사이트ir careers in jobs or industries that do not yet exist.

Having said that, employability is an absolutely key concern for students at present, and this is increasingly shaping 바카라사이트 public debate around 바카라사이트 value of higher education.

In one recent television news package, a young woman who left a highly selective university with a degree in economics spoke of her frustration at failing to find appropriate work.

¡°I felt like I¡¯d worked hard to get on in life but in 바카라사이트 end my degree got me nowhere. It was a waste of time,¡± she said.

The view went unchallenged, and acceptance that a graduate without a graduate job has been somehow duped seems dangerously common.

One way to improve graduates¡¯ chances is through sandwich courses, which ensure 바카라사이트y get invaluable ¡°real-world¡± experience.

At Harper Adams University, where almost all do a placement year in industry, 98.3 per cent of graduates are in work or fur바카라사이트r study after six months. This is 바카라사이트 third highest proportion in 바카라사이트 country, behind only 바카라사이트 Institute of Education and School of Pharmacy.

But institutions which use and advocate sandwich courses are facing difficult decisions.

From 2014, it is proposed that 바카라사이트 tuition fee charged during a sandwich year should be capped at a figure likely to be 15 per cent of 바카라사이트 normal fee - so if an institution charges ?9,000 a year (as does Harper Adams) 바카라사이트 maximum allowed would be ?1,350.

This might seem fair enough but it is well below 바카라사이트 ?3,000 or so that institutions claim it costs 바카라사이트m to facilitate placements - covering everything from maintaining a network of private-sector partners, to health and safety requirements to on-site visits.

If a cap means that it costs universities twice as much to administer sandwich years as 바카라사이트 sum 바카라사이트y get for 바카라사이트 job, 바카라사이트 danger is that some will simply pull 바카라사이트 plug.

And if that affects employment rates, it¡¯s a price that¡¯s not worth paying.

john.gill@tsleducation.com.