BTEC - Why do we have it?

Oh dang, I wish I had seen this thread before I got my 5 offers. Now I know there's no point going to university I shan't bother. Thanks op.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Just out of interest, what universities do you have offers from? Presuming you did a BTEC...

Presumably the same universities that people who studied A levels go to as well.


Posted from TSR Mobile

You can't make such a strong claim and not argue your case. Why would you post it if you didn't care about your argument?

And you're still making blind statements without any evidence. The government are using them as a cover up? Provide some proof and then maybe you'll start sounding like you're points are worth considering.


Posted from TSR Mobile

Just out of interest, what universities do you have offers from? Presuming you did a BTEC...

Really? I mean I doubt it - I've never heard of BTECs getting offers from the Russell Group universities/Redbricks. I suppose it must depend on degree

Random google searches are hardly academic though, so I would just pull out a random news article full of opinions and psuedo facts

which you would return likewise.

I know how to debate, I choose not too on a pointless internet forum.

What I am suggesting is that those who do, for example, Btec media at a sixth form college without an apprenticeship or scholarship are wasting their time.

Posted from TSR Mobile

c) old enough to claim benefits as it looks better if there is 18/ 19 year olds rather than 16 year olds at the dole queue waiting for that KFC job that other dude will be leaving in a years time" - this is the general line of thinking by the government.

I meant it as more of a warning than an argument. Perhaps it was placed wrongly. Oh well.

Okay, how many Btec students go into good skilled jobs? How many go to ex poly vs "good" unis? How many are unemployed?


We have just under 1 million (941 000 in August - October 2013) young people unemployed. Most of them are either unqualified for the jobs that are needed or inexperienced. My point is this, only 9% of graduates are unemployed. There is just under a million un-qualified young people that are unemployed, not a lot of these people are graduates. Now, what type of people dont go to uni? People who do Btecs. Some do, the majority dont. There will always be exceptions. Btec students count for the majority of the 50% who dont go to university. Now some of them have apprenticeships, about a third in fact of the remainder who dont go to uni. That leaves 2/3rds left. Some get jobs, most of these are low skilled jobs, but alas we come to the conclusion: the majority dont, most are unemployed and are sitting around until the next job at KFC becomes available so they can get some "experience" and move up the ladder.

Now if you were reading closely you will realise that basically the majority of Btec students are being screwed over by the government. "Send them to college to learn how to write in magazines until they are a) old enough to go an ex poly b) old enough to be considered "mature" and allowed to work behind the till with money at ASDA or c) old enough to claim benefits as it looks better if there is 18/ 19 year olds rather than 16 year olds at the dole queue waiting for that KFC job that other dude will be leaving in a years time" - this is the general line of thinking by the government.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Are you pulling statistics from the internet or do you actually have access to clear solid facts?

I also think you're talking a load of crap. You can't know many BTEC students if you think we all end up on the dole or working at KFC. Get over yourself, your A levels don't make you any better than us.

Perhaps it's actually the PERSON that is the problem, not the qualification. Plenty of my college friends did NOT go to university after doing A Levels, but you fail to mention that, don't you?
BTEC is hands on, vocational subjects. It is often suggested to those struggling academically that they do an apprenticeship alongside a BTEC in a trade, but that is giving them a lifetime of work/skills to utilise if they so choose to. You can learn to be a brick layer, a plumber, an electrician and so on. That's brilliant! What an amazing start to the rest of your life? Walking out of college with the qualifications needed to get a job in a certain, much needed, trade. The other BTEC courses are specific to a trade or subject and allow someone who knows what they want to do after college (instead of picking out a few A levels because they're unsure, as I'm sure quite a few people do) to get the necessary experience and skills required, without any interruptions.

I will never regret my BTEC and I will never ever let some moron on the internet tell me it's useless. As I said before, get over yourself.

I'm not asking for "random Google searches" (and please don't misuse the word random). I'm asking for statistics.



No, I wouldn't.



So why make threads in the Debate and Current Affairs forum, then?



Well that's different, isn't it? There will always be a subset of people who are poorly advised, or poorly informed, and do qualifications that have limited worth or relevance to what they want to do. Or who take qualifications simply because they think they sound interesting, with little idea of what they want to do.

The point at which I am trying to get at

However, this does not mean BTECs are worthless. It does not mean that they aren't accepted by Russell Group universities (they are).

But very little Btec students get into Russell Group Unis. That is the underlying point. They may well be accepted, but how many actually go?

Someone who wants to become a Social Worker, or healthcare professional, may decide to take a BTEC in Health and Social Care (either alone or with one or two A-levels), then proceed to university to do the required degree.

Someone who wishes to become a Sports Coach may wish to take a BTEC in sport (a recognised route to training as a coach). Volunteer at a local sports club, and then pursue further coaching qualifications and/or go to university after completing the BTEC.

So to answer your question (Why do we have BTECs), we have them to provide a blend of vocational and academic training allowing people to enter further professional training whether that be at university or in employment. It's that simple.
Aha! Here! Would you agree then that they are useless? They are advertised to be "Qualifications that will get you into a skilled job" - well not really, since to do that job you would need further education. Hence it is a lie by the government, and people don't realise this. They wish it to be true, but it is simply not the case.


16 and 17 year old can't claim Job Seekers Allowance, typically. So if that 16 year old wasn't doing a BTEC, and can't find a job, they wouldn't be able to claim Job Seekers Allowance.

Basically you have just agreed with me then? I did literally just say this in the part you quoted me.

This was true before the school age was raised to 18. Young people couldn't claim JSA until their parents' Child Benefit had ceased.

That link you posted has absolutely no proof that people who do BTECs don't go to uni.

I never argued otherwise, stop trying to find reasons to be insulted and read what I am writing.

Few Btec students go to universities, and an even fewer got to "good" top class Universities. Now it would be all fine and dandy if we didn't have youth unemployment and people could just walk out of college and straight into a job, but it does not work like that, as you well know. How many people who have done Media Btec walked into a job writing magazines, or photographing celebrities etc? How many engineering students with Btecs walked into a job with Network rail? The reality is very few. Those that do walk into jobs at Bently or Ford are apprentices, not previous full time students. Now you may be an exception, but for the majority of people it is not the rule.

It is no good saying "Oh I'm doing a construction course and I will become a builder", if there is no building to be done and none of the companies are hiring locally, and those that are, are getting engineering graduates for highly skilled projects .
If you're going to start pulling up statistics, find some that actually determine the rate of employment or further education in those that did a BTEC.


Posted from TSR Mobile

To be honest o dont know where you got your information from apart from your own opinion, level3 Btec's are completely equal to 3 A-levels and if they were pointless unis wouldnt accept them, but they do. BTEC'S Provide a chance for people who do not as well in exams. I am currently on a Btec course which allows me to go on Vet med in many Uni's

A ton of bricks is equal to a ton of gold in weight. But does that mean that they are of the same quality?

Please do not think I am trying to insult people who have done Btec's, I have done one myself. What I am saying is that people don't think into the reasons we have them.

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