HUNDREDS of Merseyside students are expected to put university on hold so they can “test drive” possible careers.
Experts predict more of the region’s students than ever before will snub higher education to gain work experience and an edge in an increasingly fierce job market.
The prediction came as 80,000 graduates are set to fail to land a job this summer and a month after the Daily Post revealed how in some sectors, 82 applicants were chasing each vacancy.
Across the UK, those deciding to take a gap year has soared by 20% in just 12 months.
Last night, business leaders and gap year experts said they could understand why hundreds of the region’s students had chosen to be among the more than 200,000 deciding to put off university.
Jack Stopforth, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said: “I do see the merit in it. Gaining work experience will not only help them perform better at university, but prosper in the careers they want.
“We are in a situation at the moment where we are seeing graduates with good grades and qualifications not being able to get the jobs.
“So if you have someone with both qualifications and work experience, they may look more attractive to both universities and prospective employers.”
Mr Stopforth added: “The students will still be able to do their courses, but by gaining work experience they will have learned new disciplines, working in a team environment.
“However superficial it may seem, any work experience does you good and I would hope students would do it.”
