Academic v Vocational

Why is one type of mortar board valued more than another?  I am of course referring to the value that is placed on the mortar board that one wears when graduating and all the hopes and expectations that go with it in the employment world, versus the mortar board that a plasterer or bricklayer may use as a tool of his or her trade.

I don’t know why, it is but it seems to me that our society values the work of those who utilise their knowledge to earn a living, far more than those who predominantly use their hands.

I recently read a letter in a national newspaper from a university academic who was exclaiming that he did not know what the world was coming to because he had seen  that two jobs advertised in a recent edition had showed one for an academic researcher (requiring a first class degree) and was offering a salary of something like £14k, and alongside it an advert for a plumbing vacancy requiring an NVQ level 3 and was offering something like £25k.   He seemed to suggest that the researcher position was far more worthy of a higher salary than the plumbing job.  WHY??

Take refuse collectors – not brilliant pay for a smelly job, often with an unsociable start time, often viewed by people as “obviously not very bright as that is all they can get a job doing”  Well we have all seen the TV pictures of what happens if they go on strike or stop work… need I say more?

I know many people who work with their hands and are quite highly qualified in their  field yet when they tell potential clients their charges, the clients seem to think that the particular job is only worth the minimum wage.  I don’t know many self employed people who could only charge the minimum wage and make a living. Do you?  If you would not be prepared to work for such a low amount yourself if you are qualified and experienced, then why expect anyone else  who is also qualified and experienced,to do so?

If we don’t value the more vocational approach to education, qualifications and employment roles, we will forever categorise those who do not fit the academic methods of learning  into demeaning boxes we create for them and limit their  aspirations.

If I was stuck on  desert island and had to choose between the plumber and the researcher as companion – well I think my survival would be better served by the practical plumber – would yours??

Perhaps the question we should be asking is what is the value of the person to me not the job they do?

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