Uni or bust? It’s not like that any more

Today’s cover story: how the shortage in skilled trades is creating opportunities for kids who once thought it was uni or bust.

The Great Resignation may not be living up to all the hype but a subtle change may well be emerging in our high school leavers who’ve copped two years of disrupted learning in some states. International gap years are still mostly off the table, some university fees have soared while the blunt force of the ATAR or VCE score to enter uni still creates angst. Also, with Covid we’ve seen a different way of living – and working. All this is colliding with the shortage in skilled trades and a renewed interest in local manufacturing and it’s creating opportunities for kids who once thought it was uni or bust.

Tim Wright, the former headmaster of the prestigious Sydney private boys’ school Shore, tells journalist Greg Bearup he should have encouraged more students to become tradesmen. “The longer I went on in the job the more I became convinced that the Australian obsession with university [is unhealthy].” Wright relates the story of his plumber on the NSW south coast who has a couple of apprentices. “He’s a great business success, just as successful as somebody who’s sitting in a 15th‑floor office in Macquarie St.”