00:00It's a busy day in the gym, but this time for education rather than exercise.
00:05Here at Maidstone Leisure Centre, the indoor sports courts behind me are usually full of netball players and basketball players,
00:13but not today as 45 different employers have made their way to Maidstone to show young people the apprenticeship offers
00:20that are here in Kent.
00:22Employers from the NHS to Gatwick Airport offer apprenticeships for young people in Kent
00:27that allow them to gain industry experience alongside studying,
00:32as opposed to enrolling in an undergraduate degree programme at a university.
00:36This is the eighth year that me and my Conservative colleagues have hosted this apprenticeship fair,
00:43and it's really, really important. University is a good thing, it's great for some people, but not for everyone.
00:50It comes at a time when universities across the country are facing financial pressures,
00:55and more and more young people are wary of student debt.
00:59But can apprenticeships really replace the university experience?
01:03I think with less people going to uni, I think apprenticeships are a much more viable option.
01:07I believe they're a better alternative to university, as it gives you the same degree, just without the debt.
01:13It's a good option, right, but it's just quite competitive.
01:15The Conservatives have recently called for an overhaul of the student loan system they helped introduce.
01:21Under the Liberal Democrat Tory coalition that brought in £9,000 loans for the first time.
01:28Shadow Education Minister Laura Trott later affirmed that the party wants to stop government funding for so-called dead-end
01:36university courses.
01:37What I need to make sure is that actually those courses that young people go on are worthwhile.
01:42Because the problem is, is if you are leaving school and you think,
01:47oh, I'm going to go study a creative arts course at a university,
01:51and I don't know that actually that's not going to get me into the creative arts,
01:55that's going to end me up with thousands and thousands of pounds of debt and no job.
02:00And it's just totally the wrong approach.
02:02So that is why we're shifting the system around.
02:05It won't be something that everybody would agree with,
02:07but I believe in it passionately because I think it's the right thing for young people,
02:10and it's the right thing for taxpayers too.
02:12Their plan is to cut 100,000 university places and put this saved money into apprenticeships.
02:18The fantastic thing about apprenticeships is you can earn whilst you're learning,
02:23you have solid skills that you can use immediately in the workplace.
02:26There's always going to be a place for academic degrees and that's wonderful too,
02:30but there's all sorts of different ways that people can learn after 16, after 18,
02:35and it's important to embrace all of them.
02:37But the Tories' plan overlooks that there aren't many apprenticeships in the creative arts
02:43to replace the degrees they want to cut,
02:45potentially leaving a gap for the young artistic talent of tomorrow.
02:50Megan Shaw for KMTV in Maidstone.
02:52only two or eightAYs in the fucking Zachary's but a bishop. Is there any
02:52harm? Time is home.
02:52works well the way.
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