According to principal of John Ruskin College, Croydon, it was the correct decision to park A levels and offer vocational courses to young students. Tim Eyton-Jones decided back in 2010 that students would be better off participating in NVQs such as hair, beauty, business and administration and media.

As we know, NVQ courses enable students to gain experience in their chosen subjects and during this unstable economy vocational subjects are worth so much more than academic subjects.

Mr Eyton-Jones wants to continue to improve on these skills and realises that these core skills are crucial in every day life i.e. how to deal with staff, how to organise your time, managements, dealing with customers or work colleagues. It’s these core skills which a number of young graduates are lacking in, so I hope other colleges will also follow suit and offer NVQs more and more.

John Ruskin College have pulled out the stops to help students in the working environment.The college has created a broadcasting centre akin to the BBC newsroom, a replica nursery for NVQ childcare courses and even a salon for hair a beauty courses.

Macs are also being provided, stepping away from the typical PC environment of the classroom.

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