Higher Education Rant Alert!!!

(Caveat - This is a general observation and not directed in anyway or inspired by any actions of UAD, whose staff have been nothing less than supportive)

I like to think I make fun of my advancing years but like many of my compatriots I think I'm fairly well connected with whats going on in the wider society. I don't feel in any way less able to be creative or that my ability (such as it is) to contribute to the world has diminished because I'm the age that I am. However it grinds my gears that in a society that is widely recognised to have a demographic time-bomb ticking away the support for developing and utilising its older workforce is practically nil.

I of course recognise that we have a huge issue regarding unemployed school leavers, believe me I know these issues only too well. However I also know of many people who have found themselves having to make major life choices in or around the half century mark. They find that while they have many transferable skills, most recruiters don't have the imagination to conceive as to how these could be utilised within their organisation. In the face of apathy many decide that further education might be a path to a new career or reveal a new opportunity. While its difficult to change societies notion that all vitality and innovation can only reside within the under 25's. I find it particularly frustrating that the whole HE industry (who you would think would know better) seems entirely focused on this particular age group. The Commons Select Committee on Students and Universities found that 17-20 year olds made up 60% of undergraduate initial entrants but are allocated 75% of the funding.

Third parties like Trusts, government initiatives and multinationals all get involved in 'Innovation and Enterprise' promotion in the hope of driving new business development. These are sensible activities and should be encouraged, however I have yet to see ANY that have not had some age limit imposed on prospective applicants, usually 25, sometimes younger. Graduate recruitment is equally focused on this age group and seems to disregard the growing number of mature graduates leaving universities. Universities themselves are guilty of a one-size-fits all policy, seeming to rely on the perceived notion that because a student is 'mature' they are more able to manage the educational process. Teaching rarely acknowledges the challenges of learning which face the mature student and certainly makes no attempt to support or guide the mature student's career development.

If we are agreed that driving the development of new businesses through innovation and enterprise is part of the solution to creating jobs and recognise that knowledge is a key part of competitiveness why on earth are the stakeholders involved not making better use of the experienced resource it has kicking around.