We've got qualification inflation where now we need about 10 gcse's for someone to open a till and take your money.

Most places just keep upping the requirements to make it easier for the HR dept to trim down the applications...unless you have a BSC in physics you are not capable of being able to hit a nail on the head etc.

Most if not all I did at uni is either forgotten or as much use as a chocolate teapot to someone who is allergic to chocolate unless theres many people recruiting Motorola 68000 assembly people with knowledge of COBOL and ADA etc.

And in IT circles a few years can be a lifetime if you don't keep up with the fashion.

Yeah Osborne moving the goal posts after people had taken the loans with the expectation that it would rise with inflation was not on. No way a private institution would get away with that kind of change to T&Cs

That said I think inflation is the wrong measure. For future contracts I'd simply tie it to the average salary. Once you start earning above the national average - then you start paying back.

Support grants I'm not so sure of. What necessitates the money has to come as a gift rather than a loan? If you come from the poorest background but end up on £40,000 a year should you not be responsible for paying back what it cost to get you there?

If it's just the argument that those from the poorest backgrounds are less likely to want to take on the debt and have it hang over them - I kind of think maybe we should be encouraging that attitude in those from the wealthier backgrounds as well.

Bit of personal bias there of course given I came from a poor background and decided against the uni route but I've never liked the focus on pushing so many kids straight into university as if it's the only route to success

Personally, I think parental income should be taken out of the equation when it comes to student finance. 18 year olds are adults in every other aspect of life. You aren't asked how much your parents earn when you get your first job, rent a flat or take out a car loan.

We have a big problem finding decent Ada developers in the Aerospace industry - there is a lot of legacy code that needs upgrading as well as a number of new projects that rely heavily on safety critical code.

But agree that you must keep up with current progress, especially in any technology type area. However the technical skills learned with the degree - e.g. 68000 will provide essential building blocks for the new skills that warrant such a degree in the first place.

In your idealistic scenario of everyone working for free, how do all of those volunteers pay for housing and bills?

Wow, what a land of educational opportunity the UK is.