Career development loan-are they irresponsible lending

vaporate · 9 July 2010 at 10:07PM

All degrees are useless to a 'degree' in a time of a recession.

This superiority of a degree over another needs to go.

Childish.

LesleyHead · 9 July 2010 at 10:22PM

I'm sorry if I have upset some of you regulars! I'm new to this forum and just need to get this of my chest. I do fully agree that he was as much to blame. As someone said he was young and full of hope! Now he is 3 years older a little wiser. However these loans like student loans are part funded by the government and the banks. If someone went to the bank for a mortgage or any other loan, with no means of paying it back they would rightly say no. When you apply for a career development loan you have to start paying it back as soon as you finish the course which in this economic climate is unrealistic. Why are these loans available for careers that are as unstable as acting. I also have a daughter who got a 1st at university, owes £11,000 and cant get work in her chosen field at least though with student loans you dont start paying them back until you are earning.

vaporate · 9 July 2010 at 10:30PM

LesleyHead wrote: »

I'm sorry if I have upset some of you regulars! I'm new to this forum and just need to get this of my chest. I do fully agree that he was as much to blame. As someone said he was young and full of hope! Now he is 3 years older a little wiser and suffering from deep depression and suicidal thoughts! However these loans like student loans are part funded by the government and the banks. If someone went to the bank for a mortgage or any other loan, with no means of paying it back they would rightly say no. When you apply for a career development loan you have to start paying it back as soon as you finish the course which in this economic climate is unrealistic. Why are these loans available for careers that are as unstable as acting. I also have a daughter who got a 1st at university, owes £11,000 and cant get work in her chosen field at least though with student loans you dont start paying them back until you are earning.

ok. the loan your son took was just called a careers loan but basically its a normal loan from the bank.

Join the club. 40% of grads are in tescos working.

vaporate · 9 July 2010 at 10:51PM

my last post cos its too hot tonight here in kent.

just forget about it. your son just has to get on with it. pay the loan back if he can or default, no middle bit here.

LesleyHead · 9 July 2010 at 10:57PM

Sorry I deleted this while trying to correct it!!! Normal loans are not encouraged and part funded by the government! working in Tescos would not pay his London rent, loan repayment and allow him to eat. He's not lazy he's working hard to pay it back and still trying to get acting work in between.

LesleyHead · 9 July 2010 at 10:59PM

My son was 19 and adult and made his own decision to apply. he might have been misguided but he wants to follow his chosen career, nothing we as parents could have said would stop him. We have allowed him to make his own choices

Morgan_Ree · 9 July 2010 at 10:59PM

LesleyHead wrote: »

My son was 19 and adult and made his own decision to apply. he might have been misguided but he wants to follow his chosen career, nothing we as parents could have said would stop him. We have allowed him to make his own choices.

Well let him deal with it then!! Irresponsible lending has nothing to do with it.

b33r · 9 July 2010 at 11:07PM

dmg24 wrote: »

I am not aware that they accept kids at universities?

Because of the school year cut off a lot of students are 17 when they go to university in Scotland, a friend of mine was also 17 when he went to University in England as he was moved up a year at school. I also imagine most are under 18 when they are applying.

baby_fuzz · 9 July 2010 at 11:08PM

vaporate wrote: »

All degrees are useless to a 'degree' in a time of a recession.

This superiority of a degree over another needs to go.

Childish.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree - surely it is easy to see that something like an engineering degree will have much more 'value' than an equivalent degree in a subject that people might consider more fluffy, like surfing
http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/1645/BSc+(Hons)+Surf+Science+and+Technology

(Admitedly, the surfing graduate would more likely win in a surf-off.)

Having interviewed many graduates, I can definitely say that some courses produce better candidates, as do some universities over others (although it's probably just as much a case of stringent intake grades for courses/unis - c$%p in, c$%p out...):rotfl:

treliac · 9 July 2010 at 11:20PM

LesleyHead wrote: »

Hi..My son took out a career development loan for £8000 3years ago to fund his drama course. After 2 years he had to start paying back at £180 per month. When he applied he was working in a library (so not really relevant to his chosen career of acting) For the last year he has had very little acting work and can only find part time work in the theatre. Therefore he has been unable to keep up with the payments on his loan, his rent etc. My question is does anyone else think that career development loans for acting courses, acting work being notoriously hard to find could be construed as irresponsible lending.

It's sad for your son and for the many other young people who have been encouraged to get heavily into debt by taking degrees that transpire to offer no job at the end. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see this coming.

But of course a teenager with a dream to fulfil is easy prey to falling for the dream. It's very sad that a stupid government thought the country needed 40 - 50% school leavers to go to university... especially to do some of the futile courses they have done. It was the last government that was irresponsible.

I hope your son is able to get some acting work and feel he has done something worthwhile if, at least, enjoyable.

Also, won't the bank negotiate on repayments? It's surely in their interest to do so. Perhaps your son should call in to his nearest Citizens Advice Bureau who will definitely give him some help to sort this out. He can sort it out. He's young and he will get past this hurdle. He needs to believe that and to get some support and advice.

Career development loan-are they irresponsible lending

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