Many young people are ‘wasting their time’ at university and would be better off taking up a profession – this is the abrupt message from one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs.
Jim Penman, the founder of Jim’s Group, focused primarily on the humanities, despite having a PhD in history himself.
“I can tell you that what I learned in my art studies has absolutely nothing to do with what I have achieved in business.”
“A degree in the arts is an incredible waste of time, and the problem is that they are so heavily subsidized by the government,” Penman said.
“And yet apprenticeships, which actually deal with people who aren’t very academic, are massively underfunded.
‘It’s as if there’s some kind of government policy that says we can do without plumbers and electricians, but you can never have enough art historians.
“We need more builders, we need people who can do things.”
Jim Penman, the founder of Jim’s Group, advised young Australians to enter a profession instead, despite having a PhD in history himself
Students need to start focusing on the trade again because there is a lot of opportunity and money to be made in the sector, Mr Penman said.
He told Daily Mail Australia that the popular prejudice that a university degree is a must to get a good job is misleading, especially for those who want to pursue a different career.
‘Nowadays you have to do a degree, but when you come out you still don’t know anything.
‘But if you have a few years of experience in something and can actually do something, then it is quite easy to get a job.
“The problem is you go to college and learn something for someone who has never been in the field. You know what they say: those who can, and those who can’t teach.’
He said many young Australians feel pressured to get a degree because companies demand it.
“More and more people are pursuing tertiary education in general because they realize that big companies need it,” he explained.
‘But you actually spent three years at university studying a useless subject. At least then you know you can handle boredom.’
Mr Penman suggested the Government should increase funding for apprenticeships, but also make basic training much simpler and shorter.
“If you want to do roof plumbing, which is basically just iron sheeting, you have to do a four-year apprenticeship,” he said.
‘So [we need] an education system with which people actually learn to do these kinds of things more quickly and are simply assessed.’
Mr Penman said his company, which started with Jim’s Mowing and has since expanded into many other fields, is able to train its franchisees in eight weeks.
‘We teach people how to build fences and fencing is a fantastic business, it’s very lucrative, a lot of work has to be done so you can make a good living.
“We teach someone for eight weeks, and they are good fencers.”
He suggested that the government should consider introducing a similar model for vocational training.
The entrepreneur said one way to boost the process was to offer government subsidies to employers, encouraging them to hire more trainees.
Mr Penman added that the entire vocational education system needs an overhaul as many apprenticeships simply take too long to complete
The founder of Jim’s Group launched the company while completing his own PhD in history and it is now a franchise operating in four countries
Jim’s Group specializes in practical work such as plumbing, mowing, fencing, roofing and cleaning.
The company was founded in 1982 while Mr Penman was completing his studies and has since grown into a franchise business in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada.
Multi-millionaire entrepreneur Dick Smith agreed with Mr Penman that we need to get young people out of lecture halls and into practical work.
“If you want to be a doctor or an engineer, well, university education is a necessity – but so often it is wasted, especially among people who get an arts degree and never use it,” Mr Smith told Daily Mail Australia. earlier this year.
The businessman said Australia needs more qualified traders as record population growth – fueled by immigration – has increased demand for tradespeople of all types, which are now in short supply.
“A trader can make very good money, especially if he or she opens his or her own business,” Mr Smith said.
“My local electrician, he’s a millionaire. He did very well. And so a trader who opens their own business, I think, can do incredibly well in Australia.
Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith says having a degree is not ‘necessary’ to be successful in Australia. Above with wife Pip
‘There is a greater opportunity for someone with a trade qualification to open their own business and employ their own people, than for someone with an arts degree.’
Many Australians share the couples’ perspective on the value of trade over university education.
“Totally agree – even if they increased funding for useful university courses like law, business, engineering and medicine, and let students fund their own ‘fun’ courses, it would make a huge difference,” said one.
“Uni is generally a scam and doesn’t provide the right integrated training and experience,” a second agreed.
However, others suggested young Aussies follow their passions.
“Just study what you are passionate about, not everything in life has to be about hustle,” one person added.
“Agree that more money should be put into vocational training, but those careers are not for everyone and many useful career paths are supported by arts training,” said a second.