A new report has revealed that increasing numbers of university graduates are trying to make it easier to find work by adding vocational qualifications on top of their degree.
Almost one in four UK graduates are trying to top up their degree by taking a vocational course, according to a survey by education foundation Edge.
With graduate unemployment increasing, there is growing support for vocational qualifications, Edge said.
The foundation's chief executive, Andy Powell, commented: "Graduates are topping up their degrees with vocational qualifications because the current system is failing to provide the skills and training that graduates need and employers so desperately want.
"There are many paths to success and it's time that practical training is incorporated into the curriculum at a much earlier stage to ensure young people are enter the working world with the skills they require."
He added that the current climate made it more important than ever for vocational qualifications to get the recognition they deserve, "to remove once and for all the outdated notion that academic courses are the only way for young people to achieve their aspirations".
