By Shola Adenekan

She does not think higher education is worth all the trouble and believes there are other ways of becoming successful and getting a good job.

"I am really put off about whether the degree I'm doing is really worth it at the end of the day," the biological science undergraduate said.

"Compared to my boyfriend who is not a student but works for a company, does a modern apprenticeship and wants to eventually do a degree in construction engineering, I can see his prospects will be far better than mine by the time we both graduate."

"I don't think you necessarily get a better job by being a graduate and the amount of money you have to pay for what you get out of it and the millions of exam timetables is ridiculous.

"Poring over books and being stuck in a lecture theatre or classroom all day is not the way to live life in the real world."

I was told this is the best place to study Jonathan Barnard civil engineering technician

Ms Mugendi may be right. A recent study from Cardiff University suggests four out of 10 graduates end up in jobs that do not require degrees, while trades still have massive skill gaps.

The government's target of getting 50% of young people into university is coming under attacks from several quarters.

The UK, some people say, needs more bricklayers and plumbers and fewer of the thousands of media studies graduates our universities produce every year.

Many bricklayers now command a pay packet in excess of �52,000 a year, according to the GMB union - more than newly-qualified hospital consultants, senior journalists and police inspectors, and almost as much as an MP.

Paid to study

The skill shortage in the construction industry is stark. According to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), London alone needs 40,500 new construction workers in order to meet a target of 169,000 homes by 2006.

This includes 6,500 carpenters and joiners, 3,000 bricklayers, 2,500 painters and decorators, 1,000 plasterers, 1,500 roofers, 4,000 electricians and 3,500 plumbers.

Step forward the National Construction College - the institution that gives young people up to �150 per week, and free accommodation, just for enrolling on one of its courses.

Forget the hoarse voice of a university lecturer trying to control an overcrowded lecture theatre, the teacher to student ratio here is 1:2.

And - the best part - its graduates normally walk straight into jobs, without the headache of massive student loan and overdraft repayments.

The graduates we get are sent by their employers. They know everything theoretically but nothing practically Ian Woodward National Construction College

The college has four sites spread across the country - in Birmingham, Glasgow, Erith in Kent and Bircham Newton in Norfolk.

"All college courses are based on a programme combining site work spent with a construction company, training at the college and ongoing assessment," said Ian Woodward, the college's head of recruitment and training manager.

"All courses are Modern Apprenticeships. Apprenticeships allow trainees to learn, work and get qualified at the same time."

The college offers everything from surveying to scaffolding, from steeple jacking to roof slating and tiling. The trainees say they have gained a lot from their courses.

Jonathan Barnard, 25, has just completed a civil engineering training. With a job under his belt, he thinks the college has prepared him for all the challenges he is likely to face on a construction site.

"I wanted to be a civil engineer and I was told this is the best place to study. I have learnt so much about the industry. I now know what I need to do in order to fulfil my role as a site engineer."

Mechanic William Skoyles hopes to start his own business

William Skoyles, 16, a trainee mechanic, agreed.

"I'm making the most of my time here. The teachers here are great and I hope to start my own business in few years time."

Based on a vast expanse of land in the lush Norfolk countryside and brimming with every imaginable tool of the trade, Bircham Newton is the largest of the NCC campuses.

But it has only 500 trainees and despite all the media publicity on skills shortages, the college trained only 250 graduates on some of its short programmes last year.

"There's still the perception that if you get decent grades in your exams, you're wasting your time going into construction," said Mr Woodward.

"I think that's an outdated attitude. The graduates we get are sent by their employers.

"They know everything theoretically but nothing practically. They come here to have a go and get their hands dirty.

"These courses are run so that they are able to experience first-hand the work they'll be asking operatives to carry out."

Diversity

With middle class youngsters still turning up their noses at careers in the industry, salvation, perhaps, lies in recruiting more women and ethnic minority youths.

They are under-represented and Mr Woodward thinks there is an urgent need to redress this imbalance.

"Every 10 years, 25% of the labour force retires, which normally consists of the most experienced and skilled workers.

"The next cohort of retirees began working in the 1940s and are a homogenous group," he said.

"The next 25% replacing them over the next 10 years will be the most diverse group ever."