Multi-millionaire entrepreneur Dick Smith is pushing young Aussies to consider picking up a trade instead of studying at university – as successful Gen Z workers warn uni is actually a ‘money suck’.
In an interview with Daily Mail Australia, Mr Smith, who has an estimated net worth of $60million, noted that he has done ‘okay for himself’, despite having no formal qualifications.
Mr Smith, who made a fortune off the sale of Dick Smith Electronics to Woolworths, argued that many of his employees who aren’t tertiary educated are just as hardworking as those who study at uni.
‘If you want to become a doctor, or an engineer, well, that (education is) a necessity – but so often it is wasted, especially with people who get arts degrees and never use them,’ Mr Smith said.
‘They’ve just spent extra years learning theory when they should be out learning practical things.’
Meanwhile, several young workers told Daily Mail Australia they face immense pressure from Gen X and Baby Boomer parents to study at university. That’s despite those generations often never having gone to university themselves.
Many young Aussies are ignoring that advice – with uni enrolments having plunged to a near decade low as they seek out full-time jobs or pursue trades instead.
Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith says having a degree is not ‘necessary’ to becoming successful in Australia. Above, with wife Pip
A recent survey from the Australian Industry Group of 25-year-olds found tradies earned 16 per cent more money than their peers with university degrees at that age
And that is proving to be the right move, with recent research showing that tradies are happier and richer in their 20s compared with university grads.
Meanwhile, Mr Smith pointed to examples of tradies doing ‘incredibly well’.
The businessman said Australia needs more qualified tradespeople as record population growth – fuelled by immigration – puts further pressure on the housing crisis.
‘A tradesman can earn really good money, especially if he or she opens their own business,’ Mr Smith said.
‘My local electrician, he’s a millionaire. He’s done very well. And so, to me, a tradesperson who opens their own business can do incredibly well in Australia.
‘I think there’s a greater chance for a person who’s trade qualified to open their own business, and employ their own people, than someone with an arts degree.’
Young woman: I regret going to uni
Melbourne woman Chelsea Taylor has three unfinished university degrees and about $30,000 in student debt.
The 23-year-old told Daily Mail Australia she felt a ‘real big push to go to university’ and did a year studying each in Exercise Sport Science, Teaching and Nursing.
‘It was at the end of my third year of university that I realised that I didn’t want to be there – I wasn’t enjoying university, and it wasn’t leading to what I wanted,’ Ms Taylor said.
Ms Taylor said she was ‘feeling lost’ and unsure about her career when her brother saw a TV ad calling for Melbourne Metro Train drivers.
The young Aussie applied and landed the role. She has been working as a train driver since September 2020.
‘When I started as a train driver, I didn’t know anything about trains… but the training required was incredibly comprehensive,’ Ms Taylor said.
‘It can be a challenging job, it’s a big responsibility transporting hundreds of people at once, but it’s worth it,’ Ms Taylor said.
Ms Taylor wished she had discovered her job sooner.
‘When I finished high school, I didn’t know there were great jobs available if you didn’t go to university or didn’t go to TAFE,’ Ms Taylor said.
‘There’s also a stigma that if you’re not going to university, you’re wasting an opportunity. I think this couldn’t be more wrong.’
Chelsea Taylor, 23, felt a ‘big push to go to uni’ and after three unfinished university degrees and about $30,000 debt she found a job she loves as a train driver for Melbourne Metro
Ms Taylor said the stigma of ‘wasting an opportunity’ by not going to uni could not be more wrong (pictured, university graduates walking along Swanton Street in Melbourne)
Young Aussies turning to FIFO work
Many high school leavers are snapping up jobs in the mining industry, some of which pay up to $120,000 a year – to save money and further their careers.
FIFO worker Jayden Peters, 24, urges young Australians to pursue a career in the mines to fast-track their financial goals.
Mr Peters works as a cleaner on a two-in-one roster – two weeks on, one week off – while also starting a traineeship to be a tyre fitter.
‘Do not fall for uni propaganda, it’s the biggest money suck and time suck of your life, and $150,000 is not a lot of money, especially for the mines,’ Mr Peters said.
‘Get your tickets, do a FIFO traineeship or a FIFO apprenticeship, just don’t go to uni.
‘Don’t spend thousands and tens of thousands of dollars on s**t that you can get almost instantly and for free.’
FIFO worker Jayden Peters (pictured right) urged young Australians not to fall for ‘uni propaganda’ and to pursue a career in the mines
Mining coach at Underground Training Andrew Knight said the mining industry provided young Australians a way to earn ‘bucket loads’ of money while working and progressing their career
‘If you’re broke and you really want to get some good money…get into FIFO. You can be a cleaner getting close to $2,000 a week,’ Mr Peters said.
‘The options are endless. I’m a cleaner—that’s what I am right now—but I’m about to start a traineeship to be a tire fitter, starting at $150,000 a year and going all the way up to $200,000, and it’s two and two.’
‘Yes, it is 12 hour days nonstop for two weeks straight, but when you’re up here, it’s really not that bad. There’s nothing else to be doing, and work is actually quite enjoyable.’
He added: ‘Free food, free accommodation. I spend zero dollars while making some of the best money in Australia.’
Mining coach at Underground Training Andrew Knight told Daily Mail Australia that it does not take long for workers to move into higher paid roles with salaries well beyond most jobs on offer for university graduates.
He added the best success stories are people who work for five to 10 years and use that money to buy their first home or pay off their mortgage.
Mr Knight said he expected a person who has worked in the mining industry for four years to earn between $150,000 and $250,000 a year in a wide range of jobs.
Decline in university enrollments
The number of university students continues to fall. In 2016, there were 939,000, but this year there are only 815,700, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
This drop means Education Minister Jason Clare’s goal of having 55 per cent of young people with bachelor’s degrees by 2050 is growing further out of reach.
‘We need more young people going to university or TAFE,’ Mr Clare said.
‘At the moment, almost one in two Australians in their late 20s have a university degree. But not everywhere. Not in the regions. Not in poor families.
‘This report makes it clear that this has to change. The changes happening in our economy right now means this has to change.
‘If we don’t, we won’t have the skills and the economic firepower we need to make Australia everything it can be in the years ahead.’
The average amount of student debt is now $24,770 per student, compared with $15,191 a decade ago. Meanwhile, the number of people with debts in excess of $100,000 has also tripled in the past three years.
In contrast, many trades offer fee-free apprenticeships, which means many apprentices graduate without accumulating any debt, while also earning on the job.
A recent survey from the Australian Industry Group of 25-year-olds found tradies earned 16 per cent more money than their peers with university degrees at that age.
The Universities Accord Interim Report published in 2023 showed the number of Aussies enrolled in a bachelor’s degree had fallen 12 per cent in less than a decade (pictured, students relaxing on the grass at The University of New South Wales)
High school leavers and young Aussies alike are snapping up FIFO jobs instead of going to university (pictured, FIFO mine workers boarding flight to Newman, Western Australia)
‘A lot of people that were going through a bachelor pathway were still unclear what they were doing once they’ve graduated,’ Head of the Ai Group’s Centre for Education and Training Megan Lilly told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Sometimes degrees can be very generalist, so it takes people a while to navigate their way into a job that is either aligned to what they studied or what they’re interested in.
‘The relationship between what people studied at a bachelor level, and what they do for work is a much looser relationship than the apprenticeship pathway.’
Ms Lilly said by the time a tradesperson is 25-years-old they would potentially be fully qualified and earning a full wage.
That’s in contrast to a university graduate at the same age who would just be finishing their degree and beginning their transition into the workforce.
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