9.B Match the words in the left and right columns to restore the collocations from the text. In what context are they used?

distinct	job hunting and career planning
unemployment	ladders
recruitment	scheme
range	less qualified people
earnings	of the century
turn (n)	rate
displace	gap
graduate/ trainer	of occupations
career	market
develop	advantage

9.C Discuss the following questions with a partner. Use the information from the text, your background knowledge and other sources of information:

1. What arguments does the author offer to prove that the college / university degree can give the graduate a distinct advantage in the labour market? Which of the arguments would you rate as two most and least important for yourself? Explain your priorities.

2. What factors devaluating the worth of a degree are mentioned in the article? Can you think of any others? Are you aware of the difficulties that may arise when you face the harsh reality of the job market in Ukraine?

3. What changes has the recruitment market in Britain undergone? Are they favourable or unfavourable for British graduates? Can we observe the same tendency in Ukraine?

4. Is taking a postgraduate qualification a guarantee of easy entry into the labour market in Britain? Have you considered doing the postgraduate course after completing the 5-year university course? If so, what are your motives and expectations? Do you think a postgraduate degree is worth extra time and investment?

5. What is in the author’s opinion the outlook for would-be graduates in Britain? What are the prospects for degree-holders in Ukraine?

6. Do employers in Britain rely only on a college/ university diploma? What individual qualities should a graduate develop to meet the employers’ requirements?

9.D Work in a group of 3-4. Discuss, which of the following statements you support or challenge. Give your reasons.

1. Today we are witnessing the education boom and most of young people attach great importance to college/ university diploma.

2. The idea that the degree is useless is part of a pseudo-educational philosophy that the younger generation cannot accept.

3. Not all young people are “university material,” some of them might be better suited to vocational training apprenticeship.

4. BA or BSc is the single credential for any sort of advancement – or even an automatic hallmark of academic achievement.

10. Debate the following motion: “Success is proportional to academic (vocational) qualifications.” Use the following scheme for holding the debate. A) Planning a debate:

– decide on the motion (topic) to be debated

– choose a chairperson to run the debate and keep order

– choose four speakers for Team A (the side for the motion)

– choose four speakers for Team В (the side against the motion)

– spend five minutes planning your arguments and making notes for your short speeches

– decide the order in which people will speak

– a member from Team A speaks first, then a member from Team В and so on

– in pairs, the rest of the class discusses the motion and thinks of questions they can ask during the debate

– at the end of the debate the chairperson opens the debate to the house (class)

– the chairperson asks everyone to vote either for or against the motion

– the chairperson counts the votes and reads out the result

b) Running a debate:

Chairperson:

• – We are here to debate the issue of …

• – We will now debate the motion …

• – I now call on the first speaker to open the debate.

• – I now call on the second/final speaker.

• – I now open the debate to the floor.