Some companies are beginning to target school leavers for their graduate recruitment schemes, a report has suggested.
The Times claimed that some companies - such as HSBC - are coming to realise that some young people are being put off university as concerns about debt levels mount.
It said that the bank had set up a new management academy programme that is aimed at school leavers with A-levels and management potential.
The first 38 trainees from the scheme are set to move into junior executive jobs, working alongside the lender's 230 graduate trainees.
John Morewood, senior graduate recruitment manager at HSBC, explained to the paper: "The programme is targeted mainly at those who made a decision not to go to university because of the debts they would incur.
However, Bill Rammell, the universities minister, stressed that there were still advantages for those people who attended a further education institution.
He is reported to have said: "There are also non-financial benefits for graduates, who tend to have better jobs and healthier lifestyles, be more involved in their children’s education and be more tolerant and active citizens."
