For many Western teenagers university has long been considered a passport to the good life: a rite of passage consisting of mind-expanding reading and writing or the acquisition of a professional qualification, and meeting like-minded people often over a drink or three – all ending up in a well paid, interesting job and a network of useful contacts.But in these straitened times is the traditional university education really worth the time and money – and the hangovers More and more young people are attending university in Britain and the US, and ever fewer graduates are finding jobs. Costs are soaring too: fees at American universities have increased by over 1000 percent in the last 30 years and British institutions have nearly tripled their annual fees to £9000 in the last year. The result A new type of high-school leaver is emerging who combines formal learning with on-the-job experience. Businesses are increasingly interested in employing young people with a sense of determination, grit and a strong work ethic, qualities which graduates don’t necessarily have.So should the wise young high school-leaver skip university and get on with acquiring the business, tech and life skills he or she needs for a successful career (Look what dropping out did for the likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.) Or is a university education still a desirable end in itself – a way of rounding out a young person’s mind and character that will be an enhancement for lifeThese are some of the issues covered in this debate at the Cambridge Union in October 2013. Some speakers were on stage and others were beamed in from all over the World via Google+ Hangouts.panel. The panel included writer and teach Francis Gilbert, Professor in Greek Literature and Culture Simon Goldhill, education editor of Spiked-Online Joanna Williams, and Grover 'Russ' Whitehurst, Director of the Brown Center on Education at the Brookings Institution.