Do you have to attend degree course?

Now that is a very good and very true point.

So if you don't need to be taught what universities can teach you why do you want a degree? 

Some folk like letters after their name

Already got some 

I left school at 15 went and got an apprenticeship did five years with 1 day a week  at Brixton Tech  and  retired as a senior manger,  who would have an open door, and could still give advise to staff if they had need of i t,where as later on it was "parachuted in""graduates" who were given managerial posts,who if there was a "problem" would consult their "spreadsheets"and if it did not appear on them they were flumaxed,  getting down and dirty on the shop floor was an Alien enviroment , their attitude was/is  Just order a new one (and now probably made in the Far East

I would suggest that Ian, you're not totally clear what a university education actually gives you. It is not about facts and recall, or acquiring new facts and being able to recall them in an exam. In fact simple recall won't get you a degree anywhere in the UK. The actual subject in most cases doesn't really matter its the intellectual processes learned along the way and the fact that these are transferable skills to be used anywhere. That's what makes graduates so appealing to most employers. I suggest you google Bloom's taxonomy for a fuller picture but at the bottom end is simple recall and to apply that recall. These are covered at GCSE and A level, or most vocational qualifications like Btec or City and Guilds. Universities or higher education rather, looks and teaches at the higher thought processes.

Yes I do. At the moment Apprenticeships are partly funded by the taxpayer. The employer will pay the apprentice a minimum wage (currently £3.50 an hour) and pay for their training, but employers can access government funding for wages and training. See https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide/pay-and-conditions for more details.

QED

The graduates I had to "instruct" in their roles had one stock answer that seemed to be"instilled"in them,  when asked what their degree brought to the post it was  "a degree proves one can absorb knowledge not the subject's that one studies"???) I Was glad that my retirement oportunity came when i was just 51 

Thanks for a clear and concise answer Corners..