While education is of course important, so long as someone has the basic math and english, I've never really understood demanding '5 C grades or above at GCSE Level', so I'm applying for a job in insurance with your company, and I've passed exams in Maths, English, Religious Studies, Geography, History, and Art. There's six, only the two basics I stated above have any real relevance.
For many jobs, I think a simple sit down test for half an hour designed around the job would be more useful.
(Yes, I buggered up school, but I know a fair bit of stuff
)
All I'm suggesting, is, like the tale here, surely someone who's interested in your job and can bring some unique skills, insight and creativity to it, despite not having many 'qualifications' is going to be a better hire than someone who needs something to pay the bill, but left school with ten A's in irrelevant subjects?
(Yes, I understand good grades show a health attitude to hard work, but still there's hard working kids who fail, and kids who breeze thru exams without really trying. I rarely scored under 97% in maths, yet I couldn't write creatively so dropped out of english, despite understand grammar, spelling punctuation and all the 'technical' aspects of English. When does writing stories become useful in most jobs? Unless you're in a call centre having to make up reasons why your company fucked up