The poor old young. Never before have jobless figures for the six million people in the UK between 18 and 24 been so high — at 17.5 per cent. And never before has the scrabble to find something to do, and avoid the NEET (Not in Economic, Education, or Training) label been so frantic.

What wise heads on young shoulders still want, it seems, is a skill to sell. And many are now deciding that the way to acquire anything so old-fashioned is to become an apprentice rather than an undergraduate.

This week, for instance, news broke that almost 24,000 people applied for 221 apprenticeships at BT — about 40 per cent more than the 17,000 who applied for the 3,000 undergraduate places on offer at Oxford University.

Never before have A-level results — dropping on to doormats today — mattered more. Many school leavers feel they simply must get the grades in order to enter higher education or, indeed, to get their foot on the first rung of the job ladder.

Sixteen-year-old Thomas Earl, who has not yet even entered sixth form at Abingdon School is already aware of the hurdles ahead.

He said: ”With so much competition for every job, only the highly qualified are successful with their applications. So a degree is fast becoming a base qualification, a foundation without which many applicants are dismissed immediately.”

And at the other end of the age spectrum, Tom Jennings 25, of Garsington who has graduated from Trinity College, Carmarthen, said: “Believe it or not I don’t think any of us want to be on the dole. We want to be earning and creating a future for ourselves.

“But worryingly the opportunities don’t seem to be there.”

And many university applicants discover depressingly early just how hard jobs are to find. They learn that lesson while they are waiting to hear whether their A-level grades match their offers.

Part of the problem is that the early 1990s saw a baby boom, the products of which are now leaving school at a time when the economy is shaky.

Then of course the idea of an apprenticeship, paying a wage straight away instead of involving money flowing in the other direction, and a solid skill at the end, and on top of all that no graduate loan to repay, is highly appealing to many school leavers.

The BT scheme offers apprentices between £11,000 and £14,000 a year and training in fields including information technology, telecoms, electrical systems, or customer service. Alternatively, some successful candidates will study for a BTEC vocational qualification or a foundation degree obtained partly through practical on-the-job work experience and partly through academic study.

Nationally, the number of university applicants at the end of June was 11.7 per cent up on the same time last year — despite the widely held expectation that the Browne Review on university finance, due out in October, will recommend rises in fees. Locally, at Oxford’s two universities, the picture is to some extent repeated in miniature.

At Oxford University the number of applicants was up 12 per cent this year — with the number of applicants from state school pupils up 17 per cent — though the number of places on offer remained the same at 3,000, making entry more competitive than ever before.

A spokesman for Oxford University said: “Most of the applicants who have received offers will not be disappointed.

“We have made perhaps 3,300 offers, conditional on A-level results — that is about ten per cent more than the 3,000 places we have.”

She added that one difference between Oxford and Cambridge policies was that Oxford did not make offers that insisted on an applicant achieving an A* grade whereas Cambridge did.

At Oxford Brookes, more students are applying for about the same number of places as last year.

Academic registrar Matthew Andrews, said: “We’ve seen a 14 per cent rise in applications for 2010 and all students holding a firm or insurance place who have met their offers will have their place confirmed.

“However, it’s anticipated that we will take fewer students who have not met the terms of their offer. Like the rest of the sector, Brookes is allocated a fixed number of funded places and would be fined for over-recruiting.”

The Government has responded to the national increase in demand by funding another 8,000 places, but prospects for those just missing the A-level grades required of them to secure the places conditionally offered look bleak — and the scramble during the clearing process looks set to be hotter than ever.

Brookes was given additional places in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects through the Government scheme but those subjects are always going to be popular so applications held up.

Mr Andrews said: “We understand it’s going to be a difficult time for students this summer who just miss their grades due to the increased pressure on university places. At Brookes, I would stress that we do look at all cases on an individual basis and will continue to do so.”

He added: “In recent years, Oxford Brookes has had very few subjects in clearing and we expect a similar picture again this year.”

Unfortunately the number of would-be students failing to get into their first-choice university will be higher this year than the decade’s average 90,000.

Some may take a year out and try again next year — but others might give up hopes of university altogether and opt for something like an apprenticeship.

And here is a tip. A paradox in Oxfordshire at the moment is that Oxford accountants Wellers is reporting an actual drop in the number of applications for its training programme from A-level students.

Partner at the firm, Christina Nawrocki, said: “It seems ironic that we are really struggling to fill our placements as record youth unemployment is being reported.”