The Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) What do graduates do? Jen Redman: HECSU Researcher

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit(HECSU)

What do graduates do?

Jen Redman: HECSU Researcherwww.hecsu.ac.uk

http://www.hecsu.ac.uk/

HECSU and Graduate Prospects

HECSU is• An independent charity specialising in higher

education and graduate employment research• Supporting careers advisory services• Provide pre- and post- HE careers information and

guidance• Our research is used to inform outputs of Graduate

Prospects

Graduate Prospects is• HECSU’s commercial arm• Gift aids commercially generated revenue to the

charity• Provides a comprehensive portfolio of student-facing

publications and resources

HECSU’s sources of informationHECSU produce reports and publications which include information to help you inform students and graduates about motivations to study, graduate employment, and postgraduate study.

Research projects:FuturetrackFuturetrack: part-time studentsReal Prospects

Publications:What do graduates do?Graduate Market Trend

Go to www.hecsu.ac.uk for more resources

Options with your subjectWe work with Graduate Prospects and AGCAS to provide information about graduate destinations to students and graduates.

Content included with permission from AGCAS and Graduate Prospects

What do graduates do? 2013314,165 first degrees were awarded toUK-domiciled graduates in 2012

Most graduates (73.7%) were working six monthsafter leaving university

55.6% working full-time, 14.2% part-time

Top professional and managerial jobs include: Nurses, medical practitioners, primary & nursery teachers, marketing associate professionals, programmers & software developers

Unemployment was 8.5%

13% went into further study, 2 in 5 were studying a Masters and 55.4% were self-funded

Data taken from HESA’s Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education 2011/12 survey (2013)

Graduates from the North West35,389 first degree graduates were living in the North West before university


Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

South West

South East

London

East of England

West Midlands

East Midlands

Yorkshire and The Humber

North West

North East

0.3%

3.6%

7.5%

4.8%

7.8%

14.1%

15.2%

9.2%

8.6%

6.7%

7.1%

11.2%

3.7%

Graduates from the North WestThree in five (22,085) North West graduates graduated from an institution in the North West

Type of institution %

Highest tariff universities 19.5%

High tariff universities 12.5%

Medium tariff universities 55.1%

Lower tariff universities 9.7%

Other HEIs 3.2%


Scotland

Wales

South West

South East

London

East of England

West Midlands

East Midlands


North West

1.7%

2.1%

1.5%

3.8%

2.7%

1.0%

3.6%

3.6%

13.9%

62.4%

Graduates from the North WestWhich subjects did North West graduates study?

Subject group %

Business & administrative studies 11.3%

Creative arts & design 10.9%

Subjects allied to medicine 10.9%

Biological sciences 10.4%

Social studies 9.6%

Education 5.9%

Mathematical & computer sciences 5.2%

Law 4.8%

Linguistics, classics and related subjects 4.8%

Historical & philosophical studies 4.8%

At the bottom of the table

Veterinary sciences, agriculture and related subjects

0.9%

Technology 0.8%

Top ten subjects studied

Nursing

Design studies

Psychology

Business studies

English studies

Training teachers

Social work

History by period

Law by topic


Graduates from the North West

Outcomes six months after graduation

Working full-time in the UK………….................... 51.2%

Working part-time in the UK………………….......... 15.7%

In further study, training or research…............. 11.9%

Unemployed, including those due to start work…8.6%

Working and studying………….…………................... 6.5%

Other……………….…………………….……..................... 4.5%

Working overseas………………................................ 1.5%

TYPE OF COURSE FOR THOSE IN FURTHER STUDYMasters degree 40.8%Postgraduate qualification in education 22.9%Doctorate 11.6%Professional qualification 10.4%Other study, training or research 8.1%Other postgraduate diplomas 6.2%Total number of graduates in further study 3235


51.2%

15.7%

11.9%

8.6%

6.5%

4.5%1.5%

Graduates from the North West19,965 North West graduates were working in the UK these are the types of work they were doing (includes working full- and part-time and working and studying)


Unknown occupations

Science professionals

Information Technology professionals

Managers

Engineering and building professionals

Other professionals, associate professionals and technicians

Arts, design and media professionals

Legal, social and welfare professionals

Marketing, PR and sales professionals

Childcare, health and education occupations

Education professionals

Other occupations

Business, HR and finance professionals

Clerical, secretarial and numerical clerks

Health professionals

Retail, catering, waiting and bar staff

0.1%

0.9%

3.6%

4.2%

4.2%

4.5%

4.8%

4.9%

5.7%

6.2%

6.9%

7.0%

7.5%

8.3%

15.6%

15.7%

Graduates from the North WestWhen you look at the top professional and managerial jobs that North West graduates in the UK were doing six months after graduation in 2012, the top five feature most of the same jobs as for all first degree graduates

Top ten professional and managerial jobs for North West graduates

Nurses

Primary and nursery teachers

Medical practitioners

Marketing associate professionals

Pharmacists

Top ten professional and managerial jobs for all graduates

Nurses

Medical practitioners

Primary and nursery teachers

Marketing associate professionals

Programmers and software developers


Graduates from the North WestWhere do those in employment in the UK work across the regions?


Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

South West

South East

London

East of England

West Midlands

East Midlands


North West

North East

0.0%

0.1%

1.0%

1.0%

1.2%

2.1%

5.5%

1.3%

2.1%

1.6%

4.0%

75.9%

1.2%

Be careful when answering questions such as:What subject will give me the best chance of employment?

You might answer this just by looking at the employment rates but…

Looking at the % of graduates in employment or unemployment six months after graduation won’t tell the whole story...

Example one: Law• Low unemployment 7.1%• Low employment 46.7%

Example two: Journalism• High unemployment 11.3%• High employment 77.0%

Outcomes inform incomes


Context is important!• 29.3% of law graduates

are in further study – 88.7% were studying law

• Journalism is a difficult industry to break into and obtain full-time paid work

Uses and limitations of LMIDHLE data can tell us about:

• outcomes of graduates six months after graduation• examples of the types of jobs graduates do• what subjects they go on to study

DHLE data can’t tell us:• future trends of graduate employment• why graduates are doing these activities• plans graduates have for the future

Good things about DLHE data:• A census• Up to date• Access to information about how it is collected is easily available

It is better to be a graduate than notAlthough there have been many changes to the labour market in recent years, it is still better to be a graduate than not…• Better employment rates:4.7% of 25-64 year olds with a university degree were unemployed compared to 8.2% of people the same age with Level 3 qualifications(OECD, Education at a Glance 2013)• Better salary prospects:Men with degrees earn on average 20% more than men with 2+ A levels, the benefit for women is slightly higher at 31% (Walker and Zhu, 2011)

It is estimated that the total benefit from a degree during a working lifetime is around £120,000 for men and £82,000 for women (BIS, 2011)

Although recent graduates earn around the same as non-graduates at the age of 21, graduate salaries increase at a steeper rate and have a higher peak at a later stage than non-graduates (ONS, 2013)

It is better to be a graduate than not

Source: Office for National Statistics, Graduates in the Labour Market 2013 – UK Labour Force Survey

• More flexibility in the labour market:

If the entry level, medium skilled jobs are reducing in number and therefore reducing the steps into higher professions for recent graduates, work experience whilst at university will become more important.

BIS report on Work Experience – using Futuretrack data

• Graduates who had done no work experience had higher unemployment rates (14.9%)

• Those who did either work-based learning or paid-only work experience had much better employment rates (only 7.1% and 9.2% respectively)

• Those who had done both work-based and paid-only work during university had an unemployment rate of just 6.1%

The work experience advantage

BIS (2013) Learning from Futuretrack: the impact of work experiences on higher education outcomes, BIS Research paper 143, London, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Looking to the futureWe use a number of sources when we are looking at how the labour market will change in the short-term

UKCES (2012) Working Futures 2010-2020 – uses sophisticated methods to forecast trends in the UK

• Growth expected in the managerial, professional and associate professional jobs and lower skilled jobs

• Jobs which require degree level skills are growing slower than the growth in the number of graduates

• Decline in the number of administrative and secretarial jobs is already impacting on recent graduates as they are seen as opportunities to gain contacts and progress to other jobs, particularly in the public sector

We can’t predict the future!

No amount of historical data can tell prospective students what the labour market will be like 3 to 4 years in advance of them graduating…But…with a degree a person has

• the adaptability to be successful in the labour market

• have the qualification and skills to access higher-skilled jobs

• the chance to earn more in their working lifetimeWe need to remember that

Many future graduates will work in jobs we don’t yet have names for, for companies that don’t yet exist, using technology that hasn’t yet

been invented

Thank you for listeningFor more information about HECSU see www.hecsu.ac.uk

Jen Redman: HECSU Researcher

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 0161 277 5265

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) What do graduates do? Jen Redman: HECSU Researcher