Graduate Employability in the

Environmental Sciences

Ali Orr – Registrar, The Science Council

IES AGM

3 April 2017

The Wakeham and Shadbolt Reviews

• Graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are critical to the UK economy. But some STEM subjects do not have a strong graduate employment record, and some employers are concerned that STEM graduates do not always meet the needs of business.

• The government has asked Sir William Wakeham and Sir Nigel Shadbolt to examine these concerns. Their reviews will explore how we can improve the job prospects of STEM graduates and ensure that the UK workforce meets the long-term needs of the economy.

Wakeham Review of STEM Degree

Provision and Graduate Employability

• This independent review will look at the provision of STEM

degree courses and how their associated accreditation

arrangements support graduate employability. It will identify

whether there are areas which need further investigation.

• The review will focus on gaining a better understanding of the

skills requirements of employers, how STEM graduates’ skills

and knowledge relate to labour market demand, and how

existing accreditation systems support this.

Methodology

• Analysis of HESA destination data (DLHE/LDLHE)

• Online stakeholder survey

• Discipline-specific focus groups in areas of concern - those where survey reinforced data analysis

• Literature review – STEM skills, employment outcomes and graduate employability

Methodology

• Review examined DLHE (6 months) and LDLHE (42 months) across HEFCE subject groups to identify:– Unemployment rates

• Proportion of respondents who were unemployed and seeking work

• Self-employed, freelance, voluntary/unpaid work (internships/placements) all count as employment; those travelling or with FT caring responsibilities 'not available for employment'

– Non-graduate employment• Proportion of those reporting they were in employment (not further study) who were in

roles outside of SOC groupings 'managers and senior officials', 'professional' and 'associate professional and technical' occupations

– 'Low' salaries• Proportion of those in FT employment reported as earning under 20,000

Data analysis

• Used HEFCE Subject Groupingse.g. Earth, Marine and Environmental Science

– Mapped to JACS codes:F6: Geology

F7: Science of aquatic and terrestrial environments

F9: Other Physical Sciences

• Includes:

F750: Environmental Sciences

F751: Applied Environmental Sciences

• Excludes?:

F8: Physical Geographical Sciences

Stakeholder survey

• In both Environmental Sciences and Geology 35% or more responses indicated they strongly disagreed, disagreed or neither agreed nor disagreed that graduates met the needs of employers– NB this finding was fairly widespread across science (including chemistry and

physics) but not engineering

• Responses from business / industry:– Only 25% agreed that graduates have the required ‘work ready’ skills or business

awareness

– Only 33% agreed that graduates have all the practical subject specific skills required

– While 60% agreed that graduates have all the subject knowledge required

'Disciplines of concern'

a) Biological Sciences

b) Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences

c) Agriculture, Food and Animal Sciences

• Each discipline of concern had a separate focus group to which HEIs, FECs, PSRBs and employers were invited

• EMES focus group included employer input from: British Geological Survey, ENERGUS, Atkins, Rio Tinto, Expro North Sea Ltd.

Focus Group findings - EMES

• Noted the diverse mix of subjects and employment destinations within EMES

• Mix within subjects – emphasis on science or policy

• Factors affecting employment outcomes:• Graduates lacking ‘soft skills’

• Graduates lacking business or commercial awareness

• Graduates lacking work experience (placements less prevalent)

• Graduates lacking mathematical skills

• Graduates struggling to translate theoretical knowledge into practice

• Lack of graduate engagement in career planning (not a 'school subject')

Table 5 – Findings for disciplines where

evidence gathering indicated a cause for

concern and the agreed action for each broad

subject area or detailed subject area.

The wider Context

• HE & Research Bill

• Subject level TEF

• Industrial strategy

www.sciencecouncil.org

Shaping a role for the Science Council

1. A common standard for accreditation in science

– At present, over 30 professional bodies involved in degree

accreditation in science

– With a range of different purposes, different criteria, different

terms, different levels, different views on employer involvement

and employability...

– Framework could be a means to encourage professional bodies

to adopt a more common approach and recognise those that

operate within it

www.sciencecouncil.org

Shaping a role for the Science Council

2. A mechanism to fill gaps in provision

– Accreditation in science needs to have meaning – for students,

institutions and employers

– At present, many courses will fall between the gaps of the

bodies that offer accreditation

– Seek a way to accredit those that fall between gaps

www.sciencecouncil.org

Shaping a role for the Science Council

3. A macro-level recognition of employability measures

– Accreditation of courses links to employability but isn't the

whole picture

– Many initiatives occur at faculty or institutional level

– Potential for a scheme that focuses on recognition of these

initiatives

www.sciencecouncil.org