Report sheds new light on graduate employability

AGCAS, Graduate Prospects and UCAS

Top degrees for jobs also show highest proportion of graduates returning to a work experience provider

Degrees that provide the best employment prospects for students also have among the highest proportion of graduates returning to a previous employer, underlining the important link between work experience and the employment prospects of students in higher education.

The latest What Do Graduates Do? report, launched today (11th November 2003), highlights the career destinations of graduates six months following graduation and shows civil engineering graduates topping the employment table once again with 78.6 per cent of graduates finding work. Further analysis shows that of these, nearly a quarter, 23.1 per cent, had returned to a previous employer.

Other top rated degrees in the employment stakes showed a similar trait: of the seven in ten design studies graduates who found work within six months, over a third, 34.5 per cent, had returned to a previous employer; followed by over a fifth, 21.7 per cent of electrical and electronic engineering graduates; 21.3 per cent, of IT graduates, 21.2 per cent of mechanical engineering graduates; 20.1 per cent of building graduates; and 19.8 per cent of sociology graduates. Across all first degree subjects, 16 per cent of graduates returned to a previous employer within six months following graduation. This figure rose to 23.8 per cent for HND graduates.

ìThe message to students is loud and clear; get some relevant work experience under your belt while youíre studying and youíll have a definite head start when you look for that all important first job,î said Mike Hill, chief executive, Graduate Prospects.

ìPlanning ahead is vital in the current climate, and itís never too early to startî agrees Margaret Dane, chief executive of AGCAS, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services:

ìWhilst itís the directly vocational subjects which offer most scope for relevant work experience, developing a career strategy with an HE careers adviser will help students focus their efforts on finding work experience that is most appropriate to their chosen field,î she said.

Published by Graduate Prospects; AGCAS; and UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, and using data sourced from the HESA First Destination survey, What Do Graduates Do? 2004 tracks the career destinations of the 2002 first degree and HND graduating cohort, and examines the employment market by type of work and subject of study.

The report shows that building bridges with employers is paramount in todayís graduate job market with graduate unemployment in these first six months post graduation continuing to hover around seven per cent (6.9 per cent), an increase of just over half a percentage point over the previous yearís graduating cohort. The employment rate declined a little from 67.7 per cent in 2001 to 66.9 per cent in 2002. The proportion of graduates opting for further study increased slightly from 18.4 per cent to 18.7 per cent over the same period.

The lowest unemployment rates are to be found in law, 3.8 per cent, civil engineering, 4.4 per cent, and building, 4.5 per cent. The highest unemployment rate is in IT at 14.6 per cent reflecting the continuing downturn in the IT sector following the highs of the late nineties when those graduating in 2002 started their courses.

ìThese unemployment figures need to be kept in perspective,î warns Mike Hill, ìthe picture for recent graduates is close to the national unemployment average of around five per cent across all age groups, a figure seen to be as close to full employment as we are likely to get. Other research also shows the long-term unemployment rate for graduates drops significantly within just a few years.î

Given the growing interest in psychology as a subject, as demonstrated by this yearís A level results, it is useful to look at the employment prospects for psychology graduates:

A subject dominated by women, with survey respondents comprising 4620 women compared to 955 men, nearly two thirds, 64.2 per cent, of psychology graduates were employed in their first six months following graduation. A further 21.8 per cent undertook further study or training in the UK or overseas and just 6.1 per cent are believed to be unemployed. Nearly a half of those psychology graduates in employment had secured jobs in the ëother professional, associate professional and technicalí category including positions as welfare, community and youth workers and social workers. A further 12.5 per cent secured jobs in health and childcare related occupations and 11 per cent were employed as commercial, industrial and public sector managers.

ìA degree clearly continues to be a passport to professional employment and, as graduate salaries have held up, it continues to be a worthwhile investment. What this yearís What Do Graduates Do? report has highlighted is the importance of career planning from an early age. Choosing the right subject matter and then combining relevant work experience with academic study is the key to future employability,î commented Anthony McClaran, acting chief executive, UCAS.

The final word however, goes to Liz Rhodes, director of the National Council for Work Experience:
ìThis report is music to our ears, we have worked hard to encourage employers to develop work experience opportunities for students and the message seems to have hit home.

Itís a win win situation. Employers save on recruitment costs and can effectively trial potential job candidates; students get to experience first hand their chosen career and develop the skills that make the transition from study to employment so much easier.î