Graduate Market Trends Jen Redman: HECSU Researcher Email: J.redman@hecsu.ac.uk

1. Graduate Market Trends Jen Redman: HECSU Researcher Email: J.redman@hecsu.ac.uk Tel: 0161 277 5265 www.hecsu.ac.uk

2. This session we will look at… • Futuretrack – what motivates students to study at university? • Popular myths about having a degree • What Do Graduates Do? – an overview of the graduate labour market in 2011 • Outcomes inform incomes • Longitudinal Destinations data – Flexibility is the key • Real Prospects – You need more than numbers • Predicting the future – what we can and can’t tell you

3. Futuretrack – what motivates students to study? Most popular reasons for choosing to study a particular course were, interest in the course and employment or career-related reasons Younger applicants were more likely to choose subjects they are good at or enjoy, and less likely to give instrumental, employment related reasons Students most likely to give the option to get a good job applied to study: mathematics, computing, law and physical sciences Those studying less vocationally oriented subjects like, history, languages and philosophy, were among the more likely to have given the desire to study a particular subject as the reason to go to university Taken from the Futuretrack Stage 1 report: applying to higher education (2008) Applying for higher education: the diversity of career choices, plans and expectations

4. Graduates only work for big businesses All the graduate jobs are in London All chemistry graduates become Chemists All arts and design graduates end up working in retail and catering Popular myths about having a degree Data taken from 2010 HESA Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education data

5. What do graduates do? Outcomes of first degree and foundation degree graduates six months after graduation 26 first degree subjects and foundation qualifiers 284,165 first degrees were awarded to UK-domiciled graduates last year academic year. Most graduates (70%) were working six months after leaving university Unemployment was down to 8.5% 14% went into further study (mostly Masters) Subjects having a tough time – IT, media, science subjects Subjects faring better – sports science, law

6. New features for What Do Graduates Do? What activities graduates are doing – the letters relate to the graph Graph to show activity and how they can be grouped in media Breakdown of course titles included in the economics graduates Data from HESA Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey 2009/10

7. New features for What Do Graduates Do? Types of work graduates are doing Examples of job title and companies Top ten jobs that economics graduates are doing Data from HESA Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey 2009/10

8. Outcomes inform incomes Some facts about the outcomes of graduates tell a positive story overall about the benefits of going to university: In the final quarter of 2011, 86.0 % of all graduates were in work compared with 72.3% for non-graduates (ONS, 2012) The ONS have analysed earnings data across the population (aged 22 to 64) between 2000 and 2010 and have concluded that degree holders, on average, earned £12,000 a year more than those without a degree (ONS, 2011) Data taken from Office of National Statistics reports: Graduate earnings over the last decade – 2011 (April 2011) Graduates in the labour market – 2012 (March 2012)

9. A degree is as flexible as you make it! Data taken from the HESA Longitudinal Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey Winter 2010/2011

10. Real Prospects 2011 Case studies are one way that prospective students can get a realistic expectation of post graduation and the journeys made by individual graduates These examples of stories graduates told show how important it is that students engage more at university: • Some graduates leave university knowing what they want to do, but still trying to work out how to get there • Some graduates don’t know what they want to do and only find out what they enjoy through work • There are graduates who know exactly what they want to do and have worked out exactly what they need to do to get there Information taken from the Real Prospects survey 2011

11. 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 We can trend data to tell us some useful things… e.g. the recessions that occurred in 1983 and 1990 to 1992 were worse for graduate employment than the 2008/09 recession (this doesn’t count the dip that is currently ongoing) BUT…remember to use other sources to verify and contextualise the information

12. We can… Use surveys and statistics to: demonstrate just how flexible a degree is by using destinations information give students ideas about the kinds of jobs that graduates from specific subjects go on to do Use case studies to: show what different individuals have done to get into employment they like and are satisfied in give personal accounts of why they went to university and whether it was of benefit to them

13. Graduate Market Trends Jen Redman: HECSU Researcher Email: J.redman@hecsu.ac.uk Tel: 0161 277 5265 www.hecsu.ac.uk