Young people in the last few years have left university knowing they face one of the toughest battles for jobs in a generation. The economic climate remains tough and media headlines contribute to the debate with dire predictions. The outlook is bleak. But what is the reality?
Two recent reports provide detailed statistics on how graduates fare after leaving university and highlight the current job trends.
The latest National Statistics on the destinations of Welsh university students in 2009/2010 - that is, those students from Wales or those that graduated from Welsh universities - show that around three-quarters of them had entered some kind of work six months after they graduated. This proportion has remained relatively constant over the last six years. Around 14 per cent of graduates from Welsh Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) continued with further study - 12 per cent for Welsh graduates. Six per cent of Welsh graduates and graduates from Welsh HEIs were assumed to be unemployed - the same percentage as in the previous year but slightly higher than prior to the recession.
The figures also showed that graduates from Welsh universities were more likely to stay in Wales than previous years - 61 per cent in 2009/10 compared to 56 per cent in 2005/06. Welsh graduates were also more likely to remain or return to work in Wales than in previous years - 73 per cent in 2009/10 compared to 68 per cent in 2005/06. In both cases, the values are lower than the equivalent rates for Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, but higher than most English regions.
A second report, which analyses data from university leavers in 2006/07 three and a half years into their careers, provides an insight into employment patterns of HEI graduates.
The figures show that graduates in 2006/2007 were less likely to be in full-time jobs three and a half years after graduating than their counterparts in 2004/2005, but more likely to be in part-time work. 70 per cent of graduates from Welsh HEIs were in full time employment and 11 per cent were in part-time employment.
The number in further study or a combination of work and further study was equal at six per cent in each category. Three per cent were assumed to be unemployed.
Both reports provide further detailed statistics on the level of qualifications, subjects studied and regional comparisons across the UK. They also provide a clearer and more accurate picture of job prospects for first-time graduates, serving as a sound basis for future graduates to assess their university careers.
Details of the reports can be found on the following websites:
This article highlights the value of Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) in making more informed and effective decisions about career and learning choices. Further information is available on the Learning and Skills Observatory website.
If you have any comments about the sorts of LMI you value and how LMI has been of benefit to you, we’d like to hear from you. For this and further information about the LMI project, contact Rachel Stephens, Senior Skills Policy Manager at the Welsh Government.
