Good time to be a graduate

Citation

(2006), "Good time to be a graduate", Education + Training, Vol. 48 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2006.00448aab.003

Good time to be a graduate

Graduates are faring well in the labour market, on average enjoying higher pay and a lower risk of unemployment, according to statistics compiled by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Foundation degrees are also proving to be an increasingly successful route into rewarding careers for many young people. Welcoming the figures, Minister for Higher and Further Education Bill Rammell said: “This is a good time to be a graduate. This survey gives early indications that graduates who have studied shorter, more vocationally orientated courses, such as foundation degrees, are less likely to be unemployed than other graduates. This is encouraging as most of the future growth in universities will come through these courses. Only 3 per cent of foundation-degree students were unemployed six months after graduating. Only six months after leaving university, graduates are earning on average £17,000 a year. We know that this is just the start of what, for most, will be a rewarding career. Graduate unemployment falls significantly after graduation. Evidence shows that only 1-2 per cent of graduates are unemployed and seeking work, seven years after graduation.”

Many graduates have not settled into their longer-term career by six months, which is the stage this survey shows us. Three and a half years after graduating, more than 80 per cent of employed graduates are in jobs using their degree-level skills. Seven years after graduation, the figure is almost 90 per cent and graduates are earning a considerable pay premium over their non-graduate counterparts. The Government’s message is that it pays to be a graduate. According to the Minister across the labour market, graduate unemployment rates are around half of those for people without higher-education qualifications. “With a foot on the lifelong-learning ladder, most graduates go on to enjoy the more flourishing and satisfying careers.”