A new report from the Higher Education Policy
Institute, Getting on: graduate employment
and its influence on UK higher education (HEPI Report
126), explores the recent focus by policymakers, students and
employers on getting graduates into professional
jobs.
The paper digs into the related policy changes, including
the development of the Teaching Excellence Framework, the new
Graduate Outcomes survey and the tracking of graduate salaries
through the Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset and how
these have changed the way universities operate.
The report includes analysis of a new survey of Heads of
Careers Services, conducted by the Association of Graduate
Careers Advisory Services, which finds:
- Three
quarters (76%) of careers services have seen a change in student
engagement with careers in the last three years, compared to 24%
who have seen no change.
- 93% of
careers services see the increased policy focus on graduate
outcomes as positive, compared to 2% who see it as negative and
5% who see it as neither positive nor negative.
- The new
Graduate Outcomes survey and the Office for Students Access and
Participation plans are having the greatest impact on how careers
services operate, rather than graduate salary data. 69% of
respondents list Graduate Outcomes as having the most impact,
followed by 19% who stated Access and Participation plans had the
most impact. Only 2% say the Longitudinal Educational Outcomes
data is having the greatest impact.
- Just under
half (45%) of careers services have seen an increase in funding
to cover the additional demand, compared to 55% who have not.
The report also contains qualitative analysis of the views
of careers services, including how they, their university and
students classify a successful outcome from
university.
Rachel Hewitt, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the
Higher Education Policy Institute and author of the report,
said:
‘Policy changes in recent years have led to employability
being a mainstream activity across all universities, rather than
the specialism of a few. While some may rail against the
‘employability agenda’, it is clear that universities are now
better serving the interests of their students by supporting them
through their transition into the workplace.’
In the Foreword to the report, Dr Bob Gilworth, President
of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS)
writes:
‘This report is timely, as so many of these policy
initiatives have come into play in a relatively short time. As
President of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory
Services, I warmly welcome the logic behind this piece of work.
The premise is that higher education careers services provide a
window into understanding institutional responses to the focus on
employment outcomes, because they are likely to be at the heart
of it. In general, the survey responses
outlined here tend to illustrate this is the case.’
