The UK Graduate
Careers Survey 2006
Survey Summary
Produced by High Fliers Research
Produced by
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Telephone: 020 7428 9000
Email: surveys@highfliers.co.uk
Employers who participated in the 2006 research programme:
Accenture
Institute of Chartered Accountants
in England & Wales
Addleshaw Goddard
JP Morgan
Allen & Overy
KPMG
Army
Linklaters
AstraZeneca
Lloyds TSB
BAE Systems
L'Oreal
BDO Stoy Hayward
Lovells
Bloomberg
Marks & Spencer
BT
Mars
ACCA
Citigroup
Corus
Data Connection
Deloitte
Deutsche Bank
Dstl
Ernst & Young
Exxonmobil
Financial Services Authority
Morgan Stanley
National Grid
Procter & Gamble
Police HPDS
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Royal Air Force
Royal Bank of Scotland Group
Rolls-Royce
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Sainsbury's
Fujitsu
Shell
GlaxoSmithKline
Smiths Aerospace
Goldman Sachs
Teach First
HM Revenue & Customs
UBS
HSBC
Unilever
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and unbiased, but the publisher does not accept responsibility for any
loss arising from decisions made upon this information.
© High Fliers Research Limited 2006. All rights reserved.
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The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Contents
Page
Executive Summary
5
1.
Introduction
Background
Survey Organisers
Organising the Fieldwork
7
7
7
8
2.
The Class of 2006
Finalists’ Plans for After University
Applications for Graduate Jobs
Views on Employment
Expectations for First Job
Aspirations for the Future
9
10
12
14
16
18
3.
Finalists’ Views on University
Views on Time at University and Life after Graduation
Graduation Debts
19
20
22
4.
Job Hunting in 2005-2006
University Careers Services
Readership of National Newspapers
23
24
26
3
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Foreword
Executive Summary
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006 is based on face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year
students from the ‘Class of 2006’ studying at 30 leading universities in the UK and Ireland, carried
out in February 2006. The survey is the largest of its kind ever conducted and the sample includes
one in five students graduating from these universities in the summer of 2006:
• The proportion of final year students expecting to enter the graduate job market this year has
increased noticeably from last year. 40% of finalists believed they would either start a graduate
job or be looking for a graduate job after leaving university, compared with 36% in 2005 and
35% in 2004.
• High numbers hoped to stay on at university – 24% of finalists were planning postgraduate study
as an alternative to graduate employment.
• Students’ confidence in the job market continues to improve, but two-thirds of finalists still
believe that there are not enough graduate jobs available for those leaving university this summer.
Around a fifth thought that there are only very limited graduate vacancies this year.
• More finalists made early job applications to employers during the 2005-2006 recruitment
season. 47% of students had applied by the end of February, compared to 46% a year ago and the
average number of applications made by finalists also increased. Together these results accounted
for a 5% rise in the overall volume of graduate job applications made in 2005-2006.
• Investment banking and accountancy attracted more early applications from finalists than any
other career area, but overall the most popular destinations for the ‘Class of 2006’ were careers in
the media and teaching. The accounting sector recorded the largest increase in total applications.
• Graduate salary expectations continued to rise this year. Final year job hunters expected to earn
an average of £20,300 for their first job, 2.5% more than in 2005.
• London remains the preferred employment destination for 40 per of graduates and is the first
choice for students at 23 out of the 30 universities included in the survey.
• The vast majority of students enjoyed their time at university and over three-quarters were
pleased with their choice of degree course and institution.
• Graduates from the ‘Class of 2006’ expect to owe an average of £10,400 at the end of their degrees,
the same as in 2005 but up from £10,100 in 2003, £5,900 in 2001 and £3,200 in 1999.
• More than a third of final year students said they wouldn’t have come to university at all if they
had been faced with the new tuition fees of £3,000 that are to be introduced in autumn 2006.
• Local university careers services continued to be excellent focal points for job hunting and
careers activities on campus, and their facilities were used by a total 83% of final year students in
2005-2006 – either in person, online or via a careers module as part of their degree course.
• Over half of those who used careers services had a formal consultation with a careers adviser;
three-quarters of finalists rated their careers services as either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.
5
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Universities included in the survey.
• St Andrews
• Edinburgh
Glasgow••Strathclyde
• Newcastle
• Durham
Belfast •
Lancaster •
Dublin •
Liverpool •
• York
• Leeds
• Sheffield
• Manchester
Nottingham •
• Loughborough
Birmingham • • Aston
• Warwick
• Cambridge
Oxford •
Cardiff •
Bristol • • Bath
Exeter •
Reading • London •
Imperial College
School of Economics
University College
• Southampton
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Chapter 1
Introduction
About the Survey
Now in its twelfth year, The UK Graduate Careers Survey is
an innovative annual study of how the UK’s top students
prepare for life after university, conducted by High Fliers
Research, on behalf of up to fifty leading graduate employers.
It gives employers a unique insight into the career expectations
and aspirations of final year students, just weeks before they
graduate, and provides a definitive record of how they have
conducted their job search.
Devised originally in 1995, the research has now been conducted
for over a decade and is the UK’s largest and most detailed annual graduate recruitment
survey. It has become key source of information for major employers reviewing the success of the
their graduate recruitment marketing and planning future recruitment campaigns.
Headlines from recent surveys have been widely reported in the national and local press, including
coverage on Channel Four News, the BBC One o’Clock News and BBC News 24, and articles in The
Times, The Independent, The Guardian and Financial Times.
The 2006 survey has been the largest study conducted by High Fliers Research and indeed is the
largest student survey ever carried out in the UK and Ireland. It is based on direct interviews with
16,452 final year students from thirty leading universities, supported by in-depth research with 2,488
student job hunters.
Survey Organisers
High Fliers Research Limited is an independent market research company which specialises in
student and graduate research. Established in 1994, the company has now worked with over 100
leading employers to measure the impact of their recruitment activities on campus and help them
understand their position in the graduate market.
Since 2002, High Fliers Research has also conducted regular surveys of employers
to research current graduate vacancy levels, starting salaries and benchmark
graduate recruitment practices.
Its latest study, The Graduate Market in 2006 reported a 10.8% increase in graduate
vacancies for 2006 at Britain’s top employers and revealed that the largest recruiters
during the 2005-2006 recruitment season were the accounting & professional
services firms and City investment banks.
A new venture for High Fliers Research has been the launch in of its first overseas student survey,
The Australia & New Zealand Graduate Careers Survey. Following a successful pilot study in 2004,
the survey is now being conducted annually at sixteen leading universities ‘down under’ and features
face-to-face interviews with over 7,000 final year students each year. High Fliers Research is also
working closely with the Australian Association of Graduate Employers to carry out its annual
survey of graduate employers.
7
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Organising the Fieldwork
Fieldwork for The UK Graduate Careers Survey is divided into two distinct phases during the year –
the Employer Research and Graduate Recruitment Research.
The Employer Research is based on focus groups and online exercises conducted with final year
students who are actively looking for a graduate job. This research is conducted in the late autumn
to assess employers’ recruitment materials such as brochures, websites and advertising, as well as
research a number of specially commissioned questions for each employer. In all over 1,000 final
year students participate in the group work, with a further 250 or so finalists answering questions for
each of the key career areas for which employers are recruiting graduates.
Much of the Graduate Recruitment Research is conducted through face-to-face interviews. This is
clearly very labour-intensive but this approach is considered essential to guarantee that a large
proportion of final year students participate in the research. Interviewers for the fieldwork are drawn
from the student community and over 700 were recruited by local university managers for 2006.
Interviews for the survey were timed to take place during the final week of February and the first week
of March. This was as late in the academic year as possible, to ensure that the survey recorded as
much of students’ job hunting activities as possible. At each university, a team of up to 35
interviewers conducted 25 interviews each during a six-day period.
Every interviewer was provided with several university departments from which to select students at
random to take part in interviews. This helped ensure that the proportion of students from different
subjects at each universities interviewed for the survey mirrored closely the proportion of students
present at the university. Finalists studying medicine, veterinary science, pharmacy or dentistry were
omitted from the survey as their career paths are quite separate from mainstream graduate recruitment.
After the interviews had been completed, approximately 5 per cent of the original sample were
re-interviewed by the survey’s full-time research team to confirm the validity of the data and make
sure the fieldwork had been completed correctly.
The overall target for the survey was to interview between 15 and 20 per cent of the final year
population at each of the universities in the study. In total, the 2005 survey included face-to-face
interviews with 16,452 finalists, a sample of 19.8 per cent (see Table 1.1). A further 2,488 final year
job hunters participated in additional in-depth research about their career search in 2005-2006.
Table 1.1 Final Year Students Interviewed for the UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Number of finalists Estimated number % of finalists
interviewed for
of finalists
interviewed for
the survey
at university
survey
Aston
Bath
Belfast Queens University
Birmingham
Bristol
Cambridge
Cardiff
Dublin Trinity College
Durham
Edinburgh
Exeter
Glasgow
Lancaster
Leeds
Liverpool
London Imperial College
8
326
339
435
864
453
657
616
337
691
648
589
508
518
848
465
352
1,180
1,700
2,830
4,830
2,600
3,560
3,160
1,510
3,000
3,330
2,460
2,670
2,870
5,600
2,800
1,320
27.6
19.9
15.4
17.9
17.4
18.5
19.5
22.3
23.0
19.5
23.9
19.0
18.0
15.1
16.6
26.7
Number of finalists Estimated number % of finalists
interviewed for
of finalists
interviewed for
the survey
at university
survey
London School of Economics 300
London University College 451
Loughborough
628
Manchester
817
Newcastle
587
Nottingham
737
Oxford
609
Reading
448
Sheffield
736
Southampton
568
St Andrews
391
Strathclyde
510
Warwick
697
York
327
1,070
2,710
2,760
5,060
3,120
3,410
3,060
2,270
3,350
2,710
1,040
2,680
2,850
1,740
28.0
16.6
22.8
16.1
18.8
21.6
19.9
19.7
22.0
21.0
37.6
19.0
24.5
18.8
SURVEY TOTAL
83,250
19.8
16,452
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Chapter 2
The Class of 2006
Key Points
• A total of 40% of finalists
thought they would be
joining the graduate job
market after university
• A quarter of this year’s
finalists are planning to
do postgraduate courses
• Careers in accountancy &
investment banking were
more popular than in2005
• London remains the first
choice work destination
• Finalists’ average expected
starting salary is £20,300
Background
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006 aims to give graduate employers an accurate and realistic
picture of what final year students expect to do after university and what they really want from their
first graduate employment. It can be hard for employers to do this themselves as students who
have applied for graduate positions often tell recruiters what they think their interviewers and
assessors want to hear, in order to increase their chances of success during the application and
selection process.
One key indicator is the number of finalists who expect to enter the graduate job market in 2005, as
compared to those who have other plans such as postgraduate study or travel, and the number who are
undecided about their plans.
Final year students were asked in detail about the business areas or job functions that they had been
applying to or expected to make applications to later in the recruitment round. These results provide
important data on the supply of new graduates in 2006 and the kind of employment which they are
most interested in.
Student job hunters were also questioned about their aspirations for their first employment after
university – the elements of their first job and employer that were most important, their preferred
location of work, anticipated starting salaries for a first graduate job, and their hopes and aspirations
for the future.
The final part of the analysis deals with students’ confidence about the current job market and their
views on whether there are sufficient graduate positions available for those leaving university this
year, an important indication of the confidence levels of the ‘Class of 2006’.
9
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Finalists’ Plans for After University
This year’s survey shows that there has been a substantial increase in the number of finalists expecting
to join the graduate job market in 2006 (see Chart 2.1). The survey results show that 24 per cent of
those leaving university this summer were expecting to start a full-time graduate position at the end
of their degree, and a further 16 per cent thought they would be looking for a job after graduation
(see Chart 2.2). This means that 40 per cent of the final year population are planning to join the
graduate job market this year, up from 36 per cent in 2005.
For seven consecutive recruitment seasons until 2004, the percentage of finalists heading for graduate
employment after university fell steadily. Although this trend has now been reversed and The UK
Graduate Careers Survey has recorded two consecutive years of increasing numbers of finalists
expecting graduate jobs, there are still significantly fewer finalists aiming for graduate-level jobs
today than there were in the late 1990s.
The 60 per cent of final year students from the ‘Class of 2006’ who are not preparing for graduate
employment after university are divided between further study, taking time off for travel, temporary
work, or had yet to confirm their plans. Nearly a quarter of all finalists hoped to continue their
academic endeavours with a postgraduate course – the third highest level seen since the survey was
first conducted in 1995. Fewer final year students planned to take time-off or go travelling, 16 per
cent compared with 17 per cent in 2005 and 19 per cent in 2004. There were 8 per cent of finalists
who believed they would be doing ‘other work’ after graduation, typically a temporary job or a
voluntary position. The remaining 12 per cent of students had no definite plans, a small reduction on
the 14 per cent reported in 2005.
The London School of Economics, Aston, Strathclyde, London’s Imperial College, Bath and Queen’s
University Belfast had the highest proportion of finalists planning to start work or look for a graduate
job after university – at least half of finalists at these universities thought they’d enter the job market
in 2006 (see Table 2.3). The lowest numbers were at Dublin’s Trinity College, St Andrews, Leeds and
Cambridge. Conversely, postgraduate courses were particuarly popular with students at these
universities and plus those at Glasgow, Warwick, London’s Imperial College and Oxford.
Chart 2.1 Finalists who are Expecting to Join the Graduate Job Market
100
40%
39%
37%
35%
36%
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
40%
42%
1997
43%
1996
49%
40
42%
60
44%
Percentage of finalists
80
20
0
1998
Base - The UK Graduate Careers Survey 1996-2006
10
2006
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Chart 2.2 Finalists’ Plans for After University in 2006
Expecting to start
a graduate job
24%
Expecting to be looking
for a graduate job
16%
Expecting to take
other work
8%
Intending to do a
postgraduate course
24%
Taking time off or
going travelling
16%
No definite plans
12%
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage of finalists
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
Table 2.3 Finalists who expect Graduate Jobs
Table 2.4 Finalists who plan Further Study
% of finalists
London School of Economics
Aston
Strathclyde
London Imperial College
Bath
Belfast Queen’s University
Loughborough
London University College
Newcastle
Oxford
Warwick
Bristol
Edinburgh
Reading
Cardiff
Manchester
Southampton
York
Glasgow
Nottingham
Sheffield
Lancaster
Liverpool
Durham
Exeter
Birmingham
Cambridge
Leeds
St Andrews
Dublin Trinity College
SURVEY AVERAGE
68
61
55
53
52
50
44
42
42
42
40
39
38
38
37
37
37
37
36
36
36
35
35
34
34
33
32
32
32
28
40
% of finalists
Dublin Trinity College
St Andrews
Cambridge
Glasgow
Warwick
London Imperial College
Oxford
Birmingham
London University College
Durham
Manchester
Bristol
Sheffield
Lancaster
York
Edinburgh
Exeter
Reading
Southampton
Belfast Queen’s University
Cardiff
London School of Economics
Loughborough
Leeds
Nottingham
Liverpool
Newcastle
Bath
Aston
Strathclyde
SURVEY AVERAGE
40
34
33
31
30
29
29
28
28
26
26
25
25
24
24
23
23
23
23
22
22
21
21
20
20
19
19
17
13
11
24
11
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Applications to Employers
The survey measured applications to employers in 2005-2006 in three ways – finalists who had
already applied to different career sectors by the time the survey took place in late February, students
who stated that they intended to make applications later in the year, and a combination of all these
applications.
The results for applications already made show that investment banking was the most popular
destination for the third year running, ahead of accountancy, consulting and marketing. It is worth
noting that although accountancy remains in second place, the volume of students who applied to the
sector is at its highest level since 1999. Several other career destinations attracted significantly more
early applicants in 2005-2006 compared with the last recruitment season, including consulting,
marketing, finance, the media and actuarial work. Early applications were down, though, for
engineering, law, the Civil Service and retailing.
In many career sectors, the number of finalists planning to make applications later in the academic
year is a little lower than was recorded a year ago. Fewer finalists intended making late applications
for the five most popular sectors – the media, teaching, marketing, research & development, and
charity or voluntary work. However, more students anticipated applying for last-minute jobs in
accountancy and at investment banks than did so at this point in 2005.
By combining these ‘early’ and ‘late’ applications together, the resulting table shows the top five
destinations for 2006 are media, teaching, investment banking, marketing and accountancy (see Table
2.5). This is the highest ranking for investment banking since the survey began in 1995 and the first
time that the accountancy sector has appeared in the top five destinations. Comparing the full list of
applications with the similar table from 2004-2005 (see Chart 2.7), it is clear that the level of interest
in eight individual sectors has increased, it remains unchanged for two but has decreased in thirteen.
Table 2.5 Career Sectors that FInalists
Applied to during 2005-2006
Table 2.6 Career Sectors that FInalists
Applied to during 2004-2005
% of finalists
Media
Teaching
Investment banking
Marketing
Accountancy
Consulting
Science, research & development
Charity or voluntary work
Civil Service
Engineering
Law
Human resources
General management
IT
Finance
Sales
Retailing
Armed Forces
Buying or purchasing
Property
Police
Actuarial work
Transport or logistics
12
12.4
11.9
11.1
11.0
10.8
10.3
9.8
8.6
8.5
7.5
6.6
6.2
5.3
5.2
5.0
4.9
3.9
3.1
2.6
2.4
2.1
1.9
1.7
% of finalists
Teaching
Media
Marketing
Investment banking
Science, research & development
Civil Service
Consulting
Accountancy
Charity or voluntary work
Engineering
Solicitor or barrister
Human resources
General management
Sales
IT
Finance
Retailing
Police
Armed Forces
Buying or purchasing
Property
Actuarial work
Transport or logistics
12.7
12.7
11.7
10.8
9.9
9.9
9.9
9.3
8.6
8.1
7.6
6.5
5.9
5.6
5.2
4.9
4.1
3.6
2.9
2.5
2.5
1.7
1.6
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Chart 2.7 How Applications Levels have Changed in 2006, compared with 2005
Accountancy
Up 16%
Actuarial work
Up 12%
Armed Forces
Up 7%
Transport or logistics
Up 6%
Consulting
Up 4%
Buying or purchasing
Up 4%
Investment banking
Up 3%
Finance
Up 2%
IT No change
Charity or voluntary work No change
Science research & development
Down 1%
Media
Down 2%
Property
Down 4%
Down 5%
Human resources
Down 5%
Retailing
Down 6%
Marketing
Down 6%
Teaching
Engineering
Down 7%
General management
Down 10%
Down 13%
Sales
Down 13%
Law
Down 14%
Civil Service
Police
Down 42%
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
Percentage change in applications made or planned in 2006, compared with 2005
Source - The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2005 & 2006
13
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Views on Employment
When asked about their perceptions of the graduate job market in 2006, 20 per cent thought there were
‘plenty of jobs for finalists leaving university this summer’ (see Chart 2.8), up from 17 per cent last
year and double the number from 2003. A total of 61 per cent were more cautious and believed ‘there
are some graduate jobs, but not enough for everyone leaving university this summer’and 19 per cent
thought ‘there are only limited graduate jobs available for those leaving university this summer’.
Together these results suggest that students in 2006 are the most confident about the graduate job
market of any of their predecessors from the previous five years. The view that there aren’t enough
graduate jobs to go round is certainly realistic though – whilst the number of graduates leaving
university has increased by almost two-thirds during the past decade of expansion in higher education,
graduate level vacancies have grown by little more than 10 per cent over the same period.
Research into finalists’ expectations in The UK Graduate Careers Survey shows that students who are
planning to join the job market after university have a number of different aspects to consider when
weighing up which employers to shortlist for job applications. To help identify how influential
individual issues such as work-life balance, training & development, and initial remuneration are, this
year’s survey asked students who had already applied to employers the direct question “When you
were deciding which employers to apply to, which three factors were most important to you?”.
The results show a clear profile in terms of finalists’ priorities – ‘starting salary’, ‘content of work’,
‘quality of training & development’ ‘location of jobs’ and ‘using degree subject studied’ were the five
factors mentioned most often, by a third or more job hunters (see Chart 2.9). Interestingly, issues such
as ‘employers’ corporate social responsibility record’ and the ‘chance for further study’– both of
which were highlighted as being important to student job hunters in other parts of the survey, were
actually much lower down finalists’ concerns when deciding which organisations to apply to.
The results differed considerably by institution – content of work was the main preoccupation at
thirteen universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Nottingham, St Andrews and
York; starting salary was the dominant influence at fourteen universities including Bristol,
Lougborough, Warwick and the London colleges; whereas ‘using degree subject studied’ was the
priority at the Queen’s University Belfast, Lancaster and Strathclyde.
Students who had not made applications by the time the survey took place (approximately half the
final year population) were asked why not. Aside from those who weren’t planning to join the job
market at all, most replied that they had been concentrating on their academic studies at the expense
of looking for employment (see Chart 2.10).
Chart 2.8 Finalists’ Perceptions of the 2006 Graduate Job Market
There are plenty of graduate
jobs for finalists leaving
university this summer
20%
There are some graduate jobs,
but not enough for everyone
leaving university this summer
61%
There are only limited graduate
jobs available for those leaving
university this summer
19%
0
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
14
20
40
60
Percentage of finalists
80
100
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Chart 2.9 Most Important Factors when deciding which Graduate Employers to Apply to
Starting salary
44%
Content of work
44%
Quality of training &
development programme
37%
Location of jobs
36%
Using degree subject studied
35%
Work-life balance
29%
Opportunity for
overseas experiences
21%
Achieving a professional
qualification
20%
Additional benefits package
16%
Chance for further study
14%
Employer’s ‘corporate
social responsibility’ record
10%
0
10
20
30
40
50
Percentage of job hunters
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
Chart 2.10 Finalists’ Main Reason for not making Graduate Job Applications
I’ve other plans for
after university
49%
I’ve been concentrating
on my studies instead
35%
I haven’t decided yet which
employers to apply to
11%
The sort of jobs I’m looking for
haven’t been advertised yet
4%
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage of finalists who had not made graduate job applications
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
15
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Expectations for First Job
Student job hunters were asked about the starting salaries and other elements of remuneration they
were expecting after university. The average anticipated starting salary was £20,300, a rise of 2.5 per
cent on the expected salary in 2005. One in six job hunters believed they would earn a modest
£15,000 or less but at the upper end of expectations, 17 per cent of job hunters thought they would be
earning at least £25,000 for their first job.
The most demanding students were those at the London School of Economics and Oxford where
average expected salaries topped £25,000 for the first time (see Table 2.11). Finalists at another
eleven universities were not far behind with average expectations of at least £20,000. It is interesting
to compare these financial expectations with the graduate salaries actually being offered by employers
this year. A study of the organisations featured in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers reported
that average starting salaries for 2006 would be £23,800, well above many students’ apparent
expectations.
For the twelfth consecutive year, London was the leading destination for job hunters in 2006 and
40 per cent hoped to start work in the capital after graduation. There are a further 5 per cent of the
‘Class of 2006’ who wanted to work in the south east of England, (see Chart 2.13) which means that
nearly half of graduate job hunters expected to be employed in or around the M25 this year.
This means the number of graduates aiming to work in other parts of the UK or beyond remains small
– the next most-popular destinations were the north west of England, the Midlands and Scotland (each
with 6 per cent). Indeed, London was the top destination for students at twenty-three of the thirty
institutions in the survey (see Table 2.12).
Table 2.11 Average Expected Starting Salary
Average Expected
Starting Salary
London School of Economics
Oxford
London Imperial College
Cambridge
Warwick
London University College
Bath
Bristol
Durham
Nottingham
St Andrews
Manchester
Dublin Trinity College
Aston
Edinburgh
Birmingham
Loughborough
Exeter
York
Reading
Leeds
Southampton
Belfast Queen’s University
Newcastle
Sheffield
Glasgow
Lancaster
Liverpool
Strathclyde
Cardiff
SURVEY AVERAGE
16
£26,700
£25,000
£24,500
£23,900
£22,600
£22,400
£21,400
£21,400
£21,100
£21,000
£20,800
£20,300
£20,100
£19,900
£19,900
£19,600
£19,600
£19,300
£19,300
£19,200
£19,100
£19,100
£18,700
£18,700
£18,600
£18,200
£18,200
£18,200
£17,800
£17,700
£20,300
Table 2.12 Preferred Location of First Job
Preferred Region
Aston
Bath
Belfast Queen’s University
Birmingham
Bristol
Cambridge
Cardiff
Dublin Trinity College
Durham
Edinburgh
Exeter
Glasgow
Lancaster
Leeds
Liverpool
London Imperial College
London School of Economics
London University College
Loughborough
Manchester
Newcastle
Nottingham
Oxford
Reading
Sheffield
Southampton
St Andrews
Strathclyde
Warwick
York
London
London
Northern Ireland
London
London
London
Wales
Ireland
London
London
London
Scotland
North West
London
North West
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
Scotland
London
London
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Chart 2.13 Job Hunters’ Preferred Location for their First Graduate Job after University
Overseas
18% of finalists
Scotland
6% of finalists
Yorkshire & Humberside
4% of finalists
North West England
6% of finalists
North East of England
2% of finalists
Northern Ireland
2% of finalists
East Anglia
1% of finalists
Ireland
2% of finalists
Wales
2% of finalists
South West
4% of finalists
The Midlands
6% of finalists
South East
5% of finalists
London
40% of finalists
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
17
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Aspirations for the Future
Student job hunters were asked about what they thought they might have done in their working and
personal lives by the age of 30 – a point that must seem far-off in the future for the majority of
undergraduates. The results show that most finalists anticipated that they would own a house or flat
and a fifth expected to have acquired at least two cars. More than half expected to be married
although only a third believed they would have started a family.
In employment, almost half thought they would have achieved a professional qualification and 39 per
cent expected to have completed a postgraduate course. A quarter were confident they would have
reached a senior management position and more than half would like to have lived and worked
overseas for a period. A sixth of finalists expected to have worked for three or more organisations.
Fewer than one in seven had aspirations to start their own business but 12 per cent of job hunters
hoped to be earning £100,000 by the age of thirty, An optimistic 4 per cent imagined they would have
earned enough to retire – not an inconsiderable challenge for less than ten years of employment.
Chart 2.14 Things Final Year Students Expected to have done by the Age of 30
Own your own house or flat
77%
Be married
57%
Lived and worked in
a different country
52%
Have achieved a
professional qualification
48%
Have completed a
postgraduate course
39%
Have children
35%
Have reached a senior
management position
28%
Own two cars
21%
Have worked for three
or more organisations
17%
Have taken a career break
17%
Set up own business
14%
Be earning at least
£100,000 per year
12%
Have earned
enough to retire
4%
0
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
18
20
40
60
Percentage of final year students
80
100
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Chapter 3
Finalists’ Views on University
Key Findings
• The vast majority of final
year students enjoyed
their time at university
• Over three-quarters were
pleased with their choice
of course and institution
• Fewer finalists felt their
time at university had
prepared them for work
• xxx
Background
Over the last six years since tuition fees of approximately £1,000 per year were introduced for
students at universities in England, the debts for new graduates have risen from an average of £5,900
in 2001 to £10,400 in 2005. During this period there has been much discussion about whether this
has turned the university experience into an ‘investment’ and whether or not it is a worthwhile one for
students to make.
The debate has been fuelled further by the announcement that from the autumn of 2006, new entrants
to university will be expected to pay much higher tuition fees – typically £3,000 per annum at many
universitities in England – although the fees will not be collected until a graduate leaves university
and enters employment. This means that in addition to the debts built up from living costs at
university – currently estimated to average around £2,250 per year – those studying on four-year
degree courses can expect to owe a further £12,000 for their tuition fees. This implies a total
graduation debt upwards of £21,000 for those finishing university in 2010 or beyond.
In anticipation of these significant changes, the 2006 survey asked this year’s finalists about their
opinions on their time at university – their views on their degree course, how they feel university has
prepared them for life after graduation, whether they’ve developed the skills and qualifications that
will help them find a good graduate job, and their motivations for attending university in the first
place. It also explored their attitudes to the new tutition fees, in light of their own experiences at
university.
The survey also records the level of debt that the ‘Class of 2006’ graduates expected to have when
they finish their degrees this summer.
19
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Finalists’ Views on University and Preparing for Life after Graduation
The results of this part of the survey shows that the vast majority of finalists were very positive about
the university experience – an impressive 91 per cent agreed with the statement ‘I’ve enjoyed being
at university and would recommend it to others’. The majority of these were pleased with their choice
of degree course and were happy with the content of their course and the standard of teaching they’d
received (see Table 3.3).
Over 80 per cent believed that the university they had attended and the course they’d studied would
help them secure a good job after university. However, noticably fewer felt that their time at
university had equipped them with the skills that employers wanted and just 10 per cent strongly
agreed that ‘being at university has prepared me well for the working world’. Just under half of
finalists thought they’d had enough support from their university in planning what to do after
graduation (see Table 3.4).
It is striking that although across the full survey more than two-thirds of finalists said that their main
reason for coming to university was to improve their career prospects, there were very considerable
differences at local level (see Table 3.1). For three-quarters of students at Liverpool, Southampton,
Bath, Loughborough, Strathclyde, Aston and Queen’s University Belfast, improving their career
chances was the primary motivation for starting a degree. By comparison, just 42 per cent of finalists
at Cambridge and 54 per cent of those at Oxford said getting a better job was the main reason they
went to their universities.
Table 3.1 Finalists whose main reason for going
to university was to improve career prospects
Table 3.2 Finalists who would not have come
to university if faced with new £3k tuition fees
% of finalists
Belfast Queen’s University
Aston
Strathclyde
Loughborough
Bath
Southampton
Liverpool
Exeter
Glasgow
London School of Economics
Birmingham
Sheffield
Cardiff
London Imperial College
Newcastle
London University College
Manchester
Reading
Bristol
Leeds
Lancaster
Nottingham
Warwick
Dublin Trinity College
Durham
Edinburgh
St Andrews
York
Oxford
Cambridge
SURVEY AVERAGE
20
88
83
83
79
77
77
76
73
73
73
72
72
71
71
71
70
69
69
68
66
65
64
63
62
61
61
61
61
54
42
68
% of finalists
Belfast Queen’s University
Aston
Glasgow
Reading
Sheffield
Southampton
Liverpool
Loughborough
Newcastle
Lancaster
Strathclyde
Manchester
Cardiff
Leeds
Edinburgh
London University College
Bristol
Birmingham
Exeter
London Imperial College
St Andrews
Dublin Trinity College
London School of Economics
York
Bath
Nottingham
Durham
Oxford
Warwick
Cambridge
SURVEY AVERAGE
64
58
49
49
48
48
47
46
46
43
42
39
38
38
37
37
36
35
33
32
32
31
29
29
26
25
24
23
23
13
38
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
With regard to future tuition fees, more than a third of today’s finalists said that the imposition of
higher fees would have discouraged them from doing a degree. A total of 38 per cent said they
wouldn’t have come to university if they’d been expected to pay £3,000 or more per year for tuition.
At two universities – Queen’s University Belfast and Aston – over half of finalists said they would
have been put off attending university altogether but fewer than a quarter of those at Nottingham,
Durham, Oxford, Warwick and Cambridge would have been discouraged (see Table 3.2). It is
particularly concerning that 41% of finalists originally from state schools would have been deterred
by the new fees and that 42% of those training to be teachers and 43% of those planning to work as
engineers – both key skills shortages – say they would not have begun their degrees at all
Table 3.3 Final Year Students’ Views on their Time at University
Strongly
Agree
%
Agree
%
Disagree
%
Strongly
Disagree
%
Don’t
Know
Total
Agree
I’ve enjoyed being at university and
would recommend it to others.
52
39
1
1
7
91
The content of my course and standard
of teaching & tuition was good.
23
61
10
3
3
84
I’m glad that I chose the degree course
that I’ve been studying.
31
48
12
4
5
79
I wouldn’t have come to university if I’d had
to pay tuition fees of £3,000+ per year.
15
23
36
17
9
38
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
Table 3.4 Final Year Students’ Views on Preparing for Life after Graduation
Strongly
Agree
%
Agree
%
Disagree
%
Strongly
Disagree
%
Don’t
Know
Total
Agree
The university I’ve attended will help me
get a good job after graduation.
31
58
6
1
4
89
The subject I’ve studied at university will
help me get a good job after university.
29
53
10
3
5
82
My time at university has given me the skills
that graduate employers are looking for.
15
58
15
3
9
73
My main reason for coming to university
was to improve my career prospects
27
41
21
6
5
68
Being at university has prepared me
well for the working world.
10
50
28
6
6
60
I’ve had plenty of support from the university
in planning what to do after graduation.
7
42
35
10
6
49
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
21
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Graduation Debt
The survey shows that the ‘Class of 2006’ have amassed average student debts of £10,400. This is
unchanged from 2005 and very similar to the £10,300 recorded in 2004, and the £10,100 reported in
2003, suggesting that the cost of university studies have been stable for the last four years.
Almost a fifth of finalists thought they would leave university with no debts, either because of income
from part-time work, funding from graduate employers, or generous parental support (see Table 3.6).
This included nearly half the students at London’s Imperial College, a third of those at the London
School of Economics and London’s University College, and at least a quarter of those studying at
Bath and Warwick.
The highest average debts were for students in London, Bath, Liverpool, Sheffield, Manchester and
Aston – all of whom face average debt levels of £11,000 or more (see Table 3.5). The lowest
predicted graduation debts were at Dublin’s Trinity College (where Irish students do not pay tuition
fees), and Strathclyde and Glasgow (where many students opt to live at home for their studies and
Scottish students have a different tuition fees regime).
Generally, students living in the largest towns and cities seemed to have both the biggest debts and
the largest numbers of individuals affected by debt, although there are a sizeable number of finalists
at the London colleges who claim they will graduate without any student overdrafts or loans.
Table 3.5 Average Debts on Graduation
Table 3.6 Finalists with No Student Debts
Average Debt
London Imperial College
London School of Economics
Bath
London University College
Liverpool
Sheffield
Manchester
Aston
Loughborough
Lancaster
Warwick
Bristol
Durham
Exeter
Cardiff
Leeds
Newcastle
Reading
Nottingham
Birmingham
Southampton
York
Oxford
Cambridge
Edinburgh
St Andrews
Belfast Queen’s University
Glasgow
Strathclyde
Dublin Trinity College
SURVEY AVERAGE
22
£13,800
£12,800
£11,900
£11,600
£11,300
£11,300
£11,200
£11,100
£10,900
£10,700
£10,700
£10,600
£10,600
£10,600
£10,500
£10,500
£10,500
£10,500
£10,400
£10,300
£10,300
£10,300
£10,200
£10,000
£9,900
£9,900
£8,800
£8,700
£8,100
£5,000
£10,400
% of finalists
Dublin Trinity College
London Imperial College
London School of Economics
London University College
Bath
Warwick
St Andrews
Bristol
Manchester
Sheffield
York
Strathclyde
Aston
Birmingham
Loughborough
Cambridge
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Oxford
Nottingham
Durham
Southampton
Lancaster
Leeds
Belfast Queen’s University
Cardiff
Newcastle
Reading
Exeter
Liverpool
SURVEY AVERAGE
55
45
35
35
28
27
24
23
23
21
20
19
17
17
17
16
16
16
16
14
13
13
10
10
9
8
8
8
6
6
18
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Chapter 4
Job Hunting in 2005-2006
Key Findings
• 83% of final year students
used local careers services
either in person, online or
via their degree course
during 2005-2006
• Consultations with careers
advisers were very popular
at manylocal university
careers services
• The Times had the highest
readership of the national
newspapers
• More finalists read ‘Career’
in The Times than any other
newspaper job section
Background
During 2005-2006, several hundred employers have been actively targeting students at the
universities in the survey. With countless different application processes and a confusing array of
entry requirements and recruitment timetables to consider, looking for a first graduate job can be an
intimidating and bewildering experience. It is no surprise, therefore, that so many students turn to
their university careers services as an invaluable local source of expertise and information.
Local facilities differ from campus to campus – from those based around a single room to entire
dedicated buildings or departments – but careers services are packed to the rafters with every
conceivable job hunting resource. Students have access to up-to-the-minute vacancy information
both online and in person, and careers advisors are available for those seeking professional guidance,
offering frank one-to-one interviews to help students structure their job search.
The survey examined how final year students used their local careers services in 2005-2006,
measuring the overall attendance, the number of visits made by finalists, their usage of different
facilities, and students’ views on the service.
Students and graduates have long been considered key markets for national newspapers cultivating
the next generation of adult readers and opinion-formers. The survey researched the national
newspapers that students read regularly, the job sections they had used and the newspapers that they
would be most likely to turn to in search of graduate job adverts.
The full survey report also includes details of the student readership of over 100 careers guides and
directories, usage figures for all the leading commercial recruitment websites, visitor numbers for
over 50 local, regional and national careers fairs, and the impact of employers’ own graduate
brochures, websites and campus presentations during the 2005-2006 recruitment season.
23
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Usage of Careers Services
The survey results show that a total of 83 per cent of final year students used their local university
careers service in 2005-2006 (see Chart 4.1), well over twice the number who expect to join the job
market after finishing their degree courses. From these, 65 per cent of finalists visited their careers
service in person. This is a similar number to that reported last year but is well below the visitor levels
that careers services attracted in the mid to late 1990s.
The trend of declining careers service visitor levels since 1999 is largely due to the alternative ways
in which students can now access careers service resources. The majority of careers services included
in the survey offer a considerable amount of information and guidance through their websites, which
allows many students to make use of their careers service without ever visiting the premises. Indeed,
during 2005-2006, in addition to the 64 per cent of finalists who attended their careers services in
person, there were a further 13 per cent of final year students who were regular users of their careers
service’s website without ever setting foot in the building itself.
Over the last few years, many careers services have also sought to bring their resources directly to
students by running careers modules or training sessions as part of the course curricula. This year
42 per cent of finalists participated in these in-course sessions, of whom 6 per cent did not visit the
careers service nor use their website. Altogether, this means that 83 per cent of finalists had either
visited their service in person, participated in a careers session during their studies or used their
resources online – a level of usage similar to the highest visitor numbers recorded in 1998 and 1999.
In 2005-2006, the most popular resource was one-to-one consultations with careers advisers (see
Chart 4.2). This is only the second time that these consultations have headed the list of activities that
students used. An estimated 30,000 finalists across the thirty universities in the survey had a formal
meeting with a careers adviser this year, underlining for employers just how influential individual
careers advisers can be at their universities.
Feedback from students suggests that most were impressed with their local careers service and on
average, 74 per cent of visitors described their facilities as either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ (see Chart 4.3).
Chart 4.1 Finalists who used their University Careers Service during their Job Search
83%
86%
83%
2001
77%
2000
60
68%
74%
1999
75%
84%
1998
75%
Percentage of finalists
80%
80
85%
100
2005
2006
40
20
0
1996
1997
Base - The UK Graduate Careers Survey 1996-2006
24
2002
2003
2004
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Chart 4.2 Facilities Used by Finalists who visited University Careers Services
Met with Careers Adviser
54%
Looked up information
in employer files
44%
Obtained directories or
other careers publications
36%
Collected brochures &
employer literature
32%
Had assistance preparing
employer applications or CV
25%
Found out about individual
job vacancies for graduates
24%
Attended interview practice or
coaching for selection events
9%
Practiced aptitude
or ability tests
8%
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage of finalists who used university careers services
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16452 final year students
Chart 4.3 How Finalists rated their local University Careers Services
Excellent
20%
Good
52%
Average
22%
Poor
4%
Bad
2%
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage of finalists who used university careers services
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
25
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Readership of National Newspapers
Once again, The Times newspaper had the highest readership amongst final year students. Nearly a
third of finalists were regular readers in 2005-2006 (see Chart 4.6), readership of The Guardian was
unchanged at 22 per cent, The Independent increased slightly to 13 per cent,and the Daily Telegraph
decreased to 11 per cent.
This means that The Times was the best-read newspaper at twenty-five of the thirty universities
included in this year’s survey (see Table 4.4). The Guardian was the leading title at the universities
of Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester. Strathclyde students were most-likely to be regular readers of
The Herald and those at the London School of Economics turned to the Financial Times.
Finalists were asked specifically about whether they read the jobs sections published in each of the
main daily national newspapers. ‘Career’ in The Times was the most popular section and had been
used by 34 per cent of finalists during 2005-2006. Almost a quarter of students had read ‘Rise’ in The
Guardian, but ‘Jobs’ in the Daily Telegraph and ‘Graduate’ in The Independent had only been seen
by 13 per cent of students or less (see Chart 4.7). Locally, ‘Career’ in The Times was the leading jobs
section at twenty-nine universities but ‘Rise’ in The Guardian was the preferred read at Glasgow
(see Table 4.5).
Finally, the survey asked students the direct question “Which daily newspaper would you be most
likely to look in for graduate jobs?”. Two-fifths of students confirmed that they would turn to
The Times, ahead of a third who would use The Guardian (see Chart 4.8). Just a quarter said they
would look in either the Daily Telegraph, The Independent or the Financial Times for job adverts.
Table 4.4 Best-Read Daily Newspapers
Table 4.5 Best-Read Graduate Job Sections
Newspaper with
Highest Readership
Aston
Bath
Belfast Queens University
Birmingham
Bristol
Cambridge
Cardiff
Dublin Trinity College
Durham
Edinburgh
Exeter
Glasgow
Lancaster
Leeds
Liverpool
London Imperial College
London School of Economics
London University College
Loughborough
Manchester
Newcastle
Nottingham
Oxford
Reading
Sheffield
Southampton
St Andrews
Strathclyde
Warwick
York
26
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Guardian
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Guardian
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Times
Financial Times
The Times
The Times
The Guardian
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Times
The Herald
The Times
The Times
Graduate Job Section
with Highest Readership
Aston
Bath
Belfast Queens University
Birmingham
Bristol
Cambridge
Cardiff
Dublin Trinity College
Durham
Edinburgh
Exeter
Glasgow
Lancaster
Leeds
Liverpool
London Imperial College
London School of Economics
London University College
Loughborough
Manchester
Newcastle
Nottingham
Oxford
Reading
Sheffield
Southampton
St Andrews
Strathclyde
Warwick
York
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Rise’ in The Guardian
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
‘Career’ in The Times
The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006
Chart 4.6 Readership of National Daily Newspapers
The Times
31%
The Guardian
22%
The Independent
14%
Daily Telegraph
11%
Daily Mail
9%
Financial Times
9%
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage of all finalists
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
Chart 4.7 Graduate Job Sections that Finalists had Read in National Daily Newspapers
‘Career’ in The Times
34%
‘Rise’ in The Guardian
23%
‘Jobs’ in Daily Telegraph
13%
‘Graduate’ in The Independent
12%
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage of all finalists
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
Chart 4.8 Newspapers that Students were Most Likely to Look in for Graduate Job Adverts
The Times
40%
The Guardian
32%
Daily Telegraph
10%
The Independent
9%
Financial Times
8%
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage of all finalists
Base - Face-to-face interviews with 16,452 final year students
27
Notes