A service provided by University College Falmouth on behalf of University of Exeter & University College Falmouth.

Progression through HE into work

Emma Symes

Careers Adviser

Content

• Value of University

• Current State of graduate labour market

• What are employers looking for?

• Employability / Transferable Skills

• Employability at UCF & Exeter

Why go to University?

• To get a degree• To have a good time• To get a good job

• Some jobs are only open to graduates

• Having a degree may give you faster promotion

• Jobs for graduates may be more interesting or

demanding

• Salaries will usually be higher for graduates

• Jobs may be more international

The value of University: What your students should know

Myths

• Having a degree will automatically get you a

good job.

• All graduates work in big companies.

• Employers are only interested in vocational

degree subjects.

• Employers only look at the degree, not A-Levels.

Careers Open to all Graduates

70% of graduate vacancies in the UK do not ask for specific degree subjects

Employers look for:• A degree• Transferable skills• Work Experience

Armed Forces Retail Management AccountancyMarketing Public Relations PersonnelJournalismBanking Civil Service

Dave

Researching the effect

of deer invasion on New Zealand

forests

Clare

Wildlife Guide on island of Mull,

Outer Hebrides

Current state of the graduate labour market

What information can you rely on?

• High Flyers Survey 2010• Association of Graduate Recruiters

Change in recruitment (HF)• 2010 +11.8

• 2009 - 17.8

• 2008 - 6.7

• 2007 +10.1

• 2006 +10.8

• 2005 + 10.9

Graduate targets rising for 2010

• Competition is tough with undergraduates competing for posts with graduates from the past two years

• More than a quarter of all 2010’s vacancies have already been filled by 2009 graduates who received deferred job offers or by graduates will previous work experience with employers

• Half of employers are increasing graduate recruitment targets for 2010 and there are additional roles in most industries. Most buoyant in the City where vacancies in investment banking have increased by a third

Improving Sectors

• Investment Banking – third increase

• High Street Banks – (up 30.2%)

• Accountancy & Management Consultancy - (up 13.9%)

• Retail – (up 21.3%)

Vulnerable Sectors?

• Consumer Goods Companies – (down 3.9%)

• Engineering & Industrial Employers – (down 2.1%)

• Public Sector – (down 4.3%)

Largest Recruiters in 2010• Pricewaterhouse Coopers (1,039 vacancies)

• Deloitte (1000 vacancies)

• Army (735 vacancies)

• RAF (600 vacancies)

• Teach First (650 vacancies)

• KPMG ( 650 vacancies)

Salaries• Starting salaries unchanged for the first time • Salaries rose by 5.9% in 2009 & by 4.1% in 2008• Average salary remains at £27,000.• A fifth of top graduate schemes will pay more than

£30,000• Average top salaries from: investment banks

(£38,000), law firms (37,400) and management consulting firms (£31,000).

• Highest published graduate starting salary in 2010 is retail firm Aldi which pay trainee area managers £40,000

Student Views

• 35% think there will be fewer entry-level vacancies than in 2009

• Less than half of finalists are confident of finding a graduate job before they leave this summer

• A third are planning to give up their search and enrol on a post graduate course instead

• A quarter of job hunters admit they have been applying to employers they are not really interested in in order to secure a graduate position

What are employers looking for?How does an employer choose the right person?

• A degree alone is not enough• According to a survey from the AGR employability

skills were more important to an organisation when recruiting than the specific occupational, technical or academic skills associated with the graduate’s degree.

• The AGR review reinforces the importance of completing an internship, industrial placement and or work experience to improve graduates “soft skills”

AGR: shortfalls in hard skills

56.4%

43.1%

33.5%

27.7%

23.4%

18.6%

9.0%

3.2%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Writing skills

Leadership skills

Project Management

Numeracy skills

Fluency in a foreign language

Administration

Basic computer skills

Other

AGR: shortfalls in soft skills55.1%

45.9%

32.1%

29.6%

26.5%

23.0%

20.9%

16.8%

16.3%

14.8%

14.8%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Communication

Managing your own learning

Independent working

Motivation

Problem solving

Analytical skills

Organisation

Team working skills

Confidence

Cultural sensitivity

Other

Success depends on:

• Choice of subject • Type of course (vocational vs non vocational)• Choice of university• Work Experience• Class of degree• A level grades• Skills and qualities

Employability at Exeter

• Six careers fairs including “Meet Your Future” • Employer presentations• Graduate vacancies • Employer led training.• Exeter Award

www.ex.ac.uk/employability

Employability at UCF• Careers Fair “Meet Your Future” • Professional practice• Employer presentations• Graduate vacancies • Employer led training.• Opportunities for volunteering FXU• Part Time / Term time jobs • Graduate Vacancies• Work experience

www.careers.falmouth.ac.uk

PlacementsPlacement opportunities in the UK

• Unlocking Cornish Potential• Shell STEP (Agency of the Year 2008)• Student Associate Scheme• Graduate Business Partnership

Placement opportunities abroad• Erasmus

Questions