Official statistics show that the proportion of graduates who find full-time jobs more than a year after graduating from university has fallen.
Of the young people who left university in 2018/19, slightly more than half (56%) of British graduates worked full-time within about 15 months after completing the course, compared with 59% in 2017/18.
The majority of respondents in the Graduate Outcome Survey conducted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for the second consecutive year graduated in 2019 and were surveyed after the pandemic was announced.
According to HESA’s analysis, the most obvious impact of the pandemic on this group of people is the increase in unemployment and the decrease in the proportion of graduates who spend time traveling by 50%-from 1.4% to 0.7%.
The data also shows that black graduates are more likely to be unemployed after leaving college for more than a year than their white peers.
Statistics show that among those who left university in 2018/19, 7% of British native black graduates were unemployed, while only 4% of white graduates were unemployed.
The survey showed that between 2017/18 and 2018/19, the proportion of black graduates who reported being unemployed was higher than the proportion of unemployed white graduates.
In 2017/18, 5% of black graduates were unemployed 15 months after leaving university, compared with only 3% of white graduates.
At the same time, universities are facing increasing pressure to improve the performance of students from black and minority (BAME) backgrounds.
The latest statistics also show that male graduates (6%) who settle in the UK are more likely to be unemployed than female graduates (5%)-but men are more likely to be paid more than their female peers.
Statistics show that less than half (48%) of the graduates who worked full-time in the UK only 15 months after graduating from university earned less than £27,000, and more than three-fifths (61%) of women earned less than £27,000.
Overall, the survey surveyed data on 380,970 graduates and found that 88% of graduates are engaged in some form of work or further education—lower than 90% in the 2017/18 graduate survey.
The remaining 12% are unemployed-or are doing other activities, such as traveling, caring for someone, or they have retired.
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), said he was “shocked by some of the equality challenges in the data”.
He said: “Now universities are measured based on the grades of graduates. If they don’t want regulators to suppress their necks, they need to address different results.”
Chris Millward, Head of Fair Access and Participation Student Office (OfS) said: “graduate As the recovery continues, the labor market may face challenges-higher education is essential to provide graduates with the skills and knowledge they need to progress and thrive in the workplace. “
He added: “We also know that there are differences in outcomes between the entire higher education and student groups outside of higher education. For black students, this is critical to the ratio of obtaining the highest degree, which will affect their subsequent employment. prospect.
“the University The university has pledged to address these gaps through the visit and participation program they agreed with OfS.
“It is important for the university to deliver on these promises so that all students have the opportunity to enter a rich career.”
A HESA spokesperson said: “This year’s survey clearly shows some of the impact of the Covid pandemic on the early careers of graduates.
“Data on the activities and subjective feelings of this year’s graduates are invaluable to policymakers working on economic recovery and researchers trying to understand the extraordinary impact of the past 18 months.”
A kind British University The spokeswoman said: “The university recognizes that this epidemic is extremely challenging for students and graduates facing an uncertain job market.
“The university is here to help fresh graduates and current students. We encourage them to contact their university employment services so that they can get all-round support.
“Universities are also redoubled their efforts to cooperate with employers to ensure that all students can reach their full potential after graduation.
“Universities know that there is more work to be done to support all students to thrive, and many universities have set ambitious goals to close the degree-granting gap and other gaps in degree outcomes.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said: “The vast majority of graduates-88%-are already employed or continuing to receive education. We have also invested a further £32 million in the National Career Service Center and provided career advice to more than 500,000 people. We We have also launched our graduate employment and skills guide to help all graduates affected by the pandemic consider their post-university options and gain professional experience.
“We remain committed to improving the standards of higher education and welcome the recent consultations from the Student Office on this.”
