Higher Education Graduates and Diplomates and their First Destinations 1986-87 to 1996-97

6. Graduates and Diplomates who obtained Permanent UK Employment

6.1 For graduates and diplomates who gained permanent UK employment, additional information on the type of work, the industry of the employer and the location of employment was collected.

Type of Work

6.2 The most popular career for those graduates and diplomates in 1996-97 who obtained permanent employment continued to be Social Services and the Scientific and Engineering field, with 19 per cent and 17 per cent respectively. (Table 9)

6.3 The type of work varied depending on the level of qualification obtained.

6.4 One in three diplomates with a sub degree qualification in 1996-97 went into the Social Services field.

6.5 The most common occupation for first degree graduates was in the Scientific, Engineering and Technology area, followed by Financial and Legal careers.

6.6 For postgraduates, more than one in four decided on a career in Education.

Industry of Employer

6.7 The most common industry to work in for graduates and diplomates in 1996-97 was the Commerce, Transport and Leisure sector. (Table 10)

6.8 In the late eighties the Engineering and Industry and Public Service sectors attracted almost the same levels of graduates and diplomates as Commerce, Transport and Leisure. However, since the early nineties the percentages of graduates and diplomates going into the Engineering and Industry sector has fallen, the Public Service sector has remained largely unchanged, while the Commerce, Transport and Leisure sector has grown.

6.9 The proportion entering the education sector has fallen from a high of one in five graduates and diplomates in the early nineties, to less than one in ten in recent years.

6.10 The industry of employer varied dependent on the level of qualification obtained.

6.11 Until the most recent year, postgraduates were most likely to undertake employment in the Education sector. However, in 1996-97 the sector of employment was fairly evenly split amongst postgraduates.

6.12 Almost half of first degree graduates who gained employment went into the Commerce, Transport and Leisure sector. One quarter entered Public Service and one fifth went into the Engineering and Industry sector. Very few (one in twenty) went into a job in Education.

6.13 The most common industries for sub degree diplomates who obtained employment were the Public Service and Commerce, Transport and Leisure jointly. One in five went into Engineering and Industry.