Graduate Outcomes SOC 2020 update: UK, 2017/18

Statistical Bulletin Experimental AH2105

20 May 2021

Ad-hoc experimental statistics

This statistical bulletin includes: Introduction | Data tables | Notes and definitions

Introduction

Graduate Outcomes survey data on the occupations of survey participants is coded in accordance with the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system maintained by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The use of this classification system aids in the consistent coding of occupations which allows for comparisons of similar jobs across different industries. Further information on the use of SOC and skill category in Graduate Outcomes is available in the survey definitions.

For the 2017/18 release of Graduate Outcomes, the dataset was initially coded using SOC 2010, which was the current framework during census week for all four cohorts of the first year of data collection. SOC 2020, which updated the SOC framework to reflect a changing labour market, was released on 14 February 2020, after the SOC coding of 2017/18 data to SOC 2010 was largely complete. HESA rapidly analysed the new framework and determined that it was suitable for use with the Graduate Outcomes survey. Given the scale of work involved it was not possible to introduce SOC 2020 in time for the initial dissemination of the 2017/18 results.

In order to ensure that graduates are coded according to the most up-to-date framework, HESA committed to adopt SOC 2020 from the 2018/19 Graduate Outcomes dataset. At the same time, we undertook to recode the 2017/18 dataset to SOC 2020 to ensure a consistent time-series. We have now completed the work of re-basing our coding approach to follow the SOC 2020 framework, and have re-coded the data and quality-assured our results. Some of the results of that recoding exercise are presented in the figures below.

On the whole, SOC 2020 has more granular detail than SOC 2010. While the two frameworks share the same nine major groups, SOC 2020 divides these major groups into a greater number of sub-groups as follows:

	SOC 2010	SOC 2020
Major groups	9	9
Sub-major groups	25	26
Minor groups	90	91
Unit groups	369	412

Lists of SOC groups are available on the HESA website here: SOC 2010 / SOC 2020

When recoded to SOC 2020, most occupations remain within the same major group or overarching skill level category (see figure 1). For example while changes in the SOC codes within the ‘teaching and other educational professionals’ sub-major group have resulted in a large number of graduates receiving new codes under SOC 2020, these changes are only visible at the minor or unit group level.

However, other occupations have moved between major groups, with, for example, higher level teaching assistants and veterinary nurses moving from group 6 to group 3. Where occupations have shifted between major groups, both the direction and the magnitude of the shift have varied; paramedics and paralegals, for example, have moved up a single major group, from group 3 to group 2, while shopkeepers have moved down six unit groups, from group 1 to group 7.

In some cases, movements have occurred as a result of additional guidance and changes in the task descriptions or qualifying terms associated with certain roles. For instance, the addition of ‘higher education’ and ‘university’ as industrial qualifying terms in group 4 and the removal of certain tasks from the relevant major group 2 code in SOC 2020 has resulted in some administrator roles in higher education establishments moving from group 2 to group 4.

Data tables

Figure 1 - Comparison of SOC 2010 and SOC 2020 Major Group Standard Occupational Classifications for graduates entering work in the UK

Academic year 2017/18

Download table (csv) | Download source data (csv) | About AH2105 Figure 1 | Notes

Figure 2 - Comparison of Standard Occupational Classifications for graduates entering work in the UK by subject area of degree

Academic year 2017/18

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SOC grouping