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Employment of leavers summary: UK Performance Indicators 2016/17

UK Performance Indicators: Employment of Leavers

This summary contains an overview of the employment outcomes of HE leavers.

View the detailed employment of leavers tables

We have conducted a major review of the data we collect about the destinations and outcomes of graduates. This has led to the formulation of the new Graduate Outcomes survey which will provide more comprehensive data that reflects recent changes in the HE sector and the graduate labour market. The first Graduate Outcomes data is due to be published in spring 2020. The final output of employment of leavers UK Performance Indicators using DLHE data was published in 2018.

 

Following the earlier reports this year on recruitment and retention, this summary will focus on the employment outcomes of individuals. Approximately six months after completing their qualification, individuals are requested to complete the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, which gathers information on what graduates have gone on to do after their studies.

As in previous years, around three quarters of the eligible population responded to the survey, with response levels being highest among those who were studying for full-time first degree qualifications. Further information on response rates is provided in Table G and Table H. Note that data prior to 2002/03 is based on the First Destinations Supplement (FDS) and is not comparable with data taken from the DLHE survey. As such, the indicators have been omitted from Table G. Due to changes to the DLHE questionnaire, the employment indicator from 2011/12 onwards is not comparable with those prior to 2011/12, see the changes page for more details.

Table G - Response rates of UK domiciled full-time first degree qualifiers by academic year

1999/00 to 2016/17

 

 

 

Table H - Response rates of UK domiciled qualifiers by level and mode of qualification

2015/16 to 2016/17

 

 

The proportion of full-time first degree graduates in employment and/or further study continues to show a steady rise, as exemplified in Chart 11. Table I displays the outcomes for this cohort in more detail. Meanwhile, Table J displays the destinations by level and mode of qualification for the 2015/16 and 2016/17 cohort. It is worth highlighting that those on other undergraduate degrees tend to continue with their studies to a far greater extent than those on first degrees.

Chart 11 - Percentage of UK domiciled full-time first degree leavers in employment and/or further study by academic year

2002/03 to 2016/17

 

 

 

Table I - Employment outcomes of UK domiciled full-time first degree qualifiers by academic year

2002/03 to 2016/17

 

 

 

Table J - Employment outcomes of UK domiciled qualifiers by level and mode of qualification

2015/16 to 2016/17

 

 

Chart 12 shows how the percentage of full-time first degree leavers in work or study varies across higher education providers in the UK. The vast majority of providers have over ninety per cent of their leavers in employment and/or further study around six months after graduation.

Chart 12 - Frequency percentage of UK domiciled full-time first degree leavers who are working or studying (or both)

2015/16 - 2016/17