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
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
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