Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education in the United Kingdom for the academic year 2004/05

Introduction

This Statistical First Release (SFR) has been produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), in collaboration with Department for Education and Skills (DfES) statisticians. It provides details of the destinations of leavers from higher education (HE) who obtained qualifications in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom (UK), during the academic year 2004/05. The data presented draws on the 2004/05 Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) record.

Key Points

First degrees

• In 2004/05, of the 188,800 (2003/04:187,900) full-time first degree graduates whose destination was known, 63% (119,300) were in employment only, the same percentage as 2003/04; 8% (15,500) were in a combination of work and study, compared to 9% in 2003/04; 16% (30,200) were involved in further study only, the same as in 2003/04; and 7% (12,400) were assumed to be unemployed, the same as in 2003/04 (See Table 1).
• Of the full-time first degree graduates whose destination was known and reported as being in employment, 96% (129,600) did so in the UK (this includes the UK element of the combination of work and study figure reported in Table 1), the same as in 2003/04 (See Table 1).
• In 2004/05, 29% (2003/04: 28%) of these posts were classified as Associate Professional and Technical Occupations, 25% (2003/04: 25%) as Professional Occupations, 16% (2003/04: 17%) as Administrative and Secretarial Occupations and 11% (2003/04: 11%) as Sales and Customer Service Occupations (See Table 4).
• Subjects of study Unemployment rates for full-time first degree graduates whose destination was known varied between subjects, ranging from those which have traditionally low rates of unemployment, such as Medicine & dentistry (0%), Veterinary science (3%) and Education (3%), to 10% for Creative arts & design and 11% for Computer science (See Table 3).
• Salary Although salary information is not available in the SFR tables, it can be noted that, of those first degree graduates (both full-time and part-time) reported as being in full-time employment only in the UK in 2004/05, 49% disclosed their salary. The median salary reported (to the nearest thousand) was £18,000, compared to £17,000 in 2003/04. The average salary (to the nearest thousand) was £19,000, compared to £18,000 in 2003/04. Such destinations include all jobs reported by leavers from HE.
• Part-time In 2004/05, of the 20,500 part-time first degree graduates whose destination was known, 66% (13,600) were in employment only, the same as in 2003/04; 16% (3,300) were in a combination of work and study, compared to 17% in 2003/04; 6% (1,200) were involved in further study only, the same as in 2003/04; and 4% (800) were assumed to be unemployed, compared to 3% in 2003/04 (See Table 2).
• Further study Of those first degree graduates (both full-time and part-time) whose destination was known, and reported as further study (including those in a combination of work and study) in 2004/05, 30% (2003/04: 30%) were undertaking a taught higher degree course. 23% (2003/04: 22%) were undertaking a postgraduate diploma or certificate. 17% (2003/04: 16%) were undertaking a professional qualification, and 8% (2003/04: 8%) were undertaking a higher degree by research (Note: this detail is not available in the SFR tables).

Other undergraduates

• In 2004/05, of the 31,700 leavers (both full-time and part-time) who obtained undergraduate diplomas and certificates (including foundation degrees) and whose destination was known, 56% (17,900) were in employment only, compared to 57% in 2003/04; 17% (5,500) were in a combination of work and study, compared to 18% in 2003/04; 20% (6,300) were in further study only, compared to 19% in 2003/04; and 3% (1,000) were assumed to be unemployed, the same as in 2003/04 (See Tables 1 and 2).
• Foundation degrees In 2004/05, of the 4,200 (2003/04: 2,000) foundation degree graduates (both full-time and part-time) whose destination was known, 35% (1,400) reported their first destination as employment only, compared to 36% in 2003/04; 27% (1,100) were in a combination of work and study, compared to 26% in 2003/04; 32% (1,300) were involved in further study only, compared to 33% in 2003/04; and 3% (100) were assumed to be unemployed, the same as 2003/04 (See Definition 11). (Note: this detail is not available in the SFR tables).

Postgraduates

• Of the 78,300 former postgraduate students (both full-time and part-time) whose destination was known, 77% (60,100) were in employment only, the same as in 2003/04; 11% (8,200) were in a combination of work and study, compared to 10% in 2003/04; 6% (4,600) were involved in further study only, the same percentage as in 2003/04, and 3% (2,700) were assumed to be unemployed, compared to 4% in 2003/04 (See Tables 1 and 2).

Teacher training

• Although not shown in the SFR tables, of those leavers in 2004/05 who had completed an Initial Teacher Training (ITT) course leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)/a course of pre-service teacher training whose destinations were known, 90% were currently employed in a teaching post, compared to 89% in 2003/04.

Gender

• Overall, in 2004/05 7% of males whose destinations were known were unemployed, compared to 4% of females; these percentages were the same in 2003/04 (Note: this level of detail is not available in the SFR tables).

Tables

Table 1 shows the Destinations of full-time UK and Other EU domiciled leavers obtaining HE qualifications by level of course and gender, 2004/05 and 2003/04.

Table 2 shows the Destinations of part-time UK and Other EU domiciled leavers obtaining HE qualifications by level of course, 2004/05 and 2003/04.

Table 3 shows the Destinations of full-time UK and Other EU domiciled first degree graduates by subject area of degree, 2004/05, 2003/04 and 2002/03.

Table 4 shows the Occupation and Industry of full-time UK and Other EU domiciled first degree graduates entering employment in the UK by subject area of degree, 2004/05, 2003/04 and 2002/03.

Download all tables

Notes to Editors

1. The statistics in this SFR are derived by HESA from data collected from all publicly funded higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK (including The Open University) and from The University of Buckingham, which is privately funded. The figures therefore exclude HE qualifications obtained by students at further education colleges and at other private and independent HE colleges.

2. The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) record was introduced in 2002/03 replacing the previous First Destination Supplement (FDS). DLHE is a more comprehensive record; it covers leavers from part-time programmes and from additional postgraduate programmes. In addition, for the DLHE survey, leavers separately report such activity regarding work and study, thereby providing a matrix of circumstances for analysis, unlike the FDS, which collected more limited information. Consequently the DLHE survey has different definitions from FDS for the destination categories reported, for example those employed and unemployed. Comparisons between such figures in DLHE and FDS should therefore not be made.

3. The 2004/05 Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) data includes all those students whose study was full-time or part-time (see Definition 12) and who obtained relevant qualifications (see Definition 10) reported to HESA for the reporting period 1 August 2004 to 31 July 2005.

4. The HESA DLHE Target Population contains all UK and European Union domiciled HE students for whom destinations data is expected and sought (see Definitions 15 and 17). The figures presented in this SFR are based on information obtained by institutions and returned to HESA. Where the category ‘unknown’ appears, the data relates both to non-respondents, and to those leavers who have explicitly refused to answer the survey. Data on the number of unknowns is obtained by cross-checking the actual respondents with the total expected to reply, as recorded in the 2004/05 HESA Student Record.

   In 2004/05, 263,100 full-time qualifiers responded from a target population of 340,100, which amounts to an overall response rate of 77% (79% in 2003/04). 63,200 part-time qualifiers responded from a target population of 90,200, an overall response rate of 70% (70% in 2003/04). These response rates include explicit refusals and are calculated separately from the SFR. They will be presented in a reference volume published by HESA (see Note 6).

   In this SFR the figures for whom destinations are known exclude explicit refusals, for whom no other information is available. It can be seen from Table 1 that the percentage of records returned for full-time HE students is 76% (77% in 2003/04) and from Table 2 for part-time HE students 67% (68% in 2003/04).

5. With reference to Notes to Editors 2 and 4 above, it can be seen that the figures published in this SFR might differ from those published elsewhere.

6. A reference volume Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education 2004/05, setting out more information about the destinations of students qualifying at HEIs in the UK, will be published by HESA at the end of August 2006.

7. From 2003 onwards the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) of subject classification has been used as the basis for the HESA returns, replacing HESACODE. Also in 2003 HESA adopted the SOC 2000 Standard Occupational Classification for comparability of the occupational categories of graduate employment with those for other sectors of the economy; this replaced SOC90. Therefore a variant of the SOC2000 was created for the coding of occupational information for use in the DLHE survey; this classification is termed SOC (DLHE).

Definitions

1. HE students are those students on programmes of study that are of a standard that is higher than the Advanced Level of the General Certificate of Education, the Higher Grade of the Scottish Certificate of Education, or the BTEC or SCOTVEC National Certificate/Diploma.

2. The reference dates for this DLHE return were 15 April 2005 (if the leaver obtained the qualification between 1 August 2004 and 31 December 2004) and 16 January 2006 (if the leaver obtained the qualification between 1 January 2005 and 31 July 2005). The reference dates of the 2003/04 DLHE return were 15 April 2004 and 14 January 2005.

   Leavers separately report what they are doing in relation to employment and study; this enables the following destination categories to be derived from DLHE:

   • employment only
   • combination of work and study
   • further study only
   • assumed to be unemployed.

   In addition, the destination category combination of work and study can be aggregated with the explicit employment only and further study only categories as follows:

   • in employment only or a combination of work and study
   • in study only or a combination of work and study.

   For further details see Definitions 15, 16 and 17.

3. Qualifications

   Relevant qualifications for inclusion in the 2004/05 DLHE return are postgraduate degrees, postgraduate diplomas and certificates, Postgraduate Certificates in Education (PGCE), first degrees (excluding intercalated degrees), Diplomas of Higher Education (DipHE), Certificates of Higher Education (CertHE), foundation degrees, Higher National Diplomas (HND) or Higher National Certificates (HNC).

   The population for the DLHE return does not necessarily represent the full cohort graduating during the reporting period; examples of those excluded are professional qualifications (e.g. associate membership or membership of a body such as the Institute of Bankers) and undergraduate diplomas and certificates (other than foundation degrees, HND, DipHE, HNC and CertHE).

4. Level of study

   Doctorate degrees and PGCEs have been tabulated separately; masters degrees, higher bachelors degrees and postgraduate diplomas or certificates (not PGCE) have been combined to form the category Other postgraduate degrees.

   Doctorate degrees, Other postgraduate degrees and PGCEs have been combined to form the category Postgraduates.

   First degrees include first degrees, first degrees with eligibility to register to practice (doctor/dentist/veterinary surgeon), first degrees with Qualified Teacher Status/registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland, enhanced first degrees and first degrees obtained concurrently with diplomas.

   Undergraduate diplomas and certificates include foundation degrees and all other higher education qualifications not included above, which are within the scope of the return. Foundation degrees were first introduced in September 2001 in prototype form and serve as a higher education qualification with a vocational focus.

5. Mode of study

   Full-time includes full-time and sandwich modes plus those students writing-up theses and previously full-time.

   Part-time includes those studying part-time, full-time for less than 24 weeks in the academic year, block release or studying during the evenings, plus those writing-up theses and previously part-time.

6. Domicile

   All tables include students who are normally resident in the United Kingdom, including those living in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man (UK), and those students who are normally resident in countries which were, as at 1 December in the relevant academic year, Other European Union (Other EU) members, or in their designated territories.

7. Location of employment

   Respondents to the HESA DLHE survey were asked to supply the location of their employment or further study. Where this was unknown but the activity was full-time paid work only, part-time paid work only or voluntary/unpaid work only, a United Kingdom location of employment has been assumed. These numbers are however relatively small. The unknown location of employment assumed to be in UK employment for Table 1 is 0.1% of the total of UK Employment and 0.2% for Table 2.

8. Employment

   The category Employment only includes those students who gave their employment circumstances as Employed full-time, Employed part-time, Self-employed/freelance, Voluntary work/other unpaid work and who are also Not in study.

   The category Combination of work and study includes those students who gave their employment circumstances as Employed full-time, Employed part-time, Self-employed/freelance, Voluntary work/other unpaid work and who are also either in Full-time study or Part-time study.

   The category Full-time employment only includes those students who gave their employment circumstances as Employed full-time or Self-employed/freelance and who are also Not in study.

9. Further study

   The category Further study includes those who gave their employment circumstances as temporarily sick or unable to work/looking after the home or family, not employed but not looking for employment, further study or training, or something else, and who were also either in full-time or part-time study, training or research. It also includes those who were due to start a job within the next month or unemployed and looking for employment, further study or training, and who were also in full-time study, training or research.

10. Unemployment

    The category Assumed to be unemployed includes those students who gave their employment circumstances as Unemployed and looking for employment, further study or training and who are also either in Part-time study or Not in study, together with those Due to start a job within the next month and who are also either in Part-time study or Not in study.

    In Tables 1, 2 and 3, the category Others includes those students who are Not in study and also either gave their employment circumstances as Not employed but NOT looking for employment, further study or training or Something else.

11. Unknown.

12. This category includes non-respondents and explicit refusals, and is used in Tables 1, 2 and 3.

13. In the text the figures presented are rounded to the nearest 100. However, where the population contains 52 or less individuals the figure presented is rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.

    The figures presented in the tables are shown in thousands, or percentages calculated on the base data.

    The symbols used in the tables are:

    '0.0' zero.

    '-' non-zero, less than the least significant figure shown (50).

14. Press enquiries should be directed to Press Officer at the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA); 95 Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 1HZ, Tel: 01242 211133. General enquiries about the data contained within this SFR should be addressed to Andrew Horsman, Data Analyst, HESA (at the same address), Tel: 01242 255577.

ENDS