Skip to main content

73.6% of full-time HE leavers enter employment

Of the 257,025 full-time leavers who completed HESA’s Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, 73.6 per cent (72.7 per cent in 2002/03) had found employment. The number of leavers who were undertaking further study was 61,475 or 23.9 per cent (24.2 per cent in 2002/03). Of these, 22,535 were working whilst studying; this figure is included within the above employment figure. 15,250 or 5.9 per cent (6.2 per cent in 2002/03) were assumed to be unemployed.

The data is published in the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s latest publication Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education, 2003/04, released this week.

When looking at the percentages of UK domiciled full-time first degree leavers entering employment, rates traditionally tend to vary by subject area due to their individual characteristics. The highest proportions of those working were in medicine & dentistry, subjects allied to medicine, and education, all above 80 per cent. The highest proportions of those studying were in law, at over 50 per cent, and mathematical sciences and physical sciences, both above 30 per cent. Computer science had the highest unemployment rate, at just over 11 per cent, and creative arts & design, engineering & technology, and mass communications & documentation were all above 8 per cent. Hardly any medicine & dentistry qualifiers were unemployed and the rates in subjects allied to medicine, education and veterinary science were around 3 per cent. The figures for medicine & dentistry should be interpreted in the light of the fact that these are quota-controlled subjects.

Using the Standard Occupational Classification HESA also looked at the jobs that UK domiciled leavers enter. The majority of female full-time first degree leavers entered Associate professional and technical occupations (22,205) followed by Professional occupations (18,000). Most males entered Professional occupations (15,200) and Associate professional and technical occupations (13,905).

For UK domiciled, first degree leavers who studied full-time, the industrial category employing the largest number of Managers and senior officials (2,845) was ‘Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods’. This data uses the Standard Industrial Classification of the leavers’ employer against occupation type. The Education sector employed the most leavers in Professional occupations (9,540) and Health and social work employed the most in Associate professional and technical occupations (9,595).

The table below shows the distribution, by £5,000 bands, of salaries reported by qualifiers from first degree programmes who entered or continued in full-time UK employment.

The median salary for female and male qualifiers from full-time first degree programmes differed by only £1,000 but the high-paying jobs tended to go to males. For qualifiers from part-time programmes the distributions were quite different, with males not only having a substantially higher median salary, but also a very much larger proportion in the highest category.

UK domiciled leavers who obtained first degree qualifications and entered or continued in full-time UK employment by salary band, mode of study and gender 2003/04
  Salary band    
  less than £5,000 £5,000-£9,999 £10,000-£14,999 £15,000-£19,999 £20,000-£24,999 £25,000-£29,999 £30,000-£34,999 £35,000-£39,999 £40,000 and over Total Median salary
                       
Full-time 140 1750 17435 20120 8725 2665 1250 590 205 52875 £16,000
Female 90 1160 11130 12990 4445 1305 595 260 50 32025 £16,000
Male 50 590 6300 7130 4280 1360 660 325 155 20850 £17,000
                       
Part-time 5 55 610 1330 1715 1435 820 325 390 6690 £23,000
Female 5 35 380 895 1180 880 415 105 85 3980 £22,000
Male 0 20 230 440 540 560 405 215 300 2710 £25,000
                       
Female total 95 1195 11510 13880 5625 2180 1010 370 140 36005 £17,000
Male total 50 610 6530 7570 4820 1920 1065 540 455 23560 £18,000
                       
Total 145 1805 18040 21450 10440 4100 2075 910 595 59565 £17,000
In this table 0, 1, 2 are rounded to 0. All other numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest multiple of 5.
The median salary is rounded to the nearest thousand.

Notes to editors

  1. Press enquiries should be directed to:
  2. Leavers reported salaries to the nearest £1,000 in the survey. 48 per cent of leavers disclosed their salary.
  3. Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education 2003/04 is available from the Customer Services Team:
    • HESA Services Ltd.
    • 95 Promenade
    • Cheltenham
    • GL50 1HZ
    • 01242 211155
    • [email protected]
    • This product is produced as a CD-ROM containing a wide range of data in a series of detailed tables. The CD-ROM is also accompanied by a printed reference volume containing summary tables of the CD-ROM data.
  4. HESA cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived from the data by third parties.

Ends

Share
Press Release

Press Officer