Jisc's Discover graduate outcomes dashboards provide invaluable insights into key emerging trends in graduate employment, salaries, sense of purpose and much more - as Matt Clarke explains
Jisc data analytics have recently updated their Discover graduate outcomes dashboards with the latest graduate data from the 2019/20 Graduate Outcomes survey, which was taken 15 months after graduation. The dashboards allow universities to benchmark their key graduate data against the rest of the higher education (HE) sector, but now also provide a wealth of insight across three years for the first time.
This article explores five of the newest emerging trends from the latest data* and what it tells us about the graduate market.
Above: An example Discover graduate outcomes overview dashboard with synthetic data.
1. Sharp drop in unemployment
The biggest and most positive news is that graduate unemployment has seen a sizeable drop from 9% in 2018/19 to 6% in 2019/20*. In May, we saw data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) citing record vacancies in the job market and with this latest Graduate Outcomes data showing fewer unemployed graduates 15 months after finishing their degree, it suggests that they may be benefitting from this surge in vacancies.
Also available for analysis in Discover graduate outcomes:
- Graduate unemployment data for each university, as well as the sector as a whole.
- Three years of graduate unemployment data to form a time series.
- Corresponding data for high-skilled employment, further study, self-employment and more.
- All of the above split by various student characteristics such as ethnicity, sex and age.
2. Salary growth heading in the right direction
Continuing the positive news, the latest data also shows that median graduate salaries are higher in 2019/20 at £25,000 than they were in 2018/19 at £24,000*. While this isn't a huge increase, it does point towards companies paying higher graduate salaries than they have done previously and is a starting point for further growth. This will be vitally important in the context of recent energy price news and current inflation levels as graduates come under increasing financial pressure along with other households.
Also available for analysis in Discover graduate outcomes:
- Three years of median salary data for graduates from each university, as well as the sector as a whole.
- Median salary data split by various student characteristics such as ethnicity, sex and age.
Above: An example Outcomes and student characteristics dashboard from Discover graduate outcomes with synthetic data (so will not match the statistics quoted from the product in this article).
3. More graduates maintain positive trajectory
We've seen an increase in the proportion of graduates with a positive outcome in 2019/20*. A positive outcome is defined as 'either in, or due to start high-skilled work (whether part-time or full-time, paid or voluntary), or in, or due to start significant further study 15 months after graduating'.
The latest data shows that in 2019/20, 77% of graduates had a positive outcome compared to 74% in 2018/19*. The great news about this is that it suggests that more graduates are taking a purposeful step forward following graduation in a direction which should help their career trajectory.
Also available for analysis in Discover graduate outcomes:
- Three years of positive outcomes data for the sector, each university, and how it compares to its own (or custom) benchmark group.
- Positive outcomes data split by subject.
- Positive outcomes data split by various student characteristics such as ethnicity, sex and age.
Above: An example Positive outcomes dashboard from Discover graduate outcomes with synthetic data (so will not match the statistics quoted from the product in this article).
4. Three quarters of graduates believe they're doing something meaningful
Linked closely to the previous point, the 2019/20 data shows that three quarters of graduates believe their current activity (15 months after graduation) fits with their future plan* - an increase from 73% in 2018/19. Furthermore, 76% believe their current activity is meaningful which has also increased slightly from 75% in the previous year.
It's heartening to see that more graduates appear to have a sense of purpose in what they're doing and believe it will help them in years to come. A word of warning though. The data also shows that only 60% believed they were using what they learned during their studies 15 months later. While this has also seen an increase from back in 2017/18, it's really important that graduates believe they are using the skills they learned in higher education for the sustainability of the sector. It's therefore key that HE providers are able to continuously evolve their content to keep pace with the skills that graduates need to thrive in the modern workplace.
Also available for analysis in discover graduate outcomes:
- Three years of reflections data for graduates from each university, as well as the sector as a whole.
- Graduate reflections data split by various student characteristics such as ethnicity, sex and age.
5. Reduction in the proportion of permanent and open-ended contracts
The latest data on the employment basis of graduates in work reveals what could potentially be an interesting emerging trend. In 2019/20, 69% of graduates in high-skilled employment 15 months after graduation were on permanent/open-ended contracts compared to 71% in 2018/19 and 72% in 2017/18*.
This steady reduction could be the result of a number of things and needs to be monitored over time to get a clearer picture. It may indicate that companies are starting to favour more shorter, fixed term contracts lasting less than 12 months, which have increased during the same time period (4% in 2017/18 to 6% in 2019/20). Alternatively, it could just be a fluctuation in the graduate survey data where the proportion of roles which naturally have fixed term contracts have increased in the latest year and at the point of survey. The potential shift also remains true for when the data is expanded to all occupations, so regardless of the underlying factors, will be interesting to monitor over time.
Something that would be interesting to try to measure in the future if a clearer trend did develop, would be any subsequent impact on graduate decision-making and mobility. Would they still opt to put down more permanent roots in an area while on a shorter, fixed-term contract for example, and would they still have as many options available to them as those on permanent contracts?
Also available for analysis in discover graduate outcomes:
- Three years of employment basis data for graduates from each university, as well as the sector as a whole.
- Data filters to restrict the data to certain subjects.
- Industry and occupation data over time.
- Data on the main reason for graduates taking the job, as well as information on whether the qualification they achieved in their degree was required for it.
Discover graduate outcomes for yourself
Contact the Jisc data analytics team to find out how you can subscribe to Discover graduate outcomes. Let us know how you found us by picking 'Luminate blog' from the how did you hear about us field. We also have some upcoming, online product demonstrations that you can join by registering for free here.
Higher education users will need access to Heidi Plus before being able to access this dashboard suite. If your provider already subscribes to Heidi Plus but you don't yet have a user account, please contact your lead contact who is usually located in your Planning Office.
If you'd like to enquire about subscribing to Heidi Plus as an organisation, or if you're not sure who your lead contact is, you can call 0333 015 1170 or email Jisc's Customer Success team.
We look forward to helping you start your Discover graduate outcomes journey.
Above: A list of dashboards contained within 'Discover graduate outcomes' along with Jisc's production partners.
Notes
*Information taken from the relevant dashboard from Discover graduate outcomes at the time of writing. Data based on UK domiciled, full-time, first degree graduates in 2019/20 with any additional filters or years quoted in the statistic itself.
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