Data Digest: June 2022

Welcome to Luminate's monthly summary of the key data and developments in higher education, careers services, graduate recruitment and the labour market

This month on Luminate

• UK graduate labour market update: 21 June - in this update, Charlie Ball looks at the latest data and reports on the labour market. Within, he also gives a brief summary of the 2019/20 Graduate Outcomes data covering the graduate cohort who left university during the COVID pandemic. The overall data is a lot more positive than many feared. [Luminate]
• Five key takeaways from Graduate Outcomes 2019/20 - the graduate labour market has been resilient throughout the pandemic. While it was widely assumed that there would be noticeable differences in the outcomes of this cohort 15 months after graduation compared to previous ones. Graduate Outcomes 2019/20 data suggests otherwise with most (68%) UK-domiciled graduates finding full (57%) or part-time (11%) employment 15 months after graduation. [Luminate]
• Qualification fraud in construction - qualification fraud is a multi-million pound industry which has the potential to destabilise the graduate market. With many construction projects remaining open throughout the pandemic - making construction an attractive industry for those seeking employment during the pandemic - criminals who produce fraudulent qualifications jumped on the opportunity to make money from those looking for employment in construction during the pandemic. And while qualification fraud is a problem for all industries, fake certificates are a particular risk to the construction industry as the stakes are high when letting an unqualified person onto a construction site. [Luminate]

Charlie Ball's LMI update

Jisc's senior consultant for labour market intelligence, Charlie Ball, gives a brief overview of NHS Employers briefing examining how current labour market trends might affect the NHS workforce:

"After an initial sharp fall in employment during the first wave of the pandemic, there was a rapid recovery in employment figures in the latter half of 2021 when restrictions eased. However, that recovery appears to have levelled off and the number of those not looking for work and/or not available for work continues to rise.

At the start of the pandemic, rising inactivity was driven by young workers, and by older workers, where the rise in not looking for work was related to COVID-19 restrictions and increasingly, long-term ill-health. Since restrictions eased in the second half of 2021, younger people have increasingly come out of inactivity, but older workers continue to leave the labour market.

Signs are that job turnover remains well above pre-pandemic levels and may even be rising. This is likely to be fuelling record numbers of vacancies and labour shortages as organisations struggle to backfill posts from the (lessening) numbers of who are out of work, looking for and ready to work."

Read more of this overview in our labour market update.

News in Summary

• Do apprenticeships hold the key to Levelling up the UK? - while the government's Levelling Up agenda aims to address stark inequalities across the country, many of the sectors essential to meeting the agendas infrastructure goals are facing significant skills shortages. David Phillips, Managing Director of City & Guilds and ILM, suggests that apprenticeships can play a vital role in equipping people with the skills needed to address these shortages. [FE WEEK]
• Civil servants to be offered tech apprenticeships - in partnership with Paragon Skills, digital and tech skills provider QA will deliver an extensive range of apprenticeships to civil servants across the country. Apprentices will undertake programmes focused on the most in-demand tech skills, benefitting from the largest specialist in-house tutor and coaching teams in the UK. [Education Technology]
• Delivering a Lifetime Skills Guarantee - the 'Lifetime Skills Guarantee' is a commitment to provide every adult with the training and education they need throughout their lifetime. A recent report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies assesses the impact of the policies underpinning this ambitious objective. [FE News]

Research from the Luminate library

Employing graduates with an autism spectrum condition - this report identifies student/graduate and employer perceptions of recruiting graduates with an autism spectrum condition (ASC) diagnosis to see if their views are similar. It also seeks to gain insight into employer provision for students with an ASC and how this could be considered in preparing students when exploring opportunities after graduation - as well as support once they have gained successful employment. [Luminate]

Written by

Micha-Shannon Smith

Assistant information analyst

Prospects