As graduates face a tough labour market and AI reshapes the jobs they will go into as well as hiring decisions, prospective postgraduate students are increasingly looking for courses that offer a clear employability advantage. Simon Rust, student recruitment marketing expert at Prospects, considers how universities can best communicate their value proposition...
AI's impact on work and an uncertain economy have created a challenging environment for postgraduates entering the labour market.
While headlines over the last few months have painted a bleak picture of entry-level jobs in crisis, the reality is more nuanced: opportunities still exist, but roles are evolving. Yet a steady stream of negative discourse risks convincing prospective students otherwise, undermining confidence to apply for courses and putting employability under the spotlight.
Students are reflecting on their choices as they seek to make sense of work in flux. Prospects Early Careers survey revealed a fifth of prospective postgraduates were concerned that AI would devalue their skills and 11% of postgraduate students going on to do further study (such as a PhD, PGCE, short course) were worried in case AI reduced demand for their skills. In a separate study nearly half of graduates were changing or had changed their career plans because of AI.
Furthermore, postgraduate students were more likely than any other group in our survey to say they had decided to continue studying due to lack of available jobs. And those in employment were the most likely to say that both better career prospects and the potential to earn a higher salary influenced their decision to study at postgraduate level.
When they are making choices about their further study options, prospective postgraduates want to know their return on investment - will I get a job, how can I get one, will I be able to pay back my debt, and what will my university do to support me?
Universities have a vital role to play in helping students navigate this perfect storm of change, demonstrating how their courses build employability and help postgraduates stand out.
Prospective students are becoming increasingly sophisticated consumers of higher education.
What can recruiters do to best engage prospective postgraduates with their employability proposition?
Reframe the message
Graduate destination data has become a cornerstone of university recruitment. Almost every prospectus, website, open-day or ad profile highlights a statistic such as, '84% of our postgraduates are in full-time employment or further study within 15 months of graduation'.
Yet prospective students are becoming increasingly sophisticated consumers of higher education. They are also asking a different question: what happened to the other 16%?
For students investing tens of thousands of pounds in postgraduate study, the prospect of unemployment after graduation is not an abstract statistic, it's a real financial and personal risk. In an environment where students are scrutinising the return on their investment, headline employment figures alone are no longer enough.
Institutions that will stand out are those that move beyond reporting outcomes and demonstrate how they actively support their students. This means providing clear evidence of the employability interventions, industry connections and career support that help students succeed.
Set an intention, make a pledge
Some providers are already reframing the conversation around employability by making tangible commitments rather than relying solely on destination statistics.
For example, institutions such as BPP offer a career guarantee, enabling graduates who have not secured suitable employment within a specified period to undertake further study or retraining.
The University of Brighton has built its messaging around a clear promise: every student will have work experience as part of their course. This is a simple yet powerful proposition, demonstrating a concrete action the university is taking to improve graduates' career prospects. Sarah-Jane Ryan, head of practice learning and development explained, 'Placements provide the real-life experience for our students helping to embed their learning into practice. We have excellent relationships across the region with our placement providers who work closely with us to provide an equitable, supportive and inclusive learning experience. Our placement provision directly leads to post qualification careers in the region and allows our students to build upon these partnerships for their future careers and development.”
Grace Pitts is an MSc Marketing student at the University of Brighton. In a Prospects case study she highlights securing an internship and taking part in the various employability initiatives that her university had to offer.
The most compelling recruitment messages don't just tell prospective students where previous postgraduates ended up. They show them the systems, support and commitments you have in place to help ensure they get there too.
Employability rhetoric to employability proof
While desperate students make mass applications to get ahead in the jobs market - 16% of postgraduates applied for more than 100 roles in the last year - employers are increasingly faced with generic applications.
Businesses are now looking beyond the polish towards evidence of skills, experience and potential with human-centric traits such as communication, adaptability, collaboration and problem-solving highly desirable. Employer engagement is now an integral part of the student experience – and expected.
For prospective students, strong employer partnerships provide reassurance that a course is connected to industry and designed with career outcomes in mind.
Messaging is often built around broad promises such as 'enhance your career prospects' or 'gain valuable skills', but these claims are too generic to differentiate one institution from another.
Instead, market the tangible opportunities on offer - live industry projects, work placements, mentoring programmes, insight days and opportunities to tackle real-world challenges help bring to life the extent of the student experience unique to your institution.
BSc Business Management student Kiran Trivedi explained in a Prospects case study how he is getting ahead with live industry projects at the University of Brighton.
Make your alumni shine
Few messages carry more credibility with prospective students than hearing directly from postgraduates who have successfully navigated the transition from study to employment. Alumni are living proof of a university's ability to develop talent, build confidence and open doors to opportunity.
Make use of alumni case studies within recruitment campaigns. Showcase postgraduates in job profiles, feature their career journeys in marketing materials and invite them to share candid insights about how their course prepared them for the workplace.
These stories also help prospective students visualise their own futures. They turn promises about career outcomes into relatable, tangible examples of success and demonstrate the different pathways that a degree can unlock.
In an increasingly competitive market, authentic alumni voices can provide the social proof and reassurance that students are looking for when making one of the most important investment decisions of their lives.
In a competitive market, students are looking not just for assurances of future success, but for evidence of how universities will help them achieve it.
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