This year's What do graduates do? is the essential deep dive into the outcomes of students who left university during the pandemic - with subject-by-subject data as well as expert analysis by careers and employment professionals providing the vital context
Graduate labour market shows resilience
This edition of What do graduates do? reveals just how resilient UK graduates and the labour market were through the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 191,810 UK-domiciled first-degree graduates who responded to the survey:
- The majority of graduates (57.3%) were in full-time work 15 months after graduating, while 11.4% were in part-time employment.
- Of those graduates in work, 74% were in professional-level employment - a higher proportion than those who left university the year before.
- 8% of graduates in work were self-employed or actively working towards this goal.
- 9.2% of graduates were engaged in further study, while 10.6% were both working and studying.
- Despite the difficult environment into which they graduated, just 5.9% were unemployed, and this includes some who were due to start work.
What's inside What do graduates do?
The full report includes a summary of graduate outcomes in the regions and nations of the UK, as well as detailed analysis and data in the following subject areas:
- Business and administrative studies
- Creative arts
- Humanities
- Science
- Social sciences
- Technology, engineering and maths.
In addition, the following expert insights add context and analysis, and discuss some of the ongoing challenges for the sector highlighted by the data:
- Graduate labour market overview
- Untapped potential: graduate voice and the value of HE
- Tackling inequalities in graduate employment outcomes
- Graduate Outcomes and the future world of work
- How to respond to graduate migration patterns
- Graduate recruitment through the pandemic.
About What do graduates do? 2023
What do graduates do? 2023 was published in December 2022. It examines first-degree graduate destinations 15 months after graduation. It was produced by Jisc in collaboration with AGCAS, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services.
The data is from the most recent edition of the Higher Education Statistics Agency's (HESA) Graduate Outcomes survey, which collected responses from those who graduated in 2019/20.
In October 2022, Jisc and HESA announced a merger, with Jisc becoming the higher education sector's designated data body.
Previous editions of What do graduates do?
- What do graduates do? 2021/22 (PDF, 15.04MB)
- What do graduates do? 2020/21 (PDF, 8.38MB)
- What do graduates do? 2018/19 (PDF, 4.6MB)
- What do graduates do? 2017/18 (PDF, 2.9MB)
- What do graduates do? 2016 (PDF, 2.1MB)
- What do graduates do? 2015 (PDF, 1.5MB)
- What do graduates do? 2014 (PDF, 11.9MB)
- What do graduates do? 2013 (PDF, 4.9MB)
Regional edition
In 2019/20 What do graduates do? studied graduate destinations on a region-by-region basis, with data, analysis and commentary for every part of the UK.
Testimonials for What do graduates do?
As a careers adviser and information specialist with 30 years' experience, I cannot rate What do graduates do? highly enough. It forms an essential part of my toolkit.
- Hilary Nickell, project manager at Career Companion.
With over 300,000 students graduating from a vast array of courses and institutions every year, the UK graduate market is complex. WDGD is a key resource to help employers build their student recruitment strategies.
- Stephen Isherwood, chief executive of the Institute of Student Employers (ISE).
What do graduates do? provides a concise and informative overview of UK graduate destinations by subject area and is an invaluable resource for supporting both learners thinking about progressing on to higher education as well as undergraduate students planning their next steps.
- Andrew Jones, deputy director and IAG specialist at Linking London.
What do graduates do? is an essential resource for higher education providers and employers. Heavily influencing aspects of our work, the publication not only informs best practice through the student pathway but also on attracting and supporting students from diverse background.
- Terry Manyeh, Educating ALL project lead.
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