Planning your career – the HE route

What we are going to cover?

• Post-18 options

• Matching HE courses to

graduate careers

• Graduate labour market trends

• How HE prepares you for

employment

Options after sixth form/college

Post-18 options

Higher Education

Gap year

Employment without training

Employment with training

Work-based Learning

(apprenticeship)

HE statistics

• Over 40,000 courses

• In more than 300 HE Institutions

• 653, 637 applicants (2012 start)

• 464, 910 got places

Based on latest UCAS statistics (www.ucas.com)

Careers and competition

IT

Business

Maths

Medicine

Economics

Nursing

Biosciences

English

Psychology

Law

10 most

popular

in 2012

Matching courses to graduate careers

Does it require professional accreditation

Does it require a vocational

qualification?

Does it require work experience?

Does it require postgraduate

study?

If you already have a career in mind…..

What’s the competition

like?

Matching courses to graduate careers

What subjects do you enjoy?

What are you good at

/academic strengths?

What are your skills, strengths and interests?

If you don’t have a career in mind…..Can you opt for a

generic or traditional subject?

Did you know that 40-60% of graduate jobs advertised do not require a specific degree

Levels of HE Qualifications

PhD

MA, MSc PGCE

DipHE, CertHE

BA, BSc, BEng, etc

HND, FdA/FdSc

Foundation courses

Types of HE Qualifications

What will they qualify you

for?

BA

BSc

BEng

BEdLLB

BMus

PGCE

Professional recognition

• Some courses have professional recognition (e.g. CIM, CIPD, CIMA, RIBA)

• These may give you exemptions from professional qualifications (so save you further study time/funding)

• Courses with professional recognition have credibility with employers

• They may also be a requirement for certain careers (e.g. LLB, BEd)

Sandwich placements

• One year work placement

• Valuable experience of work

• Employability skills

• Enhance your CV

• Paid employment (average of £10-15k) Experience of life (placements abroad)

• Improve your grades/degree classification

• Check if you pay fees (£500 at University of Huddersfield)

Graduate ‘premium’

• A female graduate will earn 52% more (£252,000) over their working lifetime than a female non-graduate

• For a male graduate = +28% (£168,000)

• Degree classification is more likely to impact upon the ‘graduate premium’ than the type of institution i.e. Russell Group or non-Russell Group

Source: BIS Report, August 2013

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/graduates-and-economic-growth-across-countries

Graduate starting salaries at leading UK Employers in 2013

Salary range %

Less than £20,000 2%

£20,001 to £25,000 22%

£25,001 to £30,000 38%

£30,001 to £35,000 7%

£35,001 to £40,000 13%

More than £40,000 8%

Unknown 10%

Salaries vary geographically and by sector Source – The Graduate Market in 2013 www.highfliers.co.uk

The Graduate Market in 2013

• The UK’s leading employers are expecting to increase their graduate recruitment by 2.7% in 2013

• Almost half of employers expect to recruit more graduates in 2013 & a third plan to maintain their intake at 2012 levels

• Employers in 11 of 13 key industries and employment areas are expecting to take on more graduates than in 2012

• Although these recruitment targets are encouraging & build on the increases in vacancies seen in 2011 & 2012, graduate recruitment at the UK’s leading employers remains below pre-recession levels

Source – The Graduate Market in 2013 www.highfliers.co.uk

The Graduate Market in 2013

• Biggest growth in vacancies is expected at public sector employers, retailers and engineering an industrial companies

• Work experience is key – over half the recruiters who took part in research warn that graduates who have no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for graduate programmes

• Starting salaries are likely to remain unchanged for a 4th successive year – at £29,000 per year (mean salary)

Source – The Graduate Market in 2013 www.highfliers.co.uk

Graduate positions

Graduate destinations

Graduate training scheme

Junior management

position

Postgraduate study

Establish your own business

How HE prepares you for employment

Life skills:

responsibility

and maturity

Careers advice,

guidance and

preparation

Presentations,

reports and

projects

Time

management,

decision-

making skills

Develop new

learning styles

Field trips

Work placements

Sandwich

placements

Subject

knowledge

Subject specific

knowledge &

skills, and

generic skills

How to find out more

• www.prospects.ac.uk

• www.graduatesyorkshire.co.uk

• Jobs and careers newspapers/websites

• School or college careers library and staff

• Careers Service

Open Days 2013

Saturday 21 SeptemberWednesday 30 OctoberThursday 31 October