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In brief (Spring 08)

Futuretrack - diversity of careers choices, plans and expectations revealed

Male applicants to higher education have a higher probability of success than females, even controlling for their very different subject choice profiles. However, females are more likely to have a clearer career direction, according to the final report of the first stage of the longitudinal study ‘Futuretrack’.

The report, presenting the findings of a census of applicants who applied through UCAS for full-time places in 2006, also reveals that applicants from ‘middle class’ backgrounds had a higher chance of success even after controlling for their higher entry qualifications. However, coming from a higher managerial and professional background, and having attended a fee-paying school, were associated with lower probability of having a clear career direction, illustrating how many ‘traditional’ applicants move on into higher education without much thought of where it will lead.

See the report Applying for Higher Education: the diversity of career choices, plans and expectations. Data from the second stage of the Futuretrack programme, which looks at these students’ first year experience at higher education, is currently being analysed.

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Graduate employability: mismatch in supply and demand

Communication, team working and integrity are the three most important skills and capabilities rated by employers, but they are far down on the employers’ satisfaction list, a report for the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) by i-graduate revealed.

Instead, employers are most satisfied with their staff’s IT skills, which was ranked 14th in importance, followed by the possession of a postgraduate qualification (33rd in importance) and a good degree classification (15th).

While communication skills was ranked the most important, it only came 16th on the satisfaction scale, although team-working and integrity both fared better at 7th and 9th respectively. The largest satisfaction gaps, however, are on commercial awareness and relevant work experience.

The report is available at www.cihe-uk.com.

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Student juries call for better career development and work placements support

Career and educational development, accommodation and value for money were some of the key issues raised by university students during a series of five student juries, organised as part of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills’s (DIUS) Student Listening Programme.

The juries' key findings include the need for:

  • A greater emphasis by universities on careers and postgraduate opportunities, including a more systematic approach to identifying and supporting work placements.
  • Better information, advice and guidance for students to assist them in making the transition between further and higher education.
  • Simplifying the application process for student financial support.
  • Improving access to quality, affordable accommodation on or around campuses.

The views expressed by the student juries will be used to help inform the work of the new National Student Forum, who will produce an annual report to which Ministers have committed to respond. More information can be found at: www.dius.gov.uk/policy/he_studentjuries.html.

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Consultation launched to strengthen high level skills base

A consultation to ‘build stronger and more flexible links between business and universities’ has been launched by Minister of State for Higher Education, Bill Rammell.

Key areas of the consultation include:

  • how business, trade unions, employers and employees can work better together to encourage demand for high level skills;
  • what incentives are working/required to encourage colleges and universities to be more responsive to business and employer demand;
  • what support or incentives would help colleges and universities extend access to work placements to all their students;
  • how employers can become more involved in providing careers information, advice and guidance for pupils during their entire education; and
  • how to increase the number of people with the specialist qualifications that many businesses desire such as languages and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The consultation will run until 7 July 2008. More information is available at www.dius.gov.uk

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First lifelong support service for graduates

The University of Hertfordshire is launching Graduate Futures, a network offering employment and career development support to its graduates throughout their lifetime.

The network was set up in response to commentary that graduates are not often gainfully rewarded in jobs until much further on in their careers. It aims to raise awareness to employers about the benefits of recruiting graduates and help them find the right graduates. Some of the solutions that Graduate Futures will bring include having resources available in digital format in a virtual careers centre, an enhancement of the managed learning environment, StudyNet, to enable students to customise content and the introduction of a range of tools to aid and support career decision-making.

For more information, please contact Ann Campbell at the University of Hertfordshire Press Office at a.a.campbell@herts.ac.uk

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Science misses out in postgraduate boom

The numbers of UK students taking core science and engineering subjects at postgraduate levels have not risen in line with the overall growth in numbers studying for postgraduate qualifications, according to the report ‘A Higher Degree of Concern’ from the Royal Society.

The report has found that doctoral degrees in all subjects in the UK have increased by 79% in the past ten years, including a large increase in the number of overseas students. However, doctoral degrees in science have dropped from representing 65% to 57% of all PhDs for UK students over this period. Numbers graduating in physics, chemistry and engineering and technology have also failed to grow.

The report is available at http://royalsociety.org/

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University participation 'virtually unchanged' for working classes

The majority of university students are still from middle-class families and participation among the lowest social class has remained virtually unchanged despite attempts by ministers to make universities more inclusive, according to a study from the Institute of Education (http://ioewebserver.ioe.ac.uk).

The report, ‘The Education Debate’ by Professor Stephen Ball, revealed that in 2000, 18% of young people from skilled manual or unskilled backgrounds went to university. While this was up 8 percentage points from 1990, the increase for young people from professional and non-manual backgrounds was 11 percentage points (from 37% to 48%), meaning that the gap between the higher and lower social classes has grown.

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HE initial participation rates fell to 40 per cent

The initial participation rates (IPR) for 17-30 year old English domiciled first-time participants in higher education fell to 40% in 2006/07, from 42% in 2005/06.

The latest provisional figure is only one percentage point higher than the figure for 1999/00, and far below the government’s 50% target for 2010.

More information can be found at: www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000780/index.shtml

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Mathematical science, computing and engineering students more likely to drop out

The first-year continuation rate in mathematical science, computing and engineering subjects is three percentage points below the national average for all subjects, a report from the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts revealed.

Many students in these subjects are found to require additional academic support in mathematical skills. For all subjects, around 28,000 full-time and 87,000 part-time students who started first-degree courses in 2004–05 were no longer in higher education a year later, and there has been little improvement in student retention since 2002. Of the part-time first-degree students who started courses in 2001–02, only 46.9% had graduated after six years and 44.5% had left higher education without completing a qualification.

The report, ‘Staying the course: the retention of students on higher education courses’ is available at www.publications.parliament.uk/.

Content last updated: May 2008