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Figures for Prospects.ac.uk

March 2010:

ABCE audited figures

Unique Browsers:

1,167,672

Page Impressions:

5,828,244

(Note: ABCE are now using the term Unique Browsers instead of Unique Users)

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What do graduates do - South East (Spring 08)

The region has a population of around 8 million and is one of the most prosperous regions of the UK. It has significant rural areas and also pockets of severe deprivations. Important employment sectors include retail, pharmaceuticals, IT and business services.

12% of graduates from 2005/6 who were known to be in employment six months after graduating were working in the South East. The region was known to employ 17,620 graduates from 2005/6 six months after graduating, a modest rise of 2.1% from 2003/4 levels of 17,245. There has also been a moderate decrease in the proportion of graduates entering jobs that did not require a degree, down from 38.4% in 2003/4 to 35.1% in 2005/6 (see Table 1 and SOC(HE))

Table 1. Graduate employment categories for graduates working in the South East six months after graduating from 2003/4 to 2005/6
2003/42004/52005/6
Traditional graduate occupations10.6%10.6%11.3%
Modern graduate occupations13.9%13.9%14.6%
New graduate occupations16.1%16.9%17.3%
Niche graduate occupations21.1%20.8%21.7%
Non-graduate occupations38.4%37.7%35.1%

Health is the most important employment area for new graduates in the region, with junior doctors, hospital nurses and midwives the most common destinations for graduates in this job area (Table 2). All three job types have seen increases in recruitment over the last three years, but the next most popular role in health in the region, physiotherapy, saw a fall in recruitment over the period.

Management is also important in the region, but fell between 2003/4 and 2005/6, with a decline in retail management the main factor.

The roles which increased the most in numbers between 2003/4 and 2005/6 in the South East for graduates six months after graduating included nursing, childcare, social workers, junior doctors, IT consultants, architectural technicians and mechanical engineers.

The largest falls in numbers came in retail management, primary teaching, computer programming, physiotherapists and medical scientists.

The region also employed a higher share of graduates from 2005/6 as Army officers, pharmacologists, biochemists, software professionals, IT consultants and chemists than its share of national employment would suggest.

Table 2. Types of work for UK-domiciled graduates working in the South East six months after graduating from 2003/4 to 2005/6
2003/42004/52005/6
Marketing, Sales and Advertising Professionals5.0%4.9%5.6%
Commercial, Industrial and Public Sector Managers10.9%10.3%10.2%
Scientific Research, Analysis & Development Professionals1.6%1.6%1.6%
Engineering Professionals3.0%3.3%3.4%
Health Professionals and Associate Professionals11.0%10.6%11.6%
Education Professionals7.6%7.4%7.4%
Business and Financial Professionals and Associate Professionals6.9%7.7%7.7%
Information Technology Professionals5.1%5.3%5.1%
Arts, Design, Culture and Sports Professionals4.7%5.1%5.2%
Legal Professionals0.5%0.5%0.5%
Social & Welfare Professionals3.0%2.9%3.5%
Other Professionals, Associate Professional and Technical Occupations5.1%5.2%5.3%
Numerical Clerks and Cashiers3.1%2.5%2.3%
Other Clerical and Secretarial Occupations12.3%11.5%10.5%
Retail, Catering, Waiting and Bar Staff8.4%8.9%8.6%
Other Occupations11.8%12.2%11.4%
Unknown Occupations0.1%0%0.1%
Total100%100%100%

The health sector was the most important sector for the first destination of 2005/6 graduates working in the region, although not as dominant as for other regions in the UK (Table 3). Aside from those roles covered above, other important jobs in the sector included management, administration, occupational therapy, dentistry, radiography, chiropody and social work.

Table 3. Employment sectors for UK-domiciled graduates working in the South East six months after graduating in 2005/6
Employment sectorPercentage of graduates
Health and social work17.0%
Finance, law, consulting and related activities13.2%
Education13.1%
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles9.7%
Public administration and defence; social security7.9%

43.1% of graduates from 2005/6 who started work in the region six months after graduating were employed by SMEs - with IT occupations being prominent. Graduates working in this region were also more likely than the national average to have found their job through a recruitment agency, with graduates entering the pharmaceutical and finance industries particularly likely to use them.

Content last updated: May 08