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YOU ARE IN » Home page > News and information main menu > Labour Market Information > October/November 2007

October/November 2007

Education

• IBM/Google venture to help develop computing students’ skills
• Impact of HE to be studied
• UK universities rise in global ranking
• Beyond the honours degree classification
• Universities can aid regional development
• Scottish Government unveils HE funding settlement
• HMRC to support PhD students
• University of Surrey in global collaboration venture

Student issues

• Differences in student living costs revealed
• More students taking part-time work relevant to careers

Employment

• Destination of Scottish graduates from 2005/06
• HESA publishes career progression of graduates study
• Pub industry graduate scheme unveiled
• Wragge & Co signs up with College of Law
• Deloitte’s Chinese recruits arrive for training scheme
• NCWE awards now open
• PwC’s 2008 graduate recruitment scheme announced
• Cadbury launches its 2008 graduate recruitment programme
• Law firm announces pay rise for trainees
• Managing tomorrow's people: The future of work to 2020
• US law firms looking to hire more trainee solicitors
• City law firms in summer school diversity venture

This bulletin summarises reports and surveys, press releases and newspaper articles under the following headings: education; student issues; and employment. In education, a review into the honours classification system was published, as was research examining the contribution that universities can make towards development in their regions. The impact of higher education on regions was also announced. The Royal Bank of Scotland’s Student Living Index was released in November, as was research into student living costs. In employment, career progression of graduates and destinations of graduates from Scottish institutions were published, a number of graduate recruitment schemes were announced and there were various developments in the legal sector.

Education

Google and IBM are collaborating on a new venture that will help students get to grips with computing projects. The companies have put $30m into the project, which aims to improve the technical training that universities offer to computer science students. The two firms will commit hardware and a series of programming tools to give students an insight into what ‘cloud computing’ entails. Six US universities – Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Stanford, University of California at Berkeley, and the universities of Maryland and Washington – have signed up for the venture.

(Google, IBM back 'cloud students', BBC Technology, 9 October 2007.)

A £3m, three-year study into the social and economic impacts of British universities is being launched at Strathclyde University. The study will link researchers from 15 institutions to develop a national picture of how universities affect the UK. It will cover nine research areas, from regional transformation to how universities engage with their local communities, the influences of students and graduates on regions, knowledge exchange between universities and industry, and regional competitiveness of universities.

(New study to reveal impact of universities, Guardian, 8 October 2007.)

This year’s Times Higher Education Supplement (THES)’s university rankings show an improved performance by British universities, though US institutions continue to dominate the list. The top ten were Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge (joint second), followed by Imperial College London, Princeton University, California Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, University College London and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Stanford fell out of the top ten, coming in at 16, while the University of California Berkeley fell from eighth to 22nd.

(UK universities rise up rankings, BBC Education, 8 November 2007.)

The study reviews the honours degree classification system and considers the need - and options for - change. It discusses the need for change in the contexts of a transformed higher education experience and rapidly changing labour market. It calls for the introduction of a ‘Higher Education Achievement Report’ (HEAR) by 2010/2011, as the key vehicle for measuring and recording student achievement. This document would include current academic transcript, while incorporating the European Diploma Supplement.

(Beyond the honours degree classification: Burgess Group Final Report, October 2007.)

Research from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) contends that universities could play a stronger role in the economic, cultural and social development of their regions. Higher Education and Regions: Globally Competitive, Locally Engaged suggests that universities should adopt a wide agenda of regional development and that greater incentives be given to institutions and their staff to engage with small and medium-sized enterprises. It also recommends that countries should develop business demand for university interaction.

(Universities could play a greater role in regional development, says OECD, OECD press release, 19 November 2007.)

The Scottish Government has announced a £5.24 billion investment in Scotland’s further and higher education sectors. The investment, which will be over three years, is in addition to a £100 million capital funding package in 2007/08. The Scottish Government will deliver support for students of £1.55 billion over three years, with £119 million to end the graduate endowment fee, and a phased transition from student loans to grants, starting with part-time students.

(Budget - what it means for education, Scottish Government press release, 14 November 2007.)

Her Majesty’s Customs and Revenue (HMRC) are to provide funding to PhD students and other researchers in a bid to encourage academics to contribute to tax decision-making and formulation of strategy. Researchers will now be able to pitch research proposals to HMRC and then bid for financial support. HMRC will pay out its first round of funding in April 2008.

(Taxman to fund PhD research, Accountancy Age, 11 October 2007.)

The University of Surrey has confirmed a partnership with Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, unveiling plans for degree courses in which modules are taught in different countries. The deal will create courses in management, computing and entrepreneurship, with the aim of allowing Chinese students to study in Surrey and for UK students to spend part of their studies in China. Surrey plans to offer degrees in which students can move between partner universities, which could include those in the US, China and Asia.

(University plans 'global degrees', BBC Education, 6 November 07.)

Student issues

Research by Push.co.uk, a website for university applicants, concludes that living costs are highest for students in London. Push’s cost-of-living index, which is based on student housing, groceries and drinks, found that the Royal Academy of Music and Imperial College were the most expensive institutions, while Bradford, Bolton, Glamorgan and University of Wales in Bangor were the cheapest. There was also a strong link between high living costs and universities with above-average proportion of privately educated students.

(Students' living costs variations, BBC Education, 25 October 2007.)

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)’s latest Student Living Index concludes that 41% of 2,700 undergraduates surveyed will work part time during this year, generating an expected total income of £2.1 billion. It also reveals a 37% rise in students taking career-related or varied employment. While bar jobs and shop work remain to be main sources of students’ earnings, other popular term-time jobs were in marketing, advertising, management consultancy, medicine, insurance and financial services. Students in Dundee, Birmingham and Sheffield were the most likely to have part-time job.

(Students earn £2.1 billion with top term-time jobs, RBS press release, 12 November 2007.)

Employment

Scottish Government statistics reveal that, in 2005/06, 57% of graduates from full-time courses at Scottish higher education institutions and further education colleges obtained permanent or temporary employment in the UK six months after graduation. 3% were working overseas, and 29% continued in study/training. Graduate unemployment remained stable at 5%. 64% of graduates in permanent UK employment at the time of the survey were working as associate professional or technical staff or as professionals. In 2005/06, 74,515 students successfully completed a higher education course in Scotland.

(Higher education graduates and graduate destinations, Scottish Government press release, 2 October 2007.)

An analysis of the first-ever longitudinal survey of leavers from higher education institutions shows that, overall, 80% of employed graduates were working in graduate occupations, compared with 71% when first surveyed three years ago. The median salary of UK-domiciled graduates who were working full time stood at £23,000, with graduates holding postgraduate qualifications earning the highest median salary. The analysis, carried out by the National Centre for Social Research, also covers gender, ethnicity and graduates’ satisfaction with study choices and career to date.

(Career progression of graduates, Higher Education Statistics Agency press release, 6 November 2007.)

Independent brewer Greene King has launched a graduate recruitment scheme for the pub industry. The company’s Industrial Placement Programme will develop graduates for deputy manager jobs in its pubs. Graduates are undertaking a 48-week course at various pubs that have been designated as training houses. Recruits will get hands-on experience of running pubs, in addition to formal studies, that will lead to relevant qualifications. Graduates will also have a personal mentor to guide them through the course.

(Brewer Greene King launches graduate placement scheme for pub trade, Personnel Today, 10 October 2007.)

Birmingham law firm Wragge & Co has collaborated with The College of Law to launch a bespoke LPC course from 2008. Thirty students will be enrolled on the LPC plus programme, studying a commercial-focus curriculum. Students will also take electives in litigation, corporate and real estate. In the north west, meanwhile, Manchester-based law firm Cobbets will run a similar venture with the College of Law, based upon six seats; Halliwells are also running a similar initiative.

(Wragges and College of Law in LPC tie up, The Lawyer, 2 November 2007.)

The first cohort of Chinese graduates have arrived at Deloitte in the UK, as part of the firm’s innovative programme that recruits 20 graduates a year. Graduates participating in the programme, a joint venture between Deloitte in the UK and China, will receive the same training and salary as other graduate trainees, in addition to a paid trip home each year. They will complete the ACA qualification, and be working in audit, corporate tax and technology assurance and advisory.

(Deloitte's first intake of Chinese graduates arrives, Deloitte press release, 2 October 2007.)

This year’s National Council for Work Experience (NCWE) awards are now open for nomination. Since their creation in 2003, the NCWE award scheme has encouraged and rewarded organisations that help students develop employability skills. Covering ten categories, the awards are open to organisations of all sizes and industries, and recognise their provision of short- or long-term, part- or full-time placements. This year’s awards will recognise employers who have achieved an excellent model of work experience after launching a scheme in the last two years.

(Work experience awards open for nominations, Online Recruitment, 9 October 2007.)

PricewaterhouseCoopers has launched its 2008 graduate recruitment programme. The scheme, ‘PwC Experience’, places an emphasis on climate changes and reducing carbon emissions. It will also provide opportunities to work across multiple service and industry areas, while proving specialised roles for those wishing to gain deep experience in one area of the firm. Students can find out more about the firm, its intern and graduate programmes, attend personal skills sessions and find out more about how they can tackle climate change from the PwC Experience website .

(New PricewaterhouseCoopers head of student recruitment challenges students to exercise their emissions at the firm's carbon gym, 18 October 2007.)

Cadbury Schweppes has unveiled its 2008 UK graduate recruitment campaign with a new online chatroom to give would-be recruits the chance to interact with company’s present graduates. The firm has created a website that gives potential trainees the opportunity to chat online and put questions to its graduate recruitment team. The site builds on the success the company had with its graduate blogs in 2005 and MP3 downloads in 2006. The firm is looking to hire 20 graduates for 2008.

(Cadbury Schweppes launches UK graduate recruitment campaign with a new online chatroom, Personnel Today, 7 November 2007.)

Slaughter and May is the latest City of London law firm to raise its trainee and newly qualified lawyers’ pay. Trainees will now earn £38,000 for their first seat and £43,000, representing a rise of more than 5%. Newly qualified solicitors, meanwhile, will take home a basic salary of £65,000. The firm also offers a firmwide bonus of 15%.

(Slaughters dishes out associate pay rises, The Lawyer, 1 November 2007.)

This study is based on 2,739 Chinese, UK and US graduates about to start work with PricewaterhouseCoopers, who were polled about their expectations of work. 82.5% of UK graduates felt they would be working regular office hours and 0.6% thought they would work mainly from home. 93.9% of all respondents believed they will work across geographic borders more than their parents did, and 47.2% envisaged using a language other than their mother tongue at work. 78.4% of all respondents thought they would have 2-5 employers during their careers. Various recommendations for employers are presented.

(Managing tomorrow's people: The Future of work to 2020, PricewaterhouseCoopers, October 2007.)

US law firms based in the City of London are boosting their trainee solicitor numbers. The number of trainees at Shearman & Sterling will rise from 10 in 2006 to 18, while Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton anticipates increasing its trainee intake in London by two-thirds in the next three years. Morrison & Foerster and O’Melveny & Myers, meanwhile, welcomed their first newly qualified associate solicitors this autumn.

(US firms stake City future on organic growth, The Lawyer, 29 October 2007.)

Thirteen City of London law firms have launched a new programme to encourage applications from students studying at non-Russell Group universities. The City Solicitors’ Educational Trust (CSET) summer school programme will offer summer schemes to 100 students yearly at Imperial College. The programme ties into the Sutton Trust’s and College of Law’s Pathways to Law programme. Roger Finbow, partner at Ashurst, said the initiative could help ease the shortage of law graduates available to leading firms.

(City firms team up for summer school diversity drive, The Lawyer, 27 November 2007.)