More Jobs for Graduates!

A recent Skills and Employment Survey by researchers at the Institute of Education shows that graduate jobs are at a record high and unskilled jobs at a record low. The full results will be launched on 20 May and last week the BBC published the first report on this change in the UK labour market.

According to the report, more than a quarter of jobs are now available solely to graduates – this seems to indicate that many more employers in the UK are recognising the skills and qualities a Higher Education degree gives people the chance to develop.

The change is indicative of a shift in the country’s economy towards a more skills based economy and a move away from unskilled jobs. This is a major shift from the situation for example in the 1980s where only one in 10 jobs required a degree level qualification.

This change doesn’t only affect full time jobs, in fact part time workers have seen the proportion of jobs available to unqualified workers fall by more than half since the mid-1980s

The report also shows that the number of people who are ‘under-employed’ i.e. graduates in non-graduate level jobs is falling year on year, meaning that more people with degree who find employment are likely to find it at the right level.

What this report does not address is those who do not find employment in the first place. It only looks at those graduates who are in a job at the moment.

Overall this is good news for graduates, it means less chance of under-employment, it means employers understand the value of a degree better, it means that there is a growing availability in jobs for graduates, and it means that your degree put you in a great position for jobs that come up. What is doesn’t mean is that there are more jobs out there. It shows a positive development for the future of the UK economy, but competition is still fierce, therefore it’s very important to think about your skills from an employer’s perspective, what is it about you that makes you a good graduate? How have you made the most of your University experience? How can you demonstrate the skills that you have developed and how they transfer to this particular post?

Those are just a few of the question to ask yourself when starting an application process, and don’t forget if you need any help with applications, interviews, CV writing and making the most of developing your Employability during your degree, contact the Careers Team on careers@cumbria.ac.uk with your questions and we’ll be happy to help!