UK

Citation

(2009), "UK", Education + Training, Vol. 51 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2009.00451bab.004

UK

Article Type: Research news From: Education + Training, Volume 51, Issue 2

The flexible professional in the knowledge society – new demands on higher education in Europe

The REFLEX project was funded by the European Commission. The project surveyed graduates in 13 European countries five years after their graduation in 2000. The UK part of the study was undertaken by the Centre for Higher Education Research and Information (CHERI) at the Open University. The survey asked graduates to comment on their higher education and employment experiences, the competences they believed they required in their workplaces, their roles and responsibilities within the workplace, and their attitudes to their higher education in the light of those experiences.

Because the graduate samples were intended to be representative of students on programmes considered to be the main “exit” qualification before graduates entered the labour market, most graduates surveyed from other European countries had undertaken masters-level study, while UK graduates tended to have Bachelor’s-level qualifications. On the whole, UK graduate respondents were younger and had spent less time in higher education than their European counterparts.

However, the series of reports suggests that UK higher education has a different relationship to the labour market than other European countries: programmes are, on the whole, less closely related to the workplace. On entry to the labour market, on average UK graduates have studied less vocational subjects and undertaken less work experience than their European counterparts. UK graduates believed themselves to be less well-prepared for employment than graduates from other European countries (Figure 2).

Source: Brennan, J. (2008), The Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society – New Demands on Higher Education in Europe, Overview report to HEFCE by Centre for Higher Education, The Open University.

Brennan’s overview report sums up as follows:

UK graduates have spent less time in higher education, have acquired lower-level qualifications, have studied less strongly vocational subjects, have received less work experience through placements or internships, feel less well-prepared for their jobs after graduation and receive more employer-supported training in order to perform them.

However the research also indicates that as well as providing more training, UK employers give more attention to the assessment and supervision of their graduate employees. There is some evidence that UK employers put greater emphasis on where rather than what the graduate has studied, giving some support for the view that it is the “selection” function rather than the “training” function that is most important in UK higher education. Overall, the study found that five years after graduation UK and European salary levels and levels of unemployment are comparable.

Further information about the REFLEX project can be found at: www.reflexproject.org

Graduate recruiters want soft skills above academic qualifications

A recent study by GRADdirect, part of Reed Consulting, into what organisations look for from their graduates and the factors that influence whether a graduate succeeds or fails has revealed that employers value qualities such as team working, good communication skills and the ability to appreciate others’ perspectives above academic qualifications.

The findings showed that over half of the organisations surveyed stated that graduate recruitment was key to building a greater pool of candidates available for succession planning and promotion. The study also revealed that recruiters broadly agree on the characteristics they look for in a graduate and highlighted what they think are the key differentiators that mark out the most sought after and strongest candidates:

• •

  Communication and the ability to work in teams are critical personal attributes as mentioned by 62 per cent of recruiters.

• •

  Interestingly, characteristics related to emotional intelligence, such as the ability to appreciate others’ perspectives are seen as highly important to 42 per cent of organisations.

• •

  Looking at intellectual capability, graduate recruiters place the greatest emphasis on transferable skills such as the ability to grasp complex information (68 per cent) and to see problems from different angles (50 per cent) rather than an individual’s academic ability, where only 27 per cent saw this as very important for graduates.

• •

  An individual’s motivation for personal development is regarded as an essential indicator of potential success by 72 per cent of recruiters with the majority stating that the graduate’s motivational drivers need to be aligned to those of the organisation if they were to progress within their company.

£250m to create new wave of scientists and engineers for Britain

The biggest ever investment in training the scientists and engineers Britain needs for its future has been announced by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council – the UK funding body for science and engineering. Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson, announced the £250million initiative, which will create 44 training centres across the UK and generate over 2000 PhD students. They will tackle some of the biggest problems currently facing Britain such as climate change, energy, our ageing population, and high-tech crime.

The initiative is widely supported by business and industry. Professor Jeremy Watson, global director of research at Arup, said: “Businesses like Arup need a good supply of highly-qualified scientists with the right skills to further innovation in the design of sustainable towns, cities and the wider environment. They need to understand how business works and also be able to turn their best ideas into a successful business proposition.”

Arup is a partner on one of the new EPSRC centres, which aims to create zero-carbon buildings. It will be based at the University of Reading and will reduce carbon emissions in construction, integrate zero-carbon energy sources, such as solar cells and combined heat and power systems, with demand reduction tools including smart meters and consumption feedback devices.

This approach to training has been extensively piloted by EPSRC through a small number of thriving Engineering Doctorate Centres and Doctoral Training Centres in Complexity Science, Systems Biology and at the Life Sciences Interface. This new investment builds on the success of these and will establish a strong group of centres, which will rapidly establish a pre-eminent international reputation for doctoral training.

The multidisciplinary centres bring together diverse areas of expertise to train engineers and scientists with the skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle today’s evolving issues. They also create new working cultures, build relationships between teams in universities and forge lasting links with industry. Students in these centres will receive a formal programme of taught coursework to develop and enhance their technical interdisciplinary knowledge, and broaden their set of skills. Alongside this they will undertake a challenging and original research project at PhD level.

Further information is available at: www.epsrc.ac.uk

The “no compromise” graduate

Even in the current economy there are aspects of employment graduates think are too important to compromise on, finds new research “Graduates into Employment” conducted by TMP Worldwide. It would be obvious to think that any job is a good job at the moment, however, even with the recession; there are some areas that graduates will not compromise on. A total of 71 per cent say they won’t compromise on training, as this is very important to them. Over half (52 per cent) of graduates won’t accept a job with poor work-life balance; however 47 per cent would be prepared to in the current market conditions. A quarter of graduates won’t compromise on accepting less in terms of rotational placements from their employers.

Salary and location, surprisingly, are the areas of compromise. Lower salaries would be accepted by 68 per cent with 31 per cent sticking to their guns and refusing to accept a lower starting salary. A total of 66 per cent would move to where the jobs are, while 33 per cent say that location is too important to them and would not relocate for a job. One area of compromise is the sectors that graduates will work in. There are clear industry sector winners and losers in this economic climate. The Civil Service and Teaching careers appear far more attractive.

The number of students looking to work in Investment Banking has decreased. Only 4 per cent would be interested in working in this sector, compared to 14 per cent if there were no credit crunch. Retail appears something of a default option. Just 4 per cent of final year students want to work in the sector, but 14 per cent end up there. Vocational careers such as law and engineering seem less affected.

Gap years popular as graduates try to escape the downturn

A high number of undergraduates still anticipate taking a gap year as the UK economy looks uncertain. Research conducted by TMP Worldwide and TARGETjobs shows that 12 per cent of penultimate and final year university students are definite about taking a gap year, while 42 per cent think they probably will take a year off. Of those not taking a gap year, over half (51 per cent) just want to get cracking with their career while a quarter (26 per cent) are put off by costs. A total 76 per cent of undergraduates want the space and time to think about what they really want to do with their careers and 59 per cent wanted to broaden their view of the world and 54 per cent want to develop the skills they think employers want. Fun was still a part of it, with over a quarter (28 per cent) just wanting to have fun.

The main skills that students believe they will develop during a gap year are:

• •

  Independence (61 per cent).

• •

  Communication skills (50 per cent).

• •

  Cultural awareness (45 per cent).

• •

  Language skills (34 per cent).

• •

  Teamwork (22 per cent).

• •

  Entrepreneurialism (20 per cent).

• •

  Commercial skills (17 per cent).

• •

  Customer awareness (7 per cent).

Undergraduates on the whole do feel immune to the market slump with 41 per cent believing it to be a pretty good graduate jobs market. Although 37 per cent feel that the current job market is a bit quiet, only 12 per cent believe that the credit crunch is having a real impact. Responses were split in thirds regarding confidence in getting a job compared to six months ago. A total of 34 per cent felt more confident, 35 per cent felt the same and 31 per cent felt less confident.

What younger workers really want

Corporate and social responsibility is not as important to Generation Y as previously thought, a new study suggests. Instead, bonuses and salary considerations are paramount The so-called Generation Y – those born after 1982 – expect more employee benefits than older workers and value salary more highly than corporate social responsibility, according to a survey by recruitment specialist FreshMinds Talent.

The research found that Generation Y was generally more demanding than both Generation X (those born between 1964 and 1981) and the Baby Boomers (1946-1963) when it came to work perks. The most important benefits were seen as a contributory pension scheme and flexible working (68 per cent), while 50 per cent thought sabbaticals were important and 28 per cent pointed to discounted gym memberships and a signing-on bonus when joining the company.

The poll also went some way to disproving the notion that younger workers are preoccupied with a company’s social and ethical policies. Generation Y would take a higher paid job over one with a focus on corporate and social responsibility, the study found, although they would be prepared to take a lower salary in return for flexible working hours, the ability to work from home and better training opportunities.

Exploring the value of a creative education: a new study of the career patterns of creative arts graduates

Autumn 2008 saw the launch of “Creative graduates, Creative futures,” a new detailed study of graduates and their career patterns up to six years after qualifying from UK courses in art, design, crafts and media. More than 25,000 UK and international graduates from 2002, 2003 and 2004 will be contacted by their universities to explore how their degree courses prepared them for their working lives, the diversity of work entered and career routes into creative industries and other sectors.

This ambitious project, the largest study of its kind, is the result of a funding partnership involving 26 UK higher education institutions and the Council for Higher Education in Art and Design (CHEAD). The project is based at and supported by the University of the Arts London, working with a research team from the Institute for Employment Studies (IES).

Elizabeth Rouse, Pro-Rector at University of the Arts London, and Chair of the project Steering Group says:

There is growing recognition of the importance of creativity, the creative industries and the linkages beyond to the wider economy. We in art and design education need to understand more about graduates’ contribution to the success of the UK’s creative economy, how career patterns are changing and what skills and attributes graduates need to be successful. In comparison with other subjects, creative arts graduates seem to take longer to establish their careers, with a higher proportion than in other subjects being self-employed. Art and design education encourages creativity, invention, resourcefulness and entrepreneurial approaches, and we need hard data on how these skills are utilised in the creative industries and evidence of their application in the wider economy.

Figure 2 Study programme was a good basis for …

The new study is timely, as applications to higher education courses in the creative arts maintain popularity (9 per cent increase from 2006-2007, compared with 5.6 per cent in all subjects); added to which there have been significant changes in the graduate labour market, in the creative industries, and in working practices in all sectors since “Destinations and reflections”, the last detailed study, involving nearly 2,000 art and design graduates ten years ago. This was one of the first studies to provide evidence of synergy between higher education and creative industries growth. Findings demonstrated graduates’ generic capability for wider roles, their adaptability, and a multi-tracking approach to working, involving considerable ingenuity, tenacity and collaborative working.

The methodology will involve a mix of survey activities, including postal and on-line census questionnaire timed to start in September 2008, followed by more qualitative surveys and telephone interviews, with findings being presented in autumn 2009. Emma Pollard who is leading the research team on behalf of the Institute for Employment Studies says:

Graduates from arts and design HE have much more complex career paths than those from other disciplines; and the unique nature of their study, their transitions to the labour market and shaping of early careers can be lost in graduate surveys with a broad focus. It is important to ask the right questions to fully understand the range of work activities these graduates undertake, the motivations that shape their career decisions and the wide contribution they make to the economy and society.

The findings will critically inform higher education policy and course provision, and provide a context for the innovative work being undertaken by individual HEIs at regional level in areas such as employer engagement, entrepreneurship and skills development.

Tracking down graduates qualifying up to six years ago is proving to be a challenge, and the research team and staff at each institution are using a variety of methods to reach graduates, through employer, professional, alumni and social networks. The research team is keen to hear from those completing first degrees or foundation degrees in art, design, crafts or media practice, in 2002, 2003 and 2004 at ANY UK university or college, who would like to contribute their career stories and experiences to the study. Information on how join in, about the project, and research in progress may be found on the web site: www.employment-studies.co.uk/projects/creative/

FE recruitment and approaches to risk

The Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) has published a report of its research into further education and sixth-form colleges and their approaches to risk-taking in recruitment. The research work was prompted by the governing body of an FE college questioning its own approach, and asking to what extent CEL supported the sector in making perceived high-risk appointments to senior roles, potentially creating wider diversity in senior management.

The research found that colleges appeared to be recruiting candidates from a wide range of age groups, and there was evidence of appointments from outside the sector, with consideration being given to the importance of business skills and entrepreneurship, as well as to knowledge of the curriculum and a track record in FE. There was, however, evidence of more conservative recruitment behaviours too, such as favouring candidates with lengthy experience but not too close to retirement. Many governing bodies tended to err on the side of caution when making selection decisions.

Certain factors, such as the tight labour market conditions in London, appeared important in promoting more risk-taking in recruitment. Colleges employing search agencies and more objective recruitment methods brought a more diverse range of candidates to the attention of their senior recruitment panels. On the other hand, where outgoing or experienced principals were involved in advising a recruitment panel, interviewees expressed their concerns about the dangers of recruiting in the same image.