Employers “need convincing” of what postgraduates have to offer

Citation

(2005), "Employers “need convincing” of what postgraduates have to offer", Education + Training, Vol. 47 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2005.00447aab.003

Employers “need convincing” of what postgraduates have to offer

Despite all the benefits that students personally feel they gain from postgraduate study, many believe that employers need convincing of the skills and personal maturity they have to offer, according to research by the Institute for Employment Studies and Sussex University’s Career Development and Employment Centre. As co-author of the report, Higher Degrees of Freedom: The Value of Postgraduate Study, IES research fellow Emma Pollard comments: “Postgraduates feel there is a real difference between their undergraduate and postgraduate journeys, and that the latter is a much more intense and self-managed process. This alone develops skills that are applicable to positions of responsibility, self-direction, initiative and resilience. However, when they set out in the job market, they find they are treated the same as graduates, and these values go unrecognised – even for those who return to the same organisation after study.”

The report shows that postgraduate study is becoming more common, and is growing faster than undergraduate study. Universities need to respond to the diverse expectations at this level, socially, academically and in terms of careers. They can do this, says the report, by:

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  building aspects of employability into the curriculum, especially for non-vocational subjects;

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  encouraging those on less career-oriented paths to think from early on about how they want to use their learning and personal skills in the labour market;

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  helping those on more vocational courses to recognise the added value of their personal development, and the benefits of this in the labour market; and

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  tailoring their support facilities and services to the different needs of postgraduates.

Universities also have a significant role to play in promoting the advantages of the postgraduate experience to employers, says the report. First, postgraduate study has a positive impact on life. Second, postgraduate study has a positive impact on skills. Finally, postgraduate study has a positive impact on work. Most respondents in the study were in high-level roles, working in supportive environments and earning more than they did before their studies.

Over the past five years, the numbers studying at postgraduate level have grown by almost a quarter to just under half a million nationally. Growth is particularly pronounced in full-time study, and among women. The Labour Force Survey indicates that 1.7 million people in employment have higher degree or equivalent level qualifications (up from 1.2 million in 1999).

Higher Degrees of Freedom: The Value of Postgraduate Study, L. Barber, E. Pollard, B. Millmore, V. Gerova IES Report 410, 2004. ISBN 1 85184 333 7, £30.00.