beyond first destinations: graduate employability survey

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2004 5: 9Active Learning in Higher EducationAnita Shah, Katherine Pell and Pam Brooke

Beyond First Destinations: Graduate Employability Survey

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Beyond firstdestinationsGraduate employability survey

ANITA SHAH, KATHER INE PELL & PAM BROOKEBournemouth University, UK

A B S T R AC T The First Destination Survey of new graduates providesonly a snapshot of graduate employment. This longitudinal studyexplores more fully the career pathways taken by undergraduates fromtwo programmes and examines which skills acquired at universitycontributed to successful employment and development of theircareers. It was found that 99 percent of respondents made a successfultransition from higher education to the workplace, with 56 percent ina job related to their first-degree subject. Career pathways were diverseand half of graduates undertook further study/training at various stagesto improve their career prospects. Skills identified as most useful wereoral and written communication, teamworking, personal organization,self-motivation and subject knowledge. Areas recommended forcurriculum development were subject-specific practical skills, infor-mation technology and additional support with careers advice andguidance.K E Y WO R D S : cur r i cu lum deve l opment , g raduat e emp loyab i l i ty,g raduat e sk i l l s

Introduction

The need for graduates to develop a range of personal and intellectual skillsbeyond specific expertise in an academic or vocational discipline isbecoming increasingly important. Existing surveys of graduate employersin general or specific sectors (e.g. Court et al., 1995; Harvey, 1994; Harveyet al., 1997) have confirmed that a first degree is often viewed as a neces-sary, but not sufficient, qualification alone: the core or transferable skills ofthe individual are of far more significance. In response to this finding, manyuniversities – including Bournemouth – have asserted their commitmentto recognizing and providing for the development of such skills in orderto enable their students to succeed in finding employment. This has led toan interest in measuring the employability of graduates beyond their firstdestinations. To date, few studies have considered the perspectives of the

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graduates themselves on such aspects as transition to the workplace, skillrequirements, or their reaction to the teaching of skills. This informationis essential if the quality of the educational experience is to be improved.

This project was funded from the Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund(HEFCE) with two primary aims:

• to track the career pathways of graduates; and• to identify which skills developed at Bournemouth University have

contributed to their careers.

BSc Environmental Protection and BSc Heritage Conservation graduatesfrom the School of Conservation Sciences were selected to be trialled. At thetime of the project, these courses had been running for eight and ten yearsrespectively. The BSc Environmental Protection course combines science,management, legal and regulatory aspects of environmental protection suchas pollution, waste management, ecological evaluation, marine conservationand health and safety. Employment prospects for graduates include workwith government regulatory agencies, manufacturing industry and a rangeof organizations concerned with nature conservation and countrysidemanagement. The BSc Heritage Conservation course integrates sciences,humanities and management in the study of landscapes, historic buildings,monuments and artefact collections. Employment prospects for graduatesinclude work in national parks, museums, education services, attractionsand historic sites, conservation trusts and local government.

Methodology

A self-administered postal questionnaire was developed with reference toa number of studies relating to graduate employability (Anderson, 1999;Connor and Pollard, 1996; Department for Education and Employment,Careers Service Unit, Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services andInstitute of Employment Research, [DfEE, CSU, AGCAS and IER] 1999;Higher Education Statistics Agency [HESA], 2000; Lamble, 1998; NationalCommittee into Higher Education [NCIHE], 1997; Nove et al., 1997;Purcell and Pitcher, 1996; Purcell et al., 1999). Although a number of thesereports had identified the skills required by graduates in the workplace, theydid not address those specifically provided by the BSc EnvironmentalProtection (E/P) and BSc Heritage Conservation (H/C) degree pro-grammes. Consequently, for this section of the survey, a mapping exercisewas completed with course leaders in order to generate a list of relevantattributes for incorporation. The entire population of E/P and H/C gradu-ates were targeted which, from course inception to the 1999 cohort,amounted to some 212 and 261 individuals respectively. The 2000 cohort

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could not be included due to new HESA regulations relating to the annualFirst Destination Survey. A total of 204 questionnaires were received fullycompleted, providing an effective response rate of 54 percent. This can beconsidered a satisfactory return when compared with the results attainedby similar research with response rates of 42 percent (Anderson, 1999),11 percent (Lamble, 1998) and 53 percent (Connor and Pollard, 1996).

One issue related to non-response is potential bias in the results. In anattempt to alleviate this, information was gathered on personal character-istics to assess whether those who did not return a questionnaire were inany way different from those who did. Small variations were observedbetween the respondent sample and the total population so the chi-squaretest was applied to the raw data to establish whether these differences werestatistically significant. As no associations were identified, it is possible tostate that the sample is broadly representative of the whole, and the findingsare not biased in any significant way.

Experiences since graduation

Current statusResponses were examined to establish the main activity that was beingundertaken by graduates at the time of the survey, and sufficient data wasobtained to account for all but two of the respondents. The results illustratethat overall, 90 percent were in employment (including six who were self-employed), 3 percent were engaged in full-time postgraduate study, and afurther 4 percent claimed to be unemployed.

Further study/trainingOne hundred and two graduates (50% of the sample) indicated that theyhad undertaken some form of further study since completing their Bachelors degree at Bournemouth. The majority of this group (68%) hadexperienced only one period of further study, but one fifth recorded two,and a further 10 percent described three or more. The length of time spentpursuing this activity ranged from one month to a total of four years,although the most common occurrence was 12 months (for 23%).Although 39 percent of graduates began their further study within the first6 months after graduating, the majority (52%) had taken some time outbefore continuing with their education: 14 percent returned one year later;13 percent waited for two years, and peaks were also observed at the 36-and 48-month stage. This may, in part, be attributed to issues of funding:

Since graduating I have returned to employment based on my old skills as anengineer. The main reason for this is that I want to work at consultancy level

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in an ecological EIA area. To do this I need a postgraduate qualificationminimum and I am working towards this end. Engineering provides thepathway with the greatest financial return and I have approx. paid off 80% ofmy debt. I am in the process of applying for a place on MSc EIA, Auditing &Management Systems at UEA starting Sept. 2001. (Environmental graduate,1999 cohort.)

Type of further study The highest level of further study pursued wasa Doctorate (4% were currently studying for a PhD or MPhil), just over onethird had taken a Masters degree, 15 percent a postgraduate certificate ordiploma, and 9 percent a PGCE. A large proportion had experienced work-based vocational training that encompassed NVQs (14%), as well as variousshort freestanding courses. Eleven percent had undertaken professionalqualifications, which were interpreted as being of a level equivalent to anundergraduate degree.

Reasons for further study Overall, the majority had chosen toundertake their further study in order to enhance employment prospects,which included 41 percent who stated that it had been essential for thecareer they wished to develop, as can be seen from Figure 1.

It is too early to assess whether the strategy of pursuing additionalqualifications to enhance employability has paid off for those undertakinga Doctorate, as the four graduates who had recorded this activity were stillcompleting their research at the time of this survey. However, analysis doesseem to support a link with securing relevant and graduate-level employ-ment for those respondents who had obtained a Masters or PG Dip/Cert.Of the 40 individuals who had completed this level of further study, 70percent claimed that their current work was of a level suitable for a graduate


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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Other

Develop more specialist skills

Develop broader skills

Change career

Improve job prospects

Essential for chosen career

Figure 1 Reasons for taking further study

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with 65 percent stating their job met both objectives. All of the graduateswho had taken a PGCE/Cert. Ed. had gone on to secure teaching positions,and two-thirds of those who had attained a professional qualification werenow in graduate-level jobs.

UnemploymentAlthough only 4 percent of the sample were observed to be currently outof work (1% had been unemployed or unavailable for work since gradu-ation), just over half (107 individuals) had experienced a period of unem-ployment at some point in their career. The total amount encounteredranged from 0 (48% had never been unemployed), up to a maximum of65 months, but only for one respondent representing 0.5 percent of theentire group. In between these two extremes were 32 percent who had beenunemployed for no more than six months. These respondents were thenasked to state when they had experienced their first period of unemploy-ment. The most common occurrence was immediately after graduation (54individuals), with 81 percent having been unemployed within the first sixmonths after leaving Bournemouth, as can be seen from Figure 2.

Subject studied, class of degree obtained, year of graduation and genderwere found to have no statistical significance when examining factors thatmight influence unemployment. However, a positive correlation was foundto exist when testing age (rs = .345; p < .01), suggesting that older gradu-ates are more likely to experience difficulties with assimilation back intothe job market. Whilst this association should be interpreted with care ascausal linkages are inevitably complex and inter-related, it is also worth


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Figure 2 First period of unemployment

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

months after graduation

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noting that several of the mature graduates who contributed to this surveyexpressed a greater interest in the personal and social benefits of theirdegree than career-related opportunities. One former student who has beenunemployed for the entire time since completing his studies commented:

It is fair to say that my age has proven highly detrimental to developing anykind of career. This belief is reinforced by local unemployment office statisticsregarding age/career choices/availability. This in no way reflects uponBournemouth University. I feel that the course was beneficial to me for reasonstoo numerous to state. (Environmental graduate, 1998 cohort)

Voluntary workGiven the fact that most advertised posts for conservation-related employ-ment ask for experience, it was surprising to find that only one third of allthe respondents had undertaken some form of voluntary work during theircareers. Of these, fewer E/P graduates had recorded this activity than H/C– 37 percent compared with 63 percent – although subject studied wasfound to have no statistical bearing on the results. The majority whoengaged in this pursuit did so within the first six months after finishingtheir degree, and the most commonly cited period was one month or less(10 individuals) ranging up to a total of three years for one H/C graduate.

Graduates were asked to explain why they had chosen to devote theirtime to unpaid employment and the data gathered was openly coded toidentify the main response categories. Almost 50 percent recognized theimportance of this activity as a means of breaking through the ‘no experi-ence, no job’ barrier:

I couldn’t get paid work in conservation and needed the experience to do so.(Environmental graduate, 1996 cohort)

The reason for undertaking voluntary work was to gain practical experience inthe field of my chosen career. I found that job applications usually required aminimum of two years experience, which I didn’t quite have. (Heritagegraduate, 1997 cohort)

To supplement my career. No experience in museums = no job. (Heritagegraduate, 1998 cohort)

Just over one quarter specifically stated that they felt their voluntary workwould enhance their employability, which included six respondents whothought that it was the only way to secure work in their chosen field. Otheranswers given included personal interest/desire to help others, togain/develop skills and to network and, on the whole, the voluntary workwas related to degree subject – only 9 percent stated otherwise.


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EmploymentNinety-nine percent of respondents described their experiences of paidemployment since graduating from their first degree (only three indi-viduals recorded none: two had been unemployed throughout this timeand one had been continuously unavailable for work). Approximately onethird had held two different jobs and just under one quarter had held three,although 2 percent had held over six. The length of time spent undertakingemployment activities ranged from 3 months up to a total of 92 for oneH/C graduate from the 1993 cohort. The most popular time to startemployment was straight after the final exam period (28% stated that theyhad begun work immediately), and 85 percent had secured their first jobwithin six months of completing their degree. The only peak observedthereafter encompassed those graduates who had delayed entry into thelabour market due to full-time postgraduate study, as can be seen fromFigure 3.

Type of employment Graduates were asked to provide details of theircurrent job title and the nature of their employer’s business, which wasthen used to code each position into the Standard Occupational Classifi-cation (SOC) and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) systems to ensurecontinuity with First Destination Survey data. The results of the latter areillustrated by Figure 4.

BSc Environmental Protection Three-quarters of the E/P graduateswho were currently employed fell into the top three SOC categories:


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0

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60

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100

months after graduation

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Figure 3 First period of employment

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Managers & Administrators (18%), Professionals (18%), and AssociateProfessional & Technical (39%), and these can be defined as occupationssuitable for graduates (HESA, 1995). High proportions within each groupwere working in the environmental field (57, 79 and 77%, respectively).The public sector employed 29 percent of graduates and included localauthorities and government organizations such as MAFF and DERA. Jobswith the local authorities included countryside rangers, a sustainabilitypolicy coordinator, a technical pollution officer and an asbestos consultant.The second most popular category was the private sector attracting one fifthof the total. Four graduates were working for environmental consultancyfirms (one was employed at director level), and a further four withinenvironmental regulation as an environmental protection officer, a wastelicensing officer, a health and safety adviser and a commercial manager. Twoindividuals held research positions, one in the marine area, the other inagriculture. Seventeen percent of graduates were employed within the othercommunity sectors, which encompassed graduates in the field of environ-mental conservation and management. Two were currently employed aschemists within waste disposal, and a further two were working for WessexWater.

BSc Heritage Conservation The top three SOC categories for H/Cgraduates were Managers & Administrators (33%), Professionals (31%),


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0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Not known

Other community activities

Health & social work

Education

Public services

Business & research activities

Financial

Transport, storage & communication

Wholesale & retail

Construction

Electricity, gas & water supply

Manufacturing

Agriculture, forestry & fishing

H/C

E/P

Figure 4 Sector distribution of current employment

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and Clerical & Secretarial (13%). Slightly lower percentages were noted tobe working in the heritage field from within these groups when comparedwith the E/P results (51, 73 and 7%, respectively). Again, the public sectorwas a key employer – 21 percent of graduates had secured work here, 14of whom were currently employed within various local authority depart-ments. The most common job recorded by this group was conservationofficer (seven, including one at senior level), although countryside,planning and waste were among the other areas recorded. The othercommunity category accounted for one fifth of the respondents. Thisincluded 11 working in the museum/art gallery sector typically specializ-ing in conservation, collections, general management or exhibitions. TheNational Trust and English Heritage currently employed a further four andtwo individuals respectively. Education proved to be the third largestemployer with 19 percent working in management, research, adminis-tration and as teachers/lecturers.

Relevant employment The survey results illustrate that both degreecourses prepare students for entry into a diverse range of careers. Overall,56 percent of graduates stated that their current job was relevant to theirfirst-degree subject: 54 percent for E/P and 58 percent for H/C, althoughonly 37 percent of first jobs (post degree) were found to be relevant (29%for E/P and 43% for H/C), indicating that it often takes time for graduatesto find work in their area of interest. For the proportion of graduates whodid not pursue related employment, numerous jobs were recorded.Professional occupations included a financial market analyst with Reuters,a media lecturer, a professional rugby player and a TV journalist for E/P,and a police constable, a British Army forward troop commander, an airtraffic controller and a nurse for H/C.

Graduate-level employment Respondents were asked to define eachperiod of employment in terms of whether they considered it to be of alevel suitable for a graduate. Comparison was then made between theresponses given for initial and current jobs in an attempt to ascertain careerprogression. Whilst only 27 percent believed their first job was a graduateposition, this figure rose to 65 percent when discussing current circum-stances (68% E/P, 62% H/C), supporting the concept of career develop-ment for the majority. It was found many graduates on completion of theirdegree obtained casual employment often to pay off student debts, whilstthey also searched for other employment. Casual work included workingfor job agencies, doing office work, bar and hotel work. Much of thisemployment was also not relevant to their degree. Analysis by cohortshowed a general declining proportion from both degree courses in the


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number of respondents obtaining graduate-level work, however, the resultswere not found to be statistically significant. This trend may simply beaccountable to time, as earlier cohorts would have had longer over whichto establish their careers.

Difficulties experienced in finding appropriate employmentExpansion in the number of people seeking employment within theenvironmental and heritage sectors over recent years has not been matchedby a similar rise in job opportunities. The respondents highlighted thisissue when asked to describe any difficulties they had encountered infinding appropriate work, as shown in Figure 5.

Although 10 individuals specifically stated that they had experienced noproblems, 182 respondents contributed to this question, representing 89percent of the entire sample. The most commonly cited difficulty was a lackof jobs (71%), with just under two-thirds considering the graduate labourmarket to be highly competitive. Lack of relevant work experience was afactor for 59 percent and a further quarter referred to a lack of work-relatedskills, serving to emphasize the benefits of voluntary work for securingconservation-related employment.

Salaries Finally, graduates were asked to provide details of their currentemployment gross annual salary. If working part-time, they were requestedto list the equivalent full-time salary for their position. Eighty-four percent(171 graduates) recorded this information, as demonstrate in Figure 6.

The average (median) salary was £16,000 per annum although 47percent were earning less than this, and levels ranged from £8000 to a


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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Other

Degree too specialised

Degree too general

Relocation

Student debt

Post-grad qualification

Job-seeking skills

Work-related skills

Relevant experience

Few suitable jobs

Competition

Figure 5 Problems encountered in finding suitable employment

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maximum of £42,000. The top earning 2 percent were all employed withinconsultancy, two of the three graduates stating that their job was relevantto their degree subject. At the other end of the scale, 2 percent were receiv-ing £8000 which, for the majority, was through non-related work.

Skills

Curriculum changes had been made to both courses over time to reflectchanges in staffing and to keep pace with new developments in the field ofstudy. These changes had included an expansion in the range of optionsavailable (e.g. Land Contamination & Reclamation) and changes in specificunit content. However, these modifications to the course were not thoughtto have altered the generic skills developed on each course. Graduates wereasked to rate a list of 18 skills according to how important they perceivedeach had been to their careers, and how successful they believed theirdegree course had been in developing each attribute. The results arediscussed for each discipline respectively.

BSc Environmental ProtectionAll of the skills presented in the questionnaire were perceived to be of somelevel of importance, which is encouraging as it implies that the course isnot delivering any skills that are not found to be of value to careers aftergraduation. Fourteen attributes were classed as being ‘very important’, andwhen asked to identify those considered to be the most useful, oral andwritten communication, teamworking, personal organization and self-motivation achieved the highest overall scores. The least useful skillsrecorded included health and safety awareness, numerical reasoning,business awareness and technical specialist skills, but despite this, nonewere thought to be unimportant. These are shown in Table 1.


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Figure 6 Current employment annual salary

< £10,000

£10,001–£15,000

£15,001–£20,000

> £20,000

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Table 1 Importance and success – BSc Environmental Protection

Importance to career Success of degree———————————————————— ————————————————————very important important not important successful adequate unsuccessful

(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Oral Communication 80 19 1 18 65 17Written Communication 64 30 6 46 51 2Teamworking 63 35 2 32 52 16Managing People 33 48 20 10 38 52Critical Analysis 41 46 13 42 50 8Decision-making 65 33 2 17 65 18Problem-solving 57 40 2 30 57 13Numerical Reasoning 22 55 23 26 56 18Personal Organization 71 27 2 34 42 24Self-motivation 76 22 2 35 48 17Data Gathering, Handling, Interpretation

& Evaluation 43 42 15 51 44 5Information Technology 55 37 7 17 48 35Business Awareness 40 34 27 11 47 42Project Management 49 36 15 25 53 22Subject Knowledge 51 37 12 34 50 16Technical Specialist Skills 37 35 28 12 51 37Ability to Design & Conduct Investigations 29 40 31 37 47 16Health & Safety Awareness 40 36 24 27 50 23

Note: Results calculated as % of those responding to question.

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Fifty-eight percent of the graduates expressed satisfaction with the wayin which their course had equipped them with the listed skills (8% hadstated that they were very satisfied). Although only one attribute was high-lighted as having been developed successfully – data gathering, handling,interpretation and evaluation – sixteen of the remainder were described as‘adequate’ by the majority. However, of concern is the fact that just overhalf of those who responded to this question perceived that managingpeople was a skill that had been developed unsuccessfully.

BSc Heritage ConservationAgain, all of the skills were perceived to be of some importance, as can beseen from Table 2, with 14 being rated as ‘very important’. Of these, oralcommunication, written communication and subject knowledge weredeemed to be the most useful. Numerical reasoning, business awareness andability to design and conduct investigations were the three least useful skillsrecorded by this group, although these were all still believed to be import-ant nonetheless.

On the whole, graduates were satisfied with the development of skills onthe Heritage degree programme: 60 percent expressed this, which encom-passed 12 percent who reported that they had been very satisfied. However,although three attributes were described as being delivered successfully –written communication, self-motivation, and data gathering, handling,interpretation and evaluation – a further three areas were identified as being‘unsuccessful’ – managing people, business awareness, and health andsafety awareness.

Importance and success cross-tabulationFor each skill, the scores obtained for importance and success werecompared in order to explore potential relationships. Patterns wereidentified that could be used to suggest areas that might require somedegree of improvement, for example, where an attribute was perceived tobe ‘important’ but the course was rated as being ‘unsuccessful’ in develop-ment. These findings have been illustrated in Table 3 and are divided intothree categories.

Although it should be acknowledged that the relative importance givento skills did depend upon the type of occupations that individuals hadpursued, managing people and information technology were recognizedby graduates from both courses as requiring a greater emphasis. Conse-quently, it is unsurprising that these two attributes achieved high scoreswithin responses given to the next question, that asked graduates to identifyany skills which they felt had not been developed through their programmeof study but should have been.


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Table 2 Importance and success – BSc Heritage Conservation

Importance to career Success of degree———————————————————— ————————————————————very important important not important successful adequate unsuccessful

(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Oral Communication 78 19 3 33 61 6Written Communication 67 29 4 56 39 5Teamworking 65 32 3 33 55 12Managing People 44 34 22 6 36 58Critical Analysis 43 41 15 28 54 18Decision-making 59 39 2 21 55 24Problem-solving 60 39 1 23 58 19Numerical Reasoning 23 41 36 9 58 33Personal Organization 73 26 1 41 42 17Self-motivation 77 21 2 43 41 16Data Gathering, Handling, Interpretation

& Evaluation 54 32 14 52 41 7Information Technology 52 38 11 19 48 33Business Awareness 32 39 29 13 43 44Project Management 48 33 18 29 50 21Subject Knowledge 56 27 17 39 48 13Technical Specialist Skills 38 28 34 15 43 42Ability to Design & Conduct Investigations 27 38 35 20 51 29Health & Safety Awareness 37 44 20 7 38 55

Note: Results calculated as % of those responding to question.

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Skills needed that were not developed through degreecourseFifty-five percent of the total sample provided suggestions for curriculumdevelopment (46 E/P graduates, 66 H/C graduates), the majority makingreference to the skills that had been listed within the questionnaire. Themost commonly cited area was technical specialist skills (26% overall).Many graduates felt that more focus should be placed on developingpractical skills in the field and laboratory, with greater access to technical


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Table 3 Areas for skill provision improvement

E/P H/C

Oral Communication

Written Communication

Teamworking

Managing People

Critical Analysis

Decision-making

Problem-solving

Numerical Reasoning

Personal Organization

Self-motivation

Data Gathering

Information Technology

Business Awareness

Project Management

Subject Knowledge

Technical Specialist Skills

Design Investigations

H & S Awareness

No improvement is deemed necessary(<10% of graduates have classed the skill as ‘unsuccessful’).Some improvement is deemed necessary(10–30% of graduates have classed the skill as ‘unsuccessful’. Also includesattributes with higher scores where more than one quarter of the total have rated it‘not important’).Significant improvement is deemed necessary(>30% of graduates have classed the skill as ‘unsuccessful’)

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equipment. Six H/C respondents pointed out that the Material Sciencecomponent of their course would benefit from ‘hands-on’ experience incleaning/conserving artefacts, and a further three suggested that relatedphotography skills would also be useful. Twenty-four percent of this grouprecommended further training on information technology, with GIS, data-bases, the Internet and web design being specifically mentioned. It shouldbe noted that greater provision has been made for E/P students to studyGIS since the time that respondents to this survey would have graduated.Career-related skills were raised by 23 percent, more guidance with jobsearching, interview techniques, and strengthening work-related skills/ex-perience being highlighted themes. Closer links with industry and increas-ing the length of work placements were highly valued as ways ofsupporting this, and several graduates believed that staff should do more toexplain about the realities of finding relevant employment.

Conclusions

Ninety-nine percent of graduates had made the transition from highereducation to the workplace, and of these, 90 percent were currentlyemployed. Various reports (Connor and Pollard, 1996; DfEE, 1999; Purcellet al., 1999) have demonstrated that graduates are taking longer to settleinto their careers than previously, and this trend is not being picked up bythe First Destination Survey. The results of this survey would seem tosuggest the same. Although career pathways were diverse, just under two-thirds of the sample stated that they were now in graduate-level jobs. Manyhad experienced several different periods of employment before obtaininga professional position – only 15 percent had recorded immediate entryinto an occupation in which they have since remained – demonstrating thatin general, integration into the graduate labour market does take time.

Many graduates found it necessary to undertake some form of furtherstudy/training in order to enhance their prospects of gaining employmentwithin the environmental and heritage sectors. Analysis did support a linkbetween those who had pursued postgraduate and professional qualifi-cations, and those who whose current jobs were relevant to first-degreesubject. However, overall, high numbers had secured unrelated careers(43%) so emphasis on developing generic skills through the courses shouldbe viewed as being extremely important. A number of skills were alsoidentified as potential areas for improvement. The most significant for bothdisciplines were managing people and information technology, and the majority ofthe remaining skills were deemed to require some level of attention todevelop them further within the degree programmes. These would alsobenefit from being made more explicit in course documentation and


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during course delivery to assist students’ understanding and awarenesss ofthe skills they are acquiring and their relevance to the workplace. This is asimportant for those who follow career paths directly related to their subjectas for those who do not.

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Anglia.C O N N O R, H. & P O L L A R D, E . (1996) What Do Graduates Really Do? Brighton: The

Institute for Employment Studies.C O U RT, G. , JAG G E R , N. & M O R A L E E , J. (1995) Skills Requirements and Priorities in the

Environmental Sciences. Brighton: The Institute for Employment Studies.D F E E , C S U, AG C A S & I E R (1999) Moving On – Graduate Careers Three Years After Graduation.

Manchester: CSU Ltd.H A RV E Y, L . (1994) Employer Satisfaction. Birmingham: QHE.H A RV E Y, L . , M O O N, S . & G E A L L , V. (1997) Graduates’ Work: Organisational Change and

Students’ Attributes. Birmingham: Centre for Research into Quality.H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N S TAT I S T I C S AG E N C Y (1995) Standard Occupational Classification

(FDS). Cheltenham: HESA Ltd.H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N S TAT I S T I C S AG E N C Y (2000) First Destination Questionnaire

1999/2000. Cheltenham: HESA Ltd.L A M B L E , K . (1998) Perceptions of Undergraduate Science Education as a Preparation for Employment.

Plymouth: University of Plymouth.NAT I O NA L C O M M I T T E E I N TO H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N (1997) Higher Education in the

Learning Society (The Dearing Report). London: NCIHE/HMSO.N OV E , A . , S NA P E , D. & C H E T W Y N D, M. (1997) Advancing by Degrees: A Study of Graduate

Recruitment and Skills Utilisation. London: HMSO-DfEE.P U R C E L L , K . & P I T C H E R , J. (1996) Great Expectations: The New Diversity of Graduate Skills

and Aspirations. Manchester: CSU Ltd.P U R C E L L , K . , P I T C H E R , J. & S I M M, C. (1999) Working Out: Graduates’ Early Experiences of

the Labour Market. Manchester: CSU Ltd.

Biographical notesA N I TA S H A H is Programmes Manager of Environmental & Geographical Scienceswithin the School of Conservation Sciences at Bournemouth University. She lecturesin Environmental Sciences on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses andis a member of the Learning & Teaching sub-committee of the Committee of Headsof Environmental Sciences. She is a member of Institute of Learning and Teaching(ILT), the Chartered Institute of Water & Environmental Management (CIWEM) andthe Chartered Institute of Biology (CBiol MIBiol).

Address: School of Conservation Sciences, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus,Fern Barrow, Poole BH12 5BB, UK. [email: [email protected]]

K AT H E R I N E P E L L , a graduate of the BSc Heritage Conservation course, was aResearch Assistant at Bournemouth University where she worked on a number ofprojects within the School of Conservation Sciences. She now works at PooleMuseums within the field of interpretation.


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PA M B RO O K E has been Head of the Careers Services and Placement DevelopmentUnit at Bournemouth University since 1999. Her work focuses on supportingstudents in career decision-making skills and employability skills.

Address: Careers Service, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, PooleBH12 5BB, UK. [email: [email protected]]


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beyond first destinations: graduate employability survey

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