When looking at the scary world of graduate jobs, it can be quite tempting sometimes to focus on the robotic tasks involved: go to university, get skills, complete work experience, graduate, secure internships, and begin working. But what about the people involved? You could be reading this now, full of confidence or concern, yet ultimately unsure whether you are the norm or an exception. Sure, you can always ask your friends, but then what about the wider world? Well, research by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) has found that eight out of 10 students surveyed, having completed a three-year degree, felt they had the skills employers desired. However, at the same time - surprise, surprise - a similar number, 84% in fact, felt it was harder than ever to secure employment.
What's more, in a glowing testament to tertiary education, only one in 10 considered the skills gained whilst studying for their degree had not made them more employable, while an even smaller number (6%) went so far as to say that they did not have skills sought by employers.
Interestingly, though, students still felt communication and work ethic, secondary benefits of continued study, were more important than those more fundamental skills gained, such as numeracy and computer literacy.
Indeed it seems that the largest benefit of higher education, among those surveyed, was the increased confidence in skills as individuals progressed. Specifically, men rated their skills higher than women - although results indicate this merely reflected higher confidence rather than superior ability.
The divide was also evident between degree subjects. Those students who had developed high numeracy skills as part of their course were markedly more confident about finding a job than those who hadn't.
It would therefore seem that despite the current situation of the employment market, confidence remains among university graduates, despite an awareness of the increased competition.
Note: these findings were the result of research conducted by sampling over 50,000 students from the point of UCAS application until two years after graduation.
Jordan, GRB Journalist
