WORKING-CLASS ACADEMICS BLOG

Beyond Graduation.
Widening participation, a flagship policy of the New Labour government in 1997, has led to a noticeable change in student demographics. Wales is an interesting case study as Welsh Higher Education institutions consistently attract a wide social mix of students, perhaps due in part to a distinctive ‘Welsh culture’ which confers a high status on education and educators. However literature on widening participation often focuses more on ‘getting them into’ higher education’ and less on subsequent post graduation experiences. This study will evaluate graduate opportunities across North Wales.

Graduate trajectories are often influenced by socio economic characteristics. Female graduates appear to benefit less in economic terms from their degrees, although male graduates are often more likely to be unemployed. The possession of a university degree can remove employment disadvantages for mature graduates however, ‘middle class’ graduates are more likely than ‘disadvantaged’ graduates to be in graduate jobs and not to feel overqualified. Research also suggests that first generation graduates encounter greater difficulties in the labour market compared to those who have a family tradition of attending university and ethnic minorities who often earn less than 90% of the average wage of a white undergraduate. Although graduates with unseen disabilities gained graduate employment in ways similar to those experienced by non disabled graduates those with mental health issues or mobility difficulties encountered greater difficulties in the labour market and experienced higher rates of unemployment. Additionally, students from post-1992 universities were less likely to undertake postgraduate study in line with their greater likelihood of having vocational career plans.

There are additional factors affecting graduate trajectories. Research has found that leading employers appear to have a strong preference towards graduates from traditional or elite institutions. As such these graduate are more likely to be employed in managerial positions and also feel that they have the opportunity to use skills gained through their degree9. Subject choices with the highest labour market value are computing and medicine as well as engineering and law. Those with the least favourable outcomes are areas such as art, humanities and languages or biology. Those that choose ‘practical’ or vocational courses often gain “degrees of lower labour market value” . The Welsh language is a considerable asset in gaining employment in Wales as a survey of employers in Wales found there was a shortage of people with bi-lingual skills in the Police, Careers Advice and Nursing

Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist and philosopher, pioneered investigative frameworks such as social and cultural capital for understanding graduate trajectories. Cultural capital affects the type of institution attended and subject studied, whilst the central thesis of social networks is that ‘relationships matter’. Those whom attend the ‘right’ school (private education followed by an elite university); study the ‘right’ subject (academic as opposed to vocational); make the ‘right’ contacts (individuals working in prestigious professions) are more likely to have greater opportunities, post graduation. My research will evaluate how these additional factors affect graduate opportunities in North Wales.

As employment outcomes and widening participation are more explicitly linked a greater emphasis has been placed on the role of higher education careers services post graduation. The Harris Report (2001), suggested that some students were less likely to use careers services as these services were perceived as having a one size fits all approach to graduate support. This study will also focus on the support that is available to graduates as it is it will become increasingly vital in today’s’ economic climate to help smooth graduate transitions into employment or post graduate opportunities.