The report created by Handshake, AGCAS, ISE and Wonkhe is based on insights from 159 employers, 817 students, 131 Careers professionals. It is designed both to provide a picture of the likely developments in student and graduate career development and recruitment over the next decade, and to help the sector prepare for the future. We know that careers services currently play a vital role in students' career development and will continue to do so. It’s crucial that as a sector we support students both today and into the future, providing them with lifelong learning skills to enrich a dynamic and prospering workforce.
Key findings
From a student perspectice, the report finds that:
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40% of students say their top priority when finding a career today is finding the work interesting, well ahead of salary concerns in second place at 18%.
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27% of students say the biggest obstacle to their future careers success is not knowing what field to go into.
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20% of students are most likely to turn to Google first for information on opportunities available to them, with an additional 12% turning firstly to job websites.
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Career confidence diminishes throughout study, with 33% of students saying they feel very confident about their career prospects during the first year of their course, dropping to 31% in year two – and to 17% in year three.
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19% of students say that limited opportunities in the geographical areas in which they are looking for roles presented a barrier to employment success.
From an employer perspectice, the report finds that:
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68% of employers say attracting top talent with Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives in mind is a priority alongside preventing students reneging on offers (56%)
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SMEs are far more likely (85% to 54% overall) to say that struggling to reach the right candidates is among their top concerns compared to businesses overall (SMEs - with fewer than 250 employees).
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78% of employers feel technology could play a positive role in creating dedicated early talent networks to support graduate to employer connection.
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78% of employers suggested that doing more to engage students and pupils even earlier in their educational journey would be beneficial.
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85% of employers feel tech has the potential to boost social mobility and ensuring that career prospects are open to more people (86%).
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Employers are more likely to disagree that in the future, graduate recruitment will be tied to a point-in-time event like the Milkround (disagree 48% vs agree 26%).
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81% of employers expect that in 10 years' time, they will be recruiting for jobs which don't exist today, due to automation and tech