Number of recent graduates entering hospitality and retail falls.
The number of graduates entering the front of house and retail industries in the first six months following graduation, has fallen slightly from 9.5 per cent to 9.3 per cent according to the latest What Do Graduates Do? 2007 report, published by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU).
The educational background of the graduates entering the hospitality and retail industry is extremely diverse. 36.1 per cent of those with a degree Art and Design and Performing Arts enter the retail industry. 14.6 per cent of graduates with Media Studies degrees enter the industry, as did 14.2 per cent of the History cohort, 13.5 per cent of English graduates and 13 per cent of Sociology graduates.
The What Do Graduates Do? 2007 report tracks the initial career destinations of the 2005 first degree and HND graduating cohort, and examines the employment market by type of work and subject of study. The report is published by HECSU, AGCAS, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services and UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service and aims to provide a guide for Year 11 and 12 students, parents and careers advisors on the potential initial employment prospects provided by different degree subjects.
What Do Graduates Do? highlights the breadth of careers available to graduates, and the lack of restrictions a degree subject can place on a the choice of a graduate career. For example, managerial roles are popular with the graduating cohort, with 9.5 per cent starting their career in management. These jobs are most popular with business and management graduates and marketing graduates, but a range of subjects have an above average intake into this field including politics, economics, architecture and building and geography.
Mike Hill, the chief executive of HECSU, commented “For the first time ever this year we have seen the number of graduates reach over a quarter of a million and the employment prospects for them look strong.
Graduates are continuing to pursue a wide range of careers employing the breadth of skills that their degree has equipped them with. We are also seeing that graduates are unafraid to pursue careers that do not relate directly back to their course, indicating the vast career opportunities a degree offers.”
