New data released this week shows that almost 80 per cent of UK graduates were in high-skilled jobs just over a year after they graduated, with 84 per cent of those asked saying they found their employment to be meaningful.
Providing opportunities for graduates to stay and thrive in Yorkshire and contribute to the region’s economic success is vital. It benefits employers who want and need access to a skilled and diverse workforce, it benefits the regional economy, and everyone who lives here, and the graduates themselves.
The new Government is prioritising growth across the UK, in an effort to make our to realise the potential of all regions, to make our economy less reliant on London and to generate the extra investment that public services need. This is certainly true for Yorkshire – we want Yorkshire employers to access the benefits that our graduates bring.
That’s why we’re bringing together leaders from our 12 universities, councils, mayoral combined authorities, employers and organisations who are all invested in supporting graduate employment in our region.
Today, at Sheffield Hallam University, key players from across our county will discuss how they are overcoming challenges, creating opportunities and developing solutions together to enable graduates to stay, thrive and contribute to our growing economy across the region.
Led by Yorkshire Universities, the mission group that represents the region’s universities, this collaborative approach can help to improve graduate employment and support the regional economy. By strengthening links between education, employability, enterprise and employment at a regional level we are addressing skills needs and helping to overcome geographical inequalities.
As well as the groups it convenes, Yorkshire Universities is leading specific actions that are designed to make it easier for employers to understand what universities can offer, and the ways in which businesses and the public sector can engage with a diverse pool of student and graduate talent.
One example of this is the publication of a new version of our inclusive recruitment guide, which aims to support employers in accessing our highly skilled graduates from across the region. Produced by university employability experts, the guide provides employers with a practical advice to recruiting more diverse students including international students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This will ensure that a wider pool of talent as possible is accessed and connected into job opportunities.
There is certainly a need for the skilled graduates our universities produce – by 2035, more than 11 million extra graduates, in addition to the 15.3 million graduates currently in the UK workforce, will be needed to fill jobs in the UK in industries such as computing and engineering, teaching and education, and health. It is vital therefore, that we work with businesses, local government and organisations across our region to ensure some of this growth of graduate jobs happens here in Yorkshire, as well as ensuring our graduates can access these opportunities.
Universities meanwhile recognise the need to support graduate employability as well as broader student success and numerous successful programmes have shown how collaboration in this space helps students and businesses to thrive.
Take the RISE programme in Sheffield for example, which helped to connect more than 450 talented graduates from the region with small and medium sized enterprises. Over the last five years the programme generated gross value added of £22.3m and a return on investment £19.10 for every £1 spent.
Sheffield Hallam University is also home to the iLab, a dynamic co-working space for entrepreneurs to network and collaborate. The university also provides one-to-one business advice to help businesses to grow and capitalise on opportunities.
At York St John University, employability is embedded directly into the curriculum through Work Related Experiential Learning. This, alongside placement opportunities in every degree, means that students are engaging directly with employers during their studies to support career development.
There is already a huge amount of existing work across the region in this area but there remains an ongoing role for Yorkshire Universities to continue to improve coordination and collaboration in this space.
Yorkshire is a region with huge potential and organisations from across our cities and towns need to work together to ensure we can realise that potential with our graduates leading the charge.
By Professor Liz Mossop, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University and Professor Karen Bryan OBE, Vice-Chancellor of York St John University and Chair of Yorkshire Universities.
