HC Deb 20 December 1985 vol 89 cc336-7W
Mr. Onslow

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the subsequent career of those who graduated from institutions of higher education in England and Wales over the past five years.

Mr. Walden

Regular information on the subsequent career of those who graduated from institutions of higher education is limited to surveys of the first destination of graduates and diplomates as at 31 December of the year in which they graduated.

The position for the years 1980 to 1984—the latest year for which data are available—for first degree graduates only is as follows. A statistical bulletin is to be published shortly on this subject and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

First destination of graduates 1980 to 1984 (6 months after graduation)
Numbers (Thousands)
Permanent home employment Temporary home employment Full-time education or training Believed unemployed *Others Total of known destination Destination unknown All graduates
1980
Universities
(Great Britain) 29.8 1.4 16.9 5.0 6.4 59.5 6.3 65.8
Polytechnics
(England and Wales) 7.8 0.9 3.1 1.8 1.8 15.4 4.0 19.4
1981
Universities
(Great Britain) 28.4 1.6 17.7 6.4 7.5 61.5 6.5 68.0
Polytechnics
(England and Wales) 7.5 0.9 3.3 2.4 2.2 16.3 4.2 20.5
1982
Universities
(Great Britain) 29.4 1.5 17.3 7.8 6.9 62.9 7.2 70.1
Polytechnics
(England and Wales) 7.8 0.9 3.0 2.6 2.1 16.4 5.0 21.4
1983
Universities
(Great Britain) 32.3 1.9 17.3 6.9 6.1 64.5 7.7 72.2
Polytechnics
(England and Wales) 9.2 0.9 2.9 2.6 1.9 17.5 †6.1 †23.5
CHE's‡
(England and Wales) 4.1 0.4 1.2 1.0 0.5 7.2 0.9 8.1
1984
Universities
(Great Britain) 33.8 1.8 16.2 5.7 6.2 63.7 7.5 31.2
Polytechnics
(England and Wales) 12.0 1.2 3.5 2.9 1.8 21.3 5.4 26.7
CHE's‡
(England and Wales) 4.6 0.4 1.3 0.9 0.5 7.8 1.2 9.0
* Employment overseas, overseas students leaving the United Kingdom, not available for employment.
†Including an estimated 1,300 graduates for one polytechnic which did not submit data in 1983.
‡Comparable data for colleges of higher education (CHE's) was collected for the first time in 1983.

Information on the subsequent careers of graduates is not collected on a regular basis. However, the 1981 Census of Population qualified manpower tables provide considerable detail about the industries and occupations of graduates. The Department of Education and Science is also sponsoring, in conjunction with the Department of Employment, a special survey of the subsequent careers of those who graduated in 1980.