AGCAS FIRST-YEAR STUDENT CAREER READINESS SURVEY KEY FINDINGS, JULY 2018 Dr Bob Gilworth AGCAS Director of Research and Knowledge and AGCAS President-Elect Director of The Careers Group, University of London

Content Background to the survey Key findings Implications

Why career readiness? To gain a better understanding of: how far students have to travel to determine and reach a goal students’ perceptions of and engagement with social mobility initiatives and careers support In response to drivers from: higher education policy employers in a changing graduate labour market

Participants Students who started university study in 2017/2018 Undergraduate degree or foundation qualification 19 universities in the UK and the Republic of Ireland The following key findings have been drawn from the responses of 2008 UK students

A systematic description Subject Age Gender Ethnicity First-generation student? School type Participation in career-related activities Pre-HE CEIAG usage Pre-HE CEIAG provision Pre-HE career- related activities Cultural capital Social capital Clear career ideas? Career self-efficacy Employability skills Expectations of careers support Perceptions of career-related activities Accommodation Time Finance Other

Key findings Career readiness gaps Capital gaps Pre-HE CEIAG provision gaps Factors influencing career planning Career-planning: 4Ls model to identify gaps between importance and participation Careers support expected

Career readiness gaps Two aspects of career self-efficacy and business culture awareness first-gen. student Both parents attended HE Identifying relevant employers and attending an interview Female Male Education(state) Education (private) Communication skills and business culture awareness Determining the steps needed to complete university course Asian Non-Asian Based on the average confidence level scores reported by UK students under 20

Capital gaps Cultural capital Social capital read books for leisure Students’ participation in activities before university, e.g. read books for leisure visit museums/galleries practise arts participate in sports attend summer schools travel attend concerts/performances Social capital Students’ involvement in activities in their local community before university Students’ sources of advice for university course choice

Capital gaps Cultural capital Social capital First-generation university students, BME students, students educated at state schools and mature students brought less cultural capital with them to university. Male and female students had different cultural capital Social capital First-generation university students, BME students, students educated at state schools and mature students brought less social capital with them to university Male and female students had different social capital The pattern reported is the same for all students as it is for UK students under 20

Pre-HE CEIAG provision gaps CEIAG provision in schools/colleges by type of school (% of UK students under 20) (

Career planning: 4Ls model to identify gaps Mapping career-related activities at university based on perceived importance and actual participation low importance, high participation high importance, high participation low importance, low participation high importance, low participation The Leaped The Liked Participation top 6 Importance top 6 The Left The Lagged (

Career planning: gaps between importance and participation Access the careers service website to get careers information (21%, 16%) Attend a careers fair (21%, 18%) Make new friends (63%, 75%) Get a part-time job (45%, 32%) Join a university society (34%, 42%) Do some volunteering (34%, 14%) Sign up to a programme to build new skills (24%, 9%) Go to the careers service (15%, 9%) Develop a social media/blog/website (11%, 7%) Join a religious group (4%, 6%) Apply for work experience (41%, 10%) Start networking with professionals (35%, 8%) The Liked The Leaped Participation top 6 Importance top 6 The Lagged The Left Based on the responses of 2008 students (

Factors influencing career planning Time: first-generation university students and mature students reported greater time constraints. Finance: Financial pressures limited some students’ participation in co-curricular activities. Family: living at home might play a role in Asian students’ lagged action in undertaking career-related activities at university. Capital: First-generation university students’ low social capital pre-entry does not improve at university, with low participation in social activities.

Careers support expected Careers support expected from university careers services by age (

Recommendations HE careers sector: consider innovation in engaging students and develop effective, segmented communication to change students’ perceptions of career planning and raise awareness of activities that are important to future careers. Universities: pre-entry engagement activities should not only be organised and delivered with targeted students, but also with their parents/guardians and communities in mind. Policy: the significant gaps between students educated at state schools and students educated at private schools cannot be narrowed without policy change, financial investment and supporting resources.

AGCAS FIRST-YEAR STUDENT CAREER READINESS SURVEY KEY FINDINGS – JULY 2018 Dr Bob Gilworth AGCAS Director of Research and Knowledge and AGCAS President-Elect Director of The Careers Group, University of London