1. 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

2. Content
Background to the survey
Key findings
Implications

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

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

11. 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 (

12. 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 (

13. 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.

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

15. 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.

16. 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