Paid and unpaid graduate internships: prevalence, quality and motivations at six months after graduation

Secondary analysis of the UK’s 2011/12 Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey reveals that many existing assumptions about graduate internships are questionable. This article proposes a reliable way of estimating the true extent of internships including those reported as ‘voluntary’ jobs: hidden internships. In doing so the article finds: 1) At six months after graduation, internships are a small feature of the UK graduate labour market, but significant in certain sectors; 2) Unpaid internships are much more prevalent than previously estimated, especially in these same sectors; and 3) Contrary to some public policy debate, unpaid internships appear, on balance, to be a residual option more likely to lead to underemployment and less favourable career development outcomes. Post-graduation internships appear less likely than pre-graduation work experiences to confer long-term employability advantages

Mapping provision and participation in postgraduate creative arts and design

The overall aim of this research study by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) was to provide the National Arts Learning Network (NALN) with a statistical analysis of the provision of postgraduate study in creative arts and design (CAD) subjects across the UK, and participation in such study by learners from different backgrounds. It also explored progression from undergraduate to postgraduate study and beyond, and the perceptions of potential postgraduate students. It complements the more qualitative research on experience and understanding of work and study pathways of actual and potential CAD postgraduate students from a range of backgrounds, being undertaken by researchers at the Open University

Employability programmes and work placements in higher education : a review of published evidence on employability programmes and work placements in UK higher education

Given the recent focus on the employability and earnings of university graduates in the UK, there is a need to explore the employability initiatives offered by higher education institutions (HEIs). Work placements and work experience offered through HEIs aim to improve students’ job readiness, and ability to secure suitable jobs after graduation, but little is known about the work experience opportunities available, who can access them, and their impact on individuals, institutions and employers

Horses for courses: subject differences in the chances of securing different types of graduate jobs in the UK

Analysis of the 2010/11 Longitudinal Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey shows that overly-simplistic conceptions of graduate success underestimate the value of obtaining a degree in some subjects. Using a skills-based classification of graduate jobs the research finds that maths and vocationally-oriented subjects associated with higher earnings returns (Belfield et al., 2018a, 2018b) - engineering, architecture, computer science and nursing - increase the chances of having an 'Expert' job compared to the average for all graduates. However, more generalist subjects that have been linked with lower earnings such as creative arts, languages and mass communication and documentation are better for accessing graduate jobs where creativity and ability to communicate is key. The research demonstrates the value of using a more nuanced conception of graduate jobs and shows that debate about the value of higher education needs to move away from a narrow focus on earnings