Key messages - Recruitment from school, college and university

Introduction

In our Key Messages series we try to keep things simple and concentrate on the key messages. We’ve used evidence from official sources to back up those messages but have tried not to overburden the reader with information. More information on the issues presented in the series can be found throughout the reports written by Futureskills Scotland and available from their website.

This note presents some key messages from employers in relation to their recruitment of staff from school, college and university.

Key messages

Although there are some differences there are opportunities across all industry groups for school leavers, FE and HE graduates.
A high proportion of workplaces who have recruited employees directly from college or university say that they are well prepared for work. The proportion of employers who say that school leavers are well prepared for work is lower.
Most employers who recruited a graduate said they would have considered someone without a degree. One third of employers who had recruited a University graduate said that a degree was a requirement for the job. Of those half said this was because the specific skills and knowledge acquired on the degree course were needed for the job and one quarter said that a degree provided an indication of the basic level of intelligence needed to do the job.

Which employers recruit school, college and university leavers?

Figure 1 Proportion of establishments recruiting school, college or university leavers.

Results from the 2006 Employers Skill Survey show that 75 per cent of workplaces in Scotland had recruited in the previous two to three years.
17 per cent of all establishments had recruited an employee as their first job on leaving a Scottish secondary school.
12 per cent of all establishments had recruited an employee as their first job on leaving a Scottish Further Education (FE) college.
15 per cent of all establishments had recruited an employee as their first job on leaving a Scottish University.

Are there differences in who recruits by industry?

Figure 2. Proportion of establishments recruiting school, college or university leavers by industry.

Although there are some differences by industry the key message is that there are opportunities across all industry groups for school leavers, FE and HE graduates.
The construction sector was the most likely to have recruited a school leaver. Nearly half said they had recruited someone as their first job on leaving school. Recruitment of school leavers was also high in retail, hotels and restaurants.
The public sector, other services and retail, hotels and restaurants were the most likely to have taken on any FE college leavers in the two to three years prior to survey.
The public sector and banking, finance and insurance were the most likely to have recruited an HE graduate.

Are School, College and University Leavers prepared for work?

We asked employers how well prepared school, college and university leavers were for work (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Preparedness for work of school, college and university leavers

61 per cent of workplaces which had recruited a school leaver as their first job reported that they were well prepared for work.
75 per cent reported that college leavers were well prepared for work.
University graduates were reported to be well prepared by 81 per cent of workplaces which had recruited them directly from university.
One way to look at these results is in terms of the likely ages of recruits from each of these sources. School leavers will most likely be 16 to 18 years old while recruits from college or university could be four to six years older than that. It may be that the preparedness, at least in terms of softer core skills, is as the result of being older and more mature rather than having been acquired solely as part of their continuing education.
The preparedness for work of school leavers is also explored in another Futureskills Scotland publication – ‘Ready for Work?’ – which details the results of case study research undertaken with employers in Summer 2004 - Scottish School Leavers and their Understanding of the World of Work. Futureskills Scotland is undertaking some further case study research which will examine issues around the preparedness for work of college leavers and university graduates in more detail. Findings from the research will be published in 2007.

Are degrees a requirement for some types of job?

Figure 4. Reasons why successful candidates had to have a degree

Only one third of employers who had recruited a graduate said that the candidate had to have held a degree while two thirds said that they would have considered applicants without a university degree.

Of those:

53 per cent said knowldege and skills acquired on a degree course are necessary to do the job;
25 per cent said that this was because a degree was a basic indicator of the level of intelligence needed to do the job; and
14 per cent said that it was a combination of both these reasons.