What drives graduate regional retention?

Summary
Introduction
Greater numbers of 'home students'
Regional retention and age of graduates
Industrial sector
Motivation to obtain employment
Influence of domicile
Perception of post-1992 universities
Achievement and personal satisfaction
Employability
Cost of living
Employment immediately after graduation
Social aspects
The lure of the home town
Entrepreneurship
Overseas migration
Good practice in graduate regional retention
Areas for further research
Further information

Summary

In recent years, the focus on a knowledge-based economy has reinforced the importance of retaining graduates regionally for business development and economic growth, writes Sarah Parkinson, Director of Education Research Services. It is increasingly important for regional policy makers to have detailed information about their graduates’ migration patterns and the social and economic reasons behind them. This article reports on the findings of a recent study which used quantitative and qualitative research techniques to find out not only what is happening in the area of graduate retention but also why it is happening within an identified region.

Introduction

The research, undertaken by Team Pro Solutions in conjunction with Education Research Services on behalf of Coventry Solihull and Warwickshire Partnership (CSWP), comprised a comparative analysis of the 2002/03 and 2004/05 Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey data with specific reference to Coventry University and the University of Warwick, and a follow-up qualitative study of telephone depth interviews with graduates to explore the issues identified from the quantitative analysis.

The project concluded with regional case studies of graduate cohorts with high levels of regional retention to identify examples of practice and conditions which support regional graduate retention and contribute to the local skills economy.

The qualitative study sample group comprised 60 alumni from Coventry University and the University of Warwick from graduation years 2002/03 and 2004/05. The support of the Universities’ alumni association was invaluable to the project.

The study looked at how graduate retention relates to other issues such as the requirement for graduates’ qualifications in their workplace, the growing numbers of students living at home, and students’ social and economic backgrounds.

One aim of the qualitative study was to gauge the reliability of the HESA data as an indicator of graduate destinations - a commonly voiced concern is that the first year after graduation is anomalous with future years and a time when graduates are likely to take up low-paid temporary employment or to travel.

We were also interested to see if there were any significant differences in the regional retention trends of graduates from our pre- and post-1992 universities.

Despite the complexity of the data and survey responses, the findings of the quantitative and qualitative studies research were remarkably consistent.

Greater numbers of 'home students'

The HESA data analysis showed that regional retention of our sample graduates has increased significantly since 2002/03. The greatest influence on this increase appears to be the growing numbers of ‘home’ students in the face of higher tuition fees. The proportion of students living at home has increased for both of our institutions, but is significantly higher for our post-1992 university.

Regional retention and age of graduates

The HESA data shows that graduates over the age of 25 who studied at Coventry University and the University of Warwick are proportionally more likely to remain in the area than their younger contemporaries.

Industrial sector

The health and social work, and education sectors dominate graduate retention in the West Midlands and Warwickshire; the female bias of these areas of activity is reflected in the pattern of retention.

Motivation to obtain employment

The greatest motivator for regional migration or retention is, above all others, to obtain employment. The vast majority of graduates do not have family ties, and they are characterised by their mobility and willingness to live in the region where they receive the best job offer. This characteristic was common to graduates from all subject areas and across all industry sectors.

Where you live at this stage of the game all depends on where the jobs are…

(04/05 Coventry University graduate, male, 26)

Influence of domicile

The qualitative study confirmed the finding of the quantitative analysis that graduates with established family and working lives in the region prior are unlikely to move areas. Dependent children, in particular, can be seen to create particularly strong ties to a region:

I stayed in the region as my family are here; I have kids and am married…I have no plans to move, the only factor that would make me is family stuff, I have two little kids and so it is unlikely that I would move to somewhere like London at this stage of my career…

(04/05 University of Warwick graduate, female, 37)

Perception of post-1992 universities

There was an awareness of a possible prejudice against post-1992 universities. However, this was widely regarded as an anachronistic viewpoint and graduates from our post-1992 institution did not report any adverse reaction to it from employers. Indeed, in general the 2002/03 graduates who had longer experience of the graduate jobs market than their 2004/05 counterparts did not feel that the league table ranking and status of the institution had impaired their career prospects:

I don’t think that employers look too much at the institution, they look at the degree. When I went for my job interview, I was up against people from LSE and Kings College and I didn’t think I stood a chance…but I got the job…

(02/03 Coventry University graduate, female, 25)

Achievement and personal satisfaction

Although the vast majority of respondents stated that their primary motivation for undertaking their course was to improve their job prospects, there is no doubt that achieving their qualification was highly personally satisfying for all of our graduates, regardless of their previous achievements:

For me, the degree was not so much about improving employment… Getting a degree was invaluable to my personal satisfaction which is now excellent, as well as my credibility…

(04/05 University of Warwick graduate, 46)

It's being able to do it, knowing you can do it, the self-achievement. Being divorced and with children, it was much more of a personal challenge, a personal goal…

(02/03 University of Warwick graduate, 43)

Employability

Overall, it was encouraging to see that graduates’ qualifications had enhanced their employment prospects and increased their employability. In most cases, respondents stated that a degree was a basic requirement for their job:

Whether it was the course or being there, the discipline of taking academic work seriously…I can meet deadlines because of the experience…

(02/03 University of Warwick graduate, male, 27)

My degree was essential for my job. Agencies won’t take you unless you have a degree. They are not prepared to train you up. I learnt a lot on my degree course, it was invaluable…

(02/03 Coventry University graduate, male, 25)

Cost of living

Cost of living was raised as an issue by some young graduates and was widely given as the reason for graduates living in the parental home:

I applied for jobs in the Midlands and London. Where I could gain employment and affordability made me choose where to live, and I lived with my parents for a while…

(04/05 University of Warwick graduate, female, 24)

The cost of living in London was raised by a number of respondents, despite its popularity as a graduate destination.

Employment immediately after graduation

Interestingly, in the light of concerns that the HESA Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey offers a picture of new graduate activity which is anomalous with future years, our respondents reported that they did apply for graduate-level jobs on graduation; those who decided to ‘temp’ or travel after their studies were in a minority:

I have changed job three times since graduating but these have all been progressions through to the job I am doing now…

(04/05 University of Warwick graduate, female, 29)

The vast majority of respondents were working in industry sectors which relate directly to their areas of study, in large organisations.

Where graduates were unsure of what they wanted to do, and wanted to achieve a secure income, they were more likely to enter the teaching profession as a short-term career choice than take on low-paid temporary work:

I don’t want to be teaching forever, this is just so I have a steady income…

(04/05 University of Warwick graduate, male, 24)

Social aspects

Social aspects and relationships are very important for many young graduates and can be seen to have an influence on where they initially choose to locate. Some younger graduates reported that they found the transition from university to work difficult immediately after graduation:

It's quite difficult to go somewhere where you don't know anyone after having been with your friends for three years. 'Be prepared for the change' is what I'd say...

(02/03 University of Warwick graduate, male, 27)

However, it is possible to see that these social ties are superseded by family bonds in older graduates.

The lure of the home town

Interestingly, graduates did not commonly express a desire to move back to their home town for any other reason than to live with their parents out of financial expedience.

Entrepreneurship

There were very few examples of graduates entering self-employment after graduation. However, the impact of the plethora of current initiatives promoting entrepreneurship among students and graduates may well have an impact on future generations of graduates, and this will be an interesting trend to look out for.

Overseas migration

A significant number of respondents stated that they are considering moving abroad in order to maximise their career opportunities. On the whole, this was seen as a career move, rather than a ‘lifestyle’ choice. Indeed, the retention of graduates may increasingly become an issue of national, rather than regional, concern.

Good practice in graduate regional retention

This research project raises a number of issues about what constitutes ‘good practice’ in regional graduate retention: there is evidence of a correlation between high levels of regional graduate retention and low numbers of graduates who require their qualification in their jobs. However, university departments with high levels of local regional graduate retention in our sample demonstrate:

Course provision that meets needs of local labour market.
Mutually beneficial links with employers.
Provision of work placement opportunities to graduates in the local economy.
Knowledge transfer schemes.
High levels of support for part-time and mature students.

Areas for further research

This article outlines the approach and findings of a study which offers an insight into the issues which influence regional graduate retention, but also raises a number of questions which require further research. Perhaps most importantly, it can be seen that employers hold the key to graduate regional retention and the effective application of higher level skills within it. Skills demands, the relevance of the curriculum to regional industry, partnerships between higher education institutions and employers, placement opportunities and the effective deployment of employees who have higher level qualifications can be seen to have major implications for the graduate workforce.

In addition, there is a national need for some objective evaluation of the effectiveness of graduate regional retention activities to include monitoring of their effectiveness over a period of time in relation to any change in graduate regional retention levels.

An increased understanding of the issues which drive regional graduate retention will help to create knowledge economies in which higher level skills are retained, valued and applied.

Further information

For an executive summary and further information about this study, please contact Sarah Parkinson at sarahparkinson@educationresearchservices.com or e-r-s.org.uk. See also ERS.

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