An Overview
This group covers a wide range of subjects. Some, such as design studies, are vocational, where study at degree level is seen as essential for further professional development. Many of these courses are competitive, as is the job market they serve. Other subjects, such as English, are seen as providing a wide range of employers with evidence of broad academic and intellectual ability and the opportunity to develop important transferable skills. Research carried out by the University of Central England based on over 2,000 graduates from 14 higher education institutions Destinations and Reflections suggests that art and design graduates tend to take longer to establish and develop their careers. These graduates might be establishing a portfolio, setting up a business, developing contacts or acquiring essential work experience. Despite this finding, figures from 2000 show that six months after graduation design studies, drama and media studies graduates all have high employment rates of 71.5%, 71.2% and 76.4% respectively, compared with the average, 68.4%, for all first degree subjects. Destinations
In 2000, 64.4% of arts and humanities graduates were in employment six months after graduation, slightly lower than the average for all first degree subjects. However, whereas the figure for employment for all subjects is 0.1% lower than last year, the figure for this group is up 0.7%. Destinations and Reflections also contains information from The Cultural Industries Survey which shows that 'Over half of respondents are in full-time permanent employment. Performing arts graduates are most likely to be in fixed-term positions or self-employment. Self-employment accounts for just under half of the work reported by performing arts and art and design graduates and is more commonly freelance work than operating a business'. Early Careers
Many students, parents and some advisers are still surprised that anyone studying history or English (or other subjects not represented in this study such as philosophy, classics, etc) are considered employable across a wide range of areas. In fact, the types of work entered by these graduates show the diversity of employment opportunities. Students are only restricted in their choice of employment by their interest, ambition and willingness to develop skills (such as communication, business awareness, initiative, and teamworking) in their studies, part-time work and extracurricular activities. Working Out? a survey of graduates' career progress 18 months after graduation, shows that many graduates from modern languages obtained their job through paid work experience and over half the graduates were in a job for which a degree was required. Trends
The table below shows the first destinations of arts and humanities graduates six months after graduation in 1997 and 2000. During this period, the percentage of these graduates entering employment has risen by 1.6% from 62.8% in 1997 to 64.4% in 2000. This is a slightly greater increase than that of 0.6% for all first degree subjects. At the same time, unemployment amongst the arts and humanities graduates fell 1.5% from 8% in 1997 to 6.5% in 2000. The percentage of arts and humanities graduates enrolling for further study fell from 22.1% in 1997 to 20.7% in 2000. The highest proportion of graduates in this subject group going on to further study came from history (30.0%) and English (30.4%). | | The first destinations of arts, creative arts and humanities graduates, 1997-2000 | | | Numbers graduating
(survey respondents) | Entering employment [%] | Entering further study/ training [%] | Unemployed at time of survey [%] | Other [%] | | 2000 | 1997 | 2000 | 1997 | 2000 | 1997 | 2000 | 1997 | 2000 | 1997 | | All First Degree Subjects | 170,751 | 171,279 | 68.4 | 67.8 | 19.2 | 19.4 | 5.5 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 5.9 | | Design Studies | 6,631 | 6,473 | 71.5 | 70.0 | 9.6 | 10.7 | 9.0 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 8.2 | | Drama | 1,981 | 1,609 | 71.2 | 70.7 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 6.6 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 7.5 | | English | 5,383 | 5,625 | 56.3 | 54.6 | 30.4 | 30.7 | 5.4 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 7.3 | | History | 4,368 | 4,466 | 56.2 | 55.1 | 30.0 | 29.7 | 5.7 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 8.0 | | Media Studies | 1,576 | 903 | 76.4 | 73.8 | 8.2 | 9.2 | 8.6 | 10.9 | 6.9 | 6.1 | | Modern Languages | 6,899 | 8,156 | 64.4 | 64.1 | 22.5 | 24.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 5.9 | | All Arts & Humanities | 26,838 | 27,232 | 64.4 | 62.8 | 20.7 | 22.1 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 7.2 |
Further Resources
Careers Using Languages, Edda Ostarhild (Kogan Page) ISBN 0-7494-1821-4 Destinations and Reflections - Careers of British Art, Craft and Design Graduates, Lee Harvey and Alison Blackwell, Centre for Research into Quality, 1999. Working in History, Tanya Woolf (COIC, DFEE) ISBN 0-86110-706-3 Theatre Works: A Guide to Working in the Theatre, N. Coker (Royal National Theatre), 1997 The Way In - BBC Corporate Recruitment Services Factsheets, BBC Jobs Types of jobs in the following job categories: AGCAS publications are available in your local higher education careers service, or you can order publications from CSU. Useful Web Sites
On this site for a wealth of careers related information by exploring types of jobs and options with your subject. Arts Council England BBC The Conference of Drama Schools The Design Council The Historical Association Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) Skillset: The Sector Skills Council for Creative Media |
