An Overview
Business, finance and management studies are some of the most popular courses studied at universities in the UK and give students a wide range of knowledge and skills that are relevant to the work place. The numbers of business and administration studies graduates are growing each year - around 14,000 in 2001. The destination data of students six months after graduation generally shows that these graduates continue to enjoy good employment prospects. According to the Association of Graduate Recruiters’ (AGR) report, Graduate Recruitment in an Uncertain Labour Market, published in October 2001, a quarter of the AGR company members surveyed had decreased their graduate vacancies since July 2001, and almost one in five had deferred job offers. The AGR January 2002 Graduate Salaries & Vacancies Annual Review showed that 43% of their members surveyed reported a shortfall for the recruitment year 2000/2001, and 4% of the total vacancies offered had been deferred. The uncertain economic climate and increasing uncertainty over employment prospects has led many graduate recruiters to review their recruitment targets for the year. Destinations
So how do business and administrative studies graduates fare in this climate? Their rate of employment measured six months after graduation is markedly higher than the average - 78.2% for accountancy and 75.7% for business and management studies, compared with an average of 67.7% for all first degrees. However, these percentages are lower than the figures three years earlier due to the recent economic slowdown. The overall unemployment rate, 6.6%, for business and administrative studies graduates, is similar to that of the average figure (6.3%) for all first degrees in 2001. With big job cuts at merchant banks and management consultants, accounting as a career option has become more popular with students and graduates. Accounting firms are reported to have received far more applications this year than in the previous years. This may be one of the reasons for the rise in the unemployment rate for accountancy graduates in 2001 compared with 2000 (4.8%), as more graduates from other disciplines are attracted to vacancies in the sector. In 2001, 18.4% of first degree graduates undertook some form of further study, compared with 10% of accountancy graduates and 8.6% of business and management studies graduates. This has been a traditional trend, with graduates from these degree groups preferring to pursue professional development and training through on-the-job opportunities. Another factor influencing this pattern has been the rise in management training positions. Types of Work
Although graduates from these disciplines undertake a wide range of occupations, there are still distinct preferences with, for example, 42.5% of accountancy graduates from 2001 taking jobs within the business and finance professions. Not surprisingly, chartered, certified and management accountancy continue to attract high numbers of accountancy graduates. Public services, traditionally seen as being the most reliable employers during recessions, have seen a large increase in applications per vacancy. The 2002 survey undertaken by Universum Communications shows that business graduates rated government/public services as their most preferred type of work, closely followed by media and marketing. This is reflected in the destinations of business and administrative studies graduates in 2001, with 25.2% of business and management studies graduates entering commercial, industrial and public sector management occupations. Early Careers and Earnings
Analysis of vacancies appearing in Prospects Today (a national graduate vacancy bulletin distributed to all careers services) shows that in the year to March 2002, the average graduate starting salary offered was £17,515. There was a variety of starting salaries for different occupations popular with business and administrative studies graduates (see Figure 1), eg £17,336 for administrative jobs and £19,726 for management consultancy. 
Trends
| | Table 1: The first destinations of business and administrative studies graduates 1998-2001 | | Numbers graduating (survey respondents) | Entering employment [%] | Entering further study/ training [%] | Unemployed at time of survey [%] | Other [%] | | 2001 | 1998 | 2001 | 1998 | 2001 | 1998 | 2001 | 1998 | 2001 | 1998 | All First Degree Subjects | 176,415 | 172,662 | 67.7 | 69.2 | 18.4 | 18.9 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 6.2 | Accountancy | 2,430 | 2,082 | 78.2 | 83.3 | 10.0 | 7.3 | 6.2 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 4.5 | Busines & Management Studies | 11,525 | 9,854 | 75.7 | 79.2 | 8.6 | 7.4 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 9.0 | 6.5 | All Business & Administrative Studies | 13,955 | 11,936 | 76.1 | 79.9 | 8.8 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 8.3 | 6.1 |
Table 1 shows the first destinations of business and administrative graduates for 1998 and 2001. The level of unemployment six months after graduation amongst these graduates remained at 6.6% for these two years, contrary to the average 10.5% rise for all disciplines. The percentage of accountancy graduates entering employment has fallen from 83.3% in 1998 to 78.2.% in 2001, but the rate for further study/training has increased from 7.3% to 10% during the same period. The percentage of business and management studies graduates entering employment has dropped from 79.2% in 1998 to 75.7% in 2001, but the rate for further study/training has increased from 7.4% to 8.6% during this time. References
Detailed information about types of work, written by AGCAS higher education careers advisers, can be found in explore types of jobs. Occupations especially relevant to business and administration studies graduates can be found under: AGCAS publications are also available in your local higher education careers service, or from CSU, Tel: 0161 277 5271. - Focus on Finance and Business, CSU, 2002
- Management 2002 - Hobsons Career Guide, Hobsons
- Finance 2002 - Hobsons Career Guide, Hobsons
- Careers in Accountancy (7th Edition), Kogan Page, ISBN: 0749430486
- Q&A: Accountancy (2nd Edition), Trotman, ISBN: 0856606561
- Getting into Financial Services, Trotman, ISBN: 0856603783
- Getting into the City, Trotman, ISBN: 0856606839
Useful Websites
On this site for a wealth of careers related information by exploring types of jobs and options with your subject. |
