The Impact of Covid-19 on Recent Graduates' Career Decisions and Outcomes

Lead Research Organisation: University of Southampton
Department Name: Southampton Education School

Abstract

This research investigates the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on university graduates' career decision making and planning, their transition into the job market and early career outcomes. The study will further address whether there are inequities across the graduate population on the effects of this crisis in terms of drawing upon resources which may influence their career decision making, including social networks and ties, career planning and resilience. The project utilises a mixed method research design based on a longitudinal survey and interviews over the course of a year. The outcomes of the project will inform practitioner guidance and policy making around enhancing graduates' readiness in a challenging labour market, as well as raising policy implications for employer organizations in best supporting graduates' transition into the economy.
 
Description The main project's data can be summarised as follows.

Three quarters of graduates noticed a fall in the number of available opportunities since March 2020
and the vast majority (83%) feel that the pandemic has had a detrimental impact on graduates'
employment prospects.
Most graduates have been made to think differently about their future (79.4%), have become less
confident about their future employment prospects (72.6%), and faced greater challenges finding
employment than they expected (71.9%).
Over half of graduates have reported being unemployed for longer than two weeks since March 2020
or been employed in a job that did not draw on their graduate qualifications or skills. Over a quarter of
graduates surveyed have experienced being on furlough at any point since March 2020.
Over 80% of graduates who had been unemployed, underemployed, made redundant or furloughed
felt that their wellbeing and/or morale had been affected. Just under 70% felt that their experience had
made them question the value of their degree, had negatively affected their employment outlook, or
had affected their confidence about what they can offer to employers.
? However, a third of graduates who had experienced a negative employment outcome felt that their
experience had given them a chance to gain experience and new skills or felt like a necessary step to
future employment whilst 60% felt that their experiences had given them the opportunity to reflect on
what they want from their career.
Interviews revealed widespread concerns over the current graduate labour market with many
perceiving reductions in opportunities, greater precariousness, not being able to access suitable
graduate-level employment and even more intense job competition.
The interviews and open survey responses also indicated early scarring effects from the first year of
graduation with a number of graduates reporting being dejected and demotivated by their
employment situations and having had their initial career goals and aspirations significantly destabilised.

In the second wave of the study, the main findings showed that:

The pandemic-affected labour market continues to have an adverse impact on graduates'
perceived career prospects.
In the 15 months since graduating, over half (59.3%) of graduates perceive that the COVID-19
pandemic has affected their employment prospects.
At the time of the second survey, just over half of respondents were in full-time employment,
13.5% in part-time work and 2.6% unemployed.
There is a clear distinction between graduates who have made more seamless and
successful transitions and those for whom this process remains protracted and challenging
The latter are still in the process of finding their feet, working out their longer-term goals and
trying to build profiles that boost their employment prospects.
A significant number of graduates who are struggling to find appropriate graduate-level work
expressed concern over their longer-term prospects and were worried about a potential
decline in the value of their graduate qualifications over time.

Other notable findings based on demographic data revealed that:

Female graduates reported higher levels of anxiety and were less confident about their future
employment prospects, their long-term career prospects and what they could offer future
employers in comparison to male graduates.
Non-British White graduates were the most satisfied with their current employment situation
and Black British the least satisfied.
Graduates with disabilities were more likely to be unemployed or underemployed than those
without a disability, as well as less confident about their prospects.
Graduates with disabilities were also less likely to be in a graduate job, find the recruitment
process challenging, and less able to find employment opportunities that matched their skills.
Graduates whose parents attended HE were more likely to be satisfied in their employment
outcome and more confident about their future employment.
Exploitation Route We aim for the findings to support the practical/toolkit framework to be co-produced by Heads of Services, to support current and future graduates, as well as career guidance practice for current students.
We continue to engage in policy development work and further engagement with policy makers and significant stakeholder with the study's findings to inform public policy around supporting graduates in the economy, including finding ways of employers to help support current graduates' employment prospects.
Sectors Creative Economy,Education,Other
 
Description The findings have been used to inform career guidance practice, policy and provision within the HE based on engagement to data with the project's key findings and practical implications. HE practitioners and Heads of Services have used the data to improve practice for graduates making transitions into a challenging economic context and the findings are widely applicable to all HE providers. The Toolkit was released published in April 2022 provides an additional key resource towards further enhancing the project's impact reach. The Toolkit, its principles and practical components was also disseminated at AGCAS's annual conference in June 2022 to over 100 practitioners. AGCAS host the Toolkit which includes resources links evidence base, best practice and AGCAS Connect which is an online network for members to access community-driven help and support. The evidence to date from AGCAS indicates a good interest amongst practitioners in the Toolkit as a framework for supporting graduates and the PI and AGCAS will be continuing engagement work from Spring 2023 to engage with practitioners, including speaking at network meetings. The Toolkit has further been adapted to incorporate elements of the PI's influential Graduate Capital Model and we will be using this as a basis for a future impact case study. Following the project, interest was shown by AGCAS's Disabilities Task Group to see how the project's findings could be applied to disadvantaged groups, including Disables and Neurodivergent graduates. Aspects of the Toolkit and capital model were adopted for the PRO Autism employability course designed for autistic university students and graduates looking to move into employment. We have recently secured funding from Research England (Higher Education Innovation Funding) from February 2023-July 2023 to develop training and knowledge exchange activities for neurodivergent graduates and employers. This is a good example of further impact reach following from this project and enlarging the evidence base to include at risk graduates, who the initial research showed to be experiencing more significant early career disadvantage. We aim for this to produce more equitable and sustainable labour market outcomes for these types of graduates.
First Year Of Impact 2022
Sector Education
Impact Types Policy & public services
 
Description Research impact on practice and policy in HE careers
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
 
Title 2 Rounds of survey of the impact of COVID-19 on graduate career decisions and outcomes and Interview with recent graduates 
Description This is an original survey, co-designed with career practitioners, to gage the impact of COVID-19 on graduates' career and employment outcomes. The survey contains four key sections, including graduate demographic details, job search experiences, career goals/values and engagement with career services. The survey contains original items on job search and experience, including on the effects of unemployment/under-employment. The survey has also adapted previously validated items from the PI's previous research on forms of employability capital. The survey has been completed by 3,000 recent graduates representing a diverse cross-section of the graduate population and has reached the intended target sample. The second wave survey was conducted with the same cohort six months later in the summer of 2021 and resulted 610 responses. Two rounds of interview were conducted, the first with 56 graduates from January to April 2021 and the second follow-up wave with 24 of this cohort from August to October 2021. 
Type Of Material Data analysis technique 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact See earlier item responses on the impacts of study on policy and practice. 
URL https://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/856154/
 
Description Heads of Career Service network 
Organisation Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution The PI and CO-I have been in regular contact with this network to engage with the project and establish buy in to the project from a wider practitioner and policy audience.
Collaborator Contribution The Heads of Service Network have helped publicise the project survey to a wider graduate population and provided active steerage on the design of the survey to ensure quality and robustness and that future practical outcomes can be maximised. They will play a significant role in disseminating the findings to the wider practitoner community and helping design practical outcomes from the project.
Impact Bespoke institutional case reports are being prepared for each institutional partner that details survey outcomes against their institution's graduate population
Start Year 2020
 
Description A magazine article on the key research findings 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The project'S CO-I and Head of Research at AGCAS has published an article on WONHE 'Graduate recruitment - short-term setbacks or long-term scars?'. She has also
proactively engaged with social media, such as Twitter and social media related to university careers. This article has helped promote the project's findings to a wide audience and present them in an accessible way.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description AGCAS Conference presentation: Supporting graduates in times of uncertainty: Introducing the AGCAS Graduate Support Toolkit, June 2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This involved presenting the key practical components of the research, namely the Graduate Support Toolkit. This helped provide insight into the key components of the Toolkit, how it can be adopted by career services and practitioners, as well as practical guidance for its adoption. The conference was attended by over 100 activites and feedback from respondents indicated that there is practitioner interest in adopting the graduate support toolkit. The PI has been invited to give an overview of the Toolkit to a career practitioner network meeting (hosting by Bradford University and City University) involving 30 practitioners share practice on supporting graduate transitions in April 2023. It is hoped that this and further activities over the coming months will raise further awareness of the Toolkit over the next year.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description INEUCS Blog: Healing from Covid-19 labour market scars, April 2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This was a blog post using key project data that was disseminated to the International Network of Employers and Careers Services.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Keynote talk at annual Association for Graduates Careers and Advisory Services annual conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The PI and Co-I presented are work as a keynote lecture at the annual Association for Careers and Advisory Services conference. This was received by over 500 conference participants, mainly from the practitioner and policy community and generated significant interest and awareness in the project and how career services can align their provision to current student and graduate demand. This was attended by over 500 participants and generating considerable interest in the project and its key findings. Follow up responses from participants, mainly HE practitioners and policy makers, indicated that there was significant interest in the impact of COVD-19 on recent graduates, in particular disadvantaged groups. Many were interested in the policy recommendations on how these could be supported and how AGCAS could further support them in achieving best practice.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Presentation of key first wave data to senior staff at Skills Development Scotland 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The CO-I and PI presented our key finding to senior staff at the Skills Development Scotland who have previously worked with AGCAS. This concerned how the data related to the Scottish HEIs involved in the study, as well as the wider project findings. This generated further interest in how the study's findings could be used to shape practice in careers services and guidance in Scottish HE and raise awareness amongst employers for support first-time graduate entrants. This was shared the Scottish data with Scottish Government policy makers.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Presentation of key project findings to ESRC's ReWAGE network 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact In January 2022, the PI was invited to present a project overview to the Renewing Work Advisory Group of Experts - an independent group, modelled on SAGE and designed to provide advice and assistance on work and employment to government as it tackles the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic (funded by ESRC as part of its response to COVID). A project briefing report was also produced for this meeting and shared with the REWAGE group. The wider outcome of this event was to gather evidence on the impacts of COVID-19 on different employment groups and forms and enhance the evidence for policy makers to improve provision in skills, training and support.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation of key project findings to careers practitioner staff at Loughborough University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The AGCAS Co-I and Head of Marketing delivered a one-hour online session on the project and its impacts for career practitioners for Loughborough University. They were approached immediately after the report's launch in the summer by their Head of Marketing and Advancement who has invited them to collaborate with AGCAS members based at Loughborough's Careers Network to present and contextualise the report's findings. They were particularly interested in learning more about the WP dimension. The Loughborough audience will extend beyond the careers and employability community generated significant interest in the project's main findings and how the project's the toolkit can be applied to a broader range of institutional colleagues.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Presentation of the project at Finnish career practitioners network 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The PI was invited to give a talk at an annual network for Finnish Higher Education career practitioners on 'Career Guidance for the Work of the Future' in August 2021. The talk involved presenting key project findings and making links to the PI's previous work which is well-established in Finland. The talk generated much interest in practitioner who were interested in learning how the findings and policy implications could inform practice and guidance in this context. Participants were given links to the first wave project report and interest was shown in future collaboration on related topics and this is ongoing with colleagues based at Turku University and the University of Eastern Finland.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Workshop presentation at the Career Development Institute National Research Conference, titled 'An introduction to conducting online surveys'. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The Principal Investigator and Co-I gave a joint 45 minute presentation on the survey that has been developed and distributed for the current project. The session aimed to enhance participants' confidence in designing and managing online research surveys and we will give our different perspectives on how to ensure online survey success. We will also drew deeply on what we learnt from the recent online survey-based research project and some of the key principles to the design and its relationship to the project goals. The presentation would have helped promote interest and awareness in the project and its outcomes from what was a largely practitioner audience and some its intended outcomes.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021