19 August 2015 
Matt Sisson, Projects and Membership Manager
The number of people placed in full time UK HE for the 15/16 academic year has hit a record high, according to the latest figures from UCAS. As of midnight on Monday, over 461,000 prospective students had been placed at institutions, up 3% on the same time last year. This included almost 35,000 placed through clearing, up 6% on 14/15. Students can enter clearing until 21st September, and as over 61,000 were finally placed through clearing last year, plenty more places are likely to be taken up. UCAS do a daily breakdown of clearing applicants by demographics, as well as subjects and type of institution.
Despite record numbers of students at university, a recent report by CIPD has found that the majority of graduates are now working in non-graduate jobs. According to the institute, 58.8% of graduates are in roles that don’t require a degree. It also highlights how this is a particular problem for the UK, with the high level here exceeded only by Greece and Estonia. The BBC has an article covering the story.
In a related story, employers in Scotland ‘remain concerned’ about shortcomings in graduate skills, The Scotsman reports.
