Employability is the latest buzzword in the HE. And here again, flexibility is also the name of the game, according to David Willetts in the Guardian this week. With nearly 70 applicants for every graduate job, Willetts is telling students that they need to be more flexible in their definition of a "graduate job". Why not start a business, for example? And be prepared to start on the shopfloor, says the chief of Graduate Prospects. Meanwhile university careers services are reporting more activity than ever, with some reporting a 50% rise. And as expected, postgraduate education has also seen an increase, with applications increasing by 32% in some places.
In any case, graduate employability is firmly on the 'radar' this year, with all HEFCE-funded universities needing to produce employability statements by August 31st. The THE has also produced a list of top-performing universities in terms of graduate employability.