Employment of graduates from Higher Vocational Education and Advanced Vocational Education and Training in 2012 - Myndigheten för yrkeshögskolan

Employment of

graduates from

Higher Vocational

Education and

Advanced Vocational

Education and

Training in 2012

Table of contents

Summary 4

1. Introduction

6

2. Employment the year after graduating remains at

a high level

8

3. Improved matching results between education

and employment

13

Background data

18

Survey implementation

22

Foreword

Higher Vocational Education (HVE) programmes are designed to meet the demand for a qualified workforce. It is important to follow up the results and effects from Higher Vocational Education, seen from the perspective of the individual and society.

In this report, the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education (the Agency for HVE) describes the most important results from a study that examines employment statistics among graduates in 2012, the year after completing their studies. The purpose of the report is to describe how well programmes meet industry’s need for a qualified workforce.

The report has been drawn up by Anna Berr (project leader) and Paula Kossack at the Department of Analysis and Research. Västerås, February 2013

Björn Schéele Head of department

Summary

HVE programmes have shown good results in recent years. HVE studies very often result in employment and the students are generally very satisfied with their education. This is confirmed by the report, which is based on a survey carried out by Statistics Sweden commissioned by the Agency for HVE in 2012, focusing on 2011 HVE graduates and graduates from Advanced Vocational Education and Training (AVET).

A near nine out of ten students who graduated in 2011 had found employment by autumn 2012 and the same proportion were satisfied with their education. This corresponds to the same high level as from the previous year.

It should also be noted that more than seven out of ten had employment before they completed their programme, or at the latest within one month of graduating, and that nine out of ten had employment within six months. This is a clear indication of that the qualifications awarded for HVE programmes are those in demand in the labour market and that the transition from studies to employment occurs rapidly.

Approximately six out of ten graduates had employment that completely or mostly corresponded with their programme. This proportion increased by about 12 percentage points from the previous year. This positive development shows that HVE qualifications match the need for professional skills in industry even better than previously. 11 per cent had employment that did not correspond with their programmes.

Note: Since the statistics are based on a questionnairy survey, there is some uncertainty involved. The reported percentages are estimates and have a 95% confidence interval where the true value lies within a margin of error of +1 percentage point.

Employment after studies

87 % employed, of which - 5 % self-employed Length of time to employment after studies 74 % within a month 90 % within 6 months

Same employer as during work placement training period

47% yes

Same employer as before studies

15 % yes

Employment before studies

61 % employed, of which - 3 % self-employed Satisfaction with programme 47 % very satisfied 41 % rather satisfied 9 % rather dissatisfied 3 % very dissatisfied Correspondence between programme and work

62 % wholly/mainly 27 % to some extent 11 % not at all Qualification’s usefulness in job seeking 63 % to a large extent 21 % to some extent 16 % not useful

graduates

11,976

Overall results

1

1. Introduction

According to the 2013 government appropriations document for the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education, HVE student employment must be reported one year after successful programme completion. In this report, the Swedish National Agency for HVE presents the results from a survey carried out by Statistics Sweden in 2012, aimed at students who graduated from HVE programmes and AVET1

programmes in 2011. The survey examines the graduates’ situation in the labour market one year after graduation. Equivalent surveys have been carried out since 1999 and in the last five years they have been comparable.

The purpose of this report is to follow up the most

important indicators of how HVE programmes provide industry with a qualified workforce. The two most important indicators are the proportion of employed graduates the year after graduation and how that employment corresponds to their programme. These two indicators show how HVE qualifications match industry’s need for professional competence.

The survey was aimed at all 2011 graduates2 _{and had a}

response rate of 66 % (approximately 7,900 people). Due to the existing non-response rate, the statistics are impaired by some uncertainty. The reported percentages are estimates and have a 95 % confidence interval, which means that the true value is within a certain range with a 95 % probability. The values shown in the report have a margin of error of ±1 percentage point (unless otherwise specified).

1 _{Advanced Vocational Education and Training (AVET) programmes are the predecessors} of the HVE programmes. AVET programmes have been running for about 15 years, while the first HVE programmes started in autumn 2009. In 2011, AVET programmes were still in majority (71 %). The last students will graduate from these programmes in 2013. 2 _{The term graduates apply to students who completed their programme in a single} ses-sion as well as students who were awarded their qualification at a later date. The term

percentage of graduates is defined as the percentage of enrolled students who graduate,

including those who enrol later on in the programme. The percentage of graduates in 2011 was 68 %.

2

2. Employment the year

after graduating remains

at a high level

The success rate of the HVE programmes is illustrated using different indicators. The most fundamental indicator is that students find employment after graduation.

87 % of the 2011 graduates were employed3 _{in the autumn}

of 2012, as shown in chart 1. This remains at the same level as in the previous year. Only 7 % were unemployed or in work- integrated learning programmes, while 4 % chose to continue with further studies. The differences between gender and age groups, as in the previous year, remained small.

CHArT 1. Main occupation after studies, percentage (%) of graduates

3 _{The concept of employed covers both employment and self-employment.}

2

4

7

87

61

18

16

5

A rapid transition from education to employment indicates that the graduates’ skills are in demand in the labour market. More than 70 % were employed before they completed their programme or within one month of graduation and 90 % had found employment within six months. Nearly half of the gradu-ates who were employed had the same employer as during their workplace training period4_{. This shows that the placement}

part of the HVE programme is a key element that gives the students good opportunities to establish contact with potential employers.

The majority (approximately 60 %) of the 2011 graduates were employed before entering their programme, as shown in chart 2. The proportion of those students who were un-employed before their studies increased by five percentage points compared to the previous year. This may be caused by the fact that the majority of the 2011 graduates began their HVE studies in 2009, when the unemployment rate was higher than in the previous year. Approximately 78 % of those un-employed before their studies had found employment the year after graduating.

15 % of those employed after their studies had the same employer as before entering their studies. This figure has decreased by approximately 6 percentage points over the last two years.

Chart 3 shows the proportion of students who graduated between 2007 and 2011 that were employed the year after graduation. The proportion of employed graduates has re-mained at the same level during those years at over 80 % and appears only to be linked to the general situation in the labour market. The 2008 and 2009 graduates entered the labour market during the recession that followed financial turbulence in the global economy. The percentage of employed graduates increased as the unemployment rate began to fall in 2011.

4 _{The Workplace training period is one type of industry engagement in HVE and AVET} programmes. During the workplace training periods while under supervision at a work-place, students will assimilate new knowledge and practice and develop their ability to apply their knowledge in a real work situation.

CHArT 2. Main occupation before studies, proportion of graduates,

percentage (%).

CHArT 3. Percentage (%) of employed graduates the year after

graduation years 2007-2011 100 80 60 40 20 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

The percentage of employed graduates for each field of study shown in chart 4 is 80 % and above. The differences between the fields of study are relatively small and are not statistically verified. A general comparison shows that programmes in fields including Education and Teaching and

Public Works and Construction Engineering most often have

resulted in employment.

CHArT 4. Percentage (%) of employed graduates

per field of study5_{, graduation year 2011}

Note: The reported percentages have a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.

5 _{The graduates in the smallest fields of study are too few to be shown separately. Those} fields include Law, Journalism and Information, Environmental Protection and Security

Services.

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Education and Teaching Public Works and Construction Engineering Transport Services Finance, Administration and Sales Health Care, Nursing and Social Work Hospitality and Toursim Technology and Manufacturing Agriculture, Animal Care, Horticulture, Forestry and Fisheries IT Culture, Media and Design Health Promotion

3. Improved matching

results between

education and

employment

A key indicator for measuring whether HVE succeeds in supplying the industry with the right skills is the percentage of graduates in the year after graduation whose employment corresponds with their programme. If the qualifications of the HVE graduates are in demand in the labour market they should be able to find employment in the field of their HVE studies.

62 % of the graduates found employment that is completely or mainly within the field of their HVE programme. This group has increased in numbers by approximately 12 percentage points from the previous year. This positive development shows that HVE qualifications match the need for professional skills in the industry even better than previously. Chart 5 shows that the category “corresponds to a certain extent” has decreased, while the category “does not correspond” is at a constant level compared with the previous year. 11 % of the graduates had employment that did not correspond with their programme. Differences between gender and age groups are small.6

CHArT 5. Correspondence with programme, percentage (%) of employed

graduates for graduation years 2011 and 2010

6 _{A calculation made on all graduates (including those unemployed) shows the} ap-proximate figure that 54% of the 2011 graduates and 44 % of the 2010 graduates have employment that completely or mainly correspond with their programme.

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 62 50 11 12 27 37 Work corresponds completely or mainly with programme

2010

Work corresponds to some extent with programme

Work does not correspond

with programme 2011

A contributing factor to the increase in the overall percen-tage of those graduates with employment corresponding “completely or mainly with their programme” is that, for the first time, there are graduates from the field of Education and

Teaching. This field of study shows a very high degree of

programme correspondence; see chart 6.

The data results gleaned from comparisons made between specific fields of study in the middle segment are uncertain, as the differences are not statistically verified. However, general conclusions can be drawn, such as that HVE qualifications in the fields of Education and Teaching and IT have resulted in employment with a high correspondence degree to the field of the programme. On the other hand, HVE qualifications in fields of study such as Hospitality and Tourism and Technology

and Manufacturing have resulted in employment with a lower

correspondence degree to the field of the programme.

88 % of the HVE graduates are satisfied with their programme, of which approximately 47 % are “very satisfied” and 41 % are “rather satisfied”, as shown in chart 7. There is no clear corre-lation between the degree of satisfaction and programme field success regarding the proportion with employment or whether the employment corresponds with the programme.

CHArT 6 Percentage (%) of those employed graduates whose employment

“completely or mainly corresponds to their programme” per field of study7

CHArT 7. Satisfaction with programme, percentage (%) of graduates

Note: The reported percentages have a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.

7 _{The graduates in the smallest fields of study are too few to be shown separately. Those} fields include Law, Journalism and Information, Environmental Protection and Security

Services. 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 41 47

Very satisfied Rather satisfied

9

3

Rather dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

Hospitality and Tourism

0 20 40 60 80 100

Education and Teaching IT Health Care, Nursing and Social Work Public Works and Construction Engineering Culture, Media and Design Agriculture, Animal care, Horticulture, Forestry and Fisheries Finance, Administration and Sales Transport Services Technology and Manufacturing

Background data

The number of HVE graduates has doubled over six years, from approximately 6,000 in 2006 to a near 12,000 in 2011. The different fields of study vary a great deal in terms of graduate numbers, as shown in Table 1. The largest fields of study are

Finance, Administration and Sales followed by Technology and Manufacturing. The field of study with the lowest number of

graduates separately shown in the survey is Health Promotion. The graduates in the smallest fields of study are too few to be shown separately and are combined in Other fields of study8_.

8 _{The category Other fields of study consists of the following fields: Law, Journalism and}

Information, Environmental Care and Environmental Protection and Security Services.

TABlE 1. Number of graduates per field of study 2006 - 2011

Note: The field of study Education and Teaching saw its first graduates in 2011.

Field of study 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Finance,

Administra-tion and Sales 1 871 1 957 2 552 2 924 3 174 3 300 Technology and

Manufacturing 839 1 041 1 081 1 457 1 586 2 066 Health care, Nursing

and Social Work 803 1 209 1 043 1 074 1 231 1 473 Hospitality and

Tourism 557 635 847 809 721 853

IT 309 449 470 557 660 836

Public Works and Construction Engineering

264 390 424 612 763 774

Culture, Media and

Design 615 578 680 686 635 692

Transport Services 241 328 461 446 462 619

Agriculture, Animal Care, Horticulture , Forestry and Fisheries

268 425 383 459 367 458

Education and

Teaching * * * * * 318

Health Promotion 99 195 282 290 297 284

Other fields of study 171 173 263 376 392 303

TABlE 2. Graduates in 2011 per field of study and gender

In 2011, 54 % of the HVE graduates were female and 47 % male; see Table 2. The percentage of male students who graduate has increased compared to the range of 40-42 % between 2006 and 2010. In the fields of Health Care, Nursing, and Social

Work and Health Promotion, the percentage of female students

was significantly greater than the percentage of male students. The opposite applies to IT and Technology and Manufacturing.

Field of study Total Percentage of

female students % Percentage of male students % Finance, Administration and Sales 3 300 73 27 Technology and Manufacturing 2 066 20 80

Health care, Nursing and

Social Work 1 473 90 10

Hospitality and Tourism 853 76 24

IT 836 15 85

Public Works and

Construction Engineering 774 24 76

Culture, Media and Design 692 52 48

Transport Services 619 33 67

Agriculture, Animal Care, Horticulture , Forestry and Fisheries

458 66 34

Education and Teaching 318 52 48

Health Promotion 284 81 19

Other fields of study 303 50 50

Survey implementation

This is a total survey of the 2011 HVE graduates. The data collection was carried out by Statistics Sweden (SCB) using a paper questionnaire (with three reminders) and by giving an opportunity to respond via internet. The population consisted of 11,972 people and 7,903 people responded to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 66 %. The values reported were scaled up to population level, meaning that the results are for all graduates and not only the respondents.

The survey is available on the Swedish National Agency for HVEs website, www.myh.se.

In this report, the Swedish National Agency for Higher

Vocational Education (the Agency for HVE) describes

the most important results from a study that examines

employment statistics among graduates in 2012, the

year after completing their studies. The purpose of

the report is to describe how well programmes meet

industry’s need for a qualified workforce.

Myndigheten för yrkeshögskolan Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education Box 145, 721 05 Västerås, Sweden