A new chapter in understanding graduate outcomes
What you share in the Graduate Outcomes survey doesn’t stop at stats - it’s now linked by the Department for Education to real earnings data. Together, we’re uncovering what makes work truly rewarding and shaping better futures.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of graduates like you take part in the Graduate Outcomes survey and every single response matters more than you might think.
Policymakers in all nations want graduates to have access to good quality jobs and fulfilling work.
Fulfilment relates to whether our employment provides a sense of purpose and enables us to use our skills, as well as meet our development ambitions. We can only understand these aspects of work by including questions about how you feel about your current job in the Graduate Outcomes survey.
Specifically, we ask you to highlight the extent to which you agree/disagree with the following statements:
- My current work is meaningful
- My current work fits with my future plans
- I am utilising what I learnt during my studies in my current work
The Department for Education (DfE) (who are responsible for higher education policy in England) have now linked your responses to these questions to earnings data held by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. You can read more about how your data is processed, who receives it, and what they will use it for in our privacy information.
This has shown that there are a set of jobs that are both low paid and provide less fulfilment to graduates. That is, there are inequalities in our jobs market with good quality employment and fulfilling work seemingly not available to all workers in our economy.
Why this matters to you and future graduates
Your responses are helping to develop a more detailed picture of graduate outcomes for policymakers and helping to shift the focus from just “getting a job” to getting a good job.
If graduates say their jobs don’t feel meaningful or don’t use their skills, that’s a signal something needs to change.
In short: your experience is shaping the future - for universities, for government, and for the next generation of students.
So what can you do?
When the Graduate Outcomes survey lands in your inbox, take just 10 minutes to complete it. Make sure the graduate experience is about more than just numbers.
It’s not just a survey. It’s your chance to make your voice count.
Find out more about how DfE have linked earnings data to Graduate Outcomes survey responses.