Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of university graduates currently in non-graduate roles; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of careers service support in assisting graduates in accessing graduate roles.

The department has not undertaken any specific assessment of trends of graduates in non-graduate roles. However, the Office for National Statistics have previously released data on numbers of graduates in non-graduate roles using one particular definition of graduate roles supplied by the Institute for Employment Research. The releases are for 2021 to 2022 and 2012 to 2020, and they show that the percentage of graduates in non-graduate roles has dropped from 37.2% in 2012 to 36.0% in 2020. The full 2021 to 2022 release is available here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/adhocs/1450onslocalgraduatesandnongraduatesemployedingraduateandnongraduaterolesnumbersandproportionsforukcountriesandregions2021and2022.

The full 2012 to 2020 release is available here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/adhocs/13929employedgraduatesinnongraduaterolesincityregions2012to2020.

While most universities provide graduate careers support, the National Careers Service complements this by offering personalised, accessible and impartial advice to all adults, including recent graduates.

Careers service support should assist graduates in accessing graduate roles, ensuring that they contribute to the economy and society through the skills that they acquire. The department knows from Skills England’s September 2024 report ‘Driving Growth and Widening Opportunities’ that many of England’s businesses are dependent on graduate skills.