North and South Wales have distinct graduate job markets with little movement of candidates between them, new research suggests.
Prospects at Jisc’s analysis of ONS workforce data and the Graduate Outcomes survey found distinct graduate job markets in North and South Wales and said that graduates in the north don’t typically leave to work in the south and vice versa.
The What do graduates do? Wales report found graduates in Anglesey and Ceredigion were more likely than anywhere else in the UK bar the Scottish Isles to choose their job because of its location.
The majority (72%) of graduates working in North Wales were originally from the region, which has stronger economic links in terms of the movement of students and graduates with neighbouring areas of England than it does with other parts of Wales. Graduates are more likely to move in and out of North Wales to study and work in England than they are to the south or middle of the country.
While most graduates are working in the public sector, North Wales faces challenges in attracting graduates to business services and IT roles due to its lack of large urban centres.
Meanwhile the region around Cardiff has the strongest graduate labour market in Wales with a high demand for graduates and more professional and business roles.
While new graduates going to work in Swansea are typically people from Wales, Cardiff has more movement with new graduates from England going to Cardiff to study and work.
Cardiff is comparable to the larger graduate cities of Manchester and Edinburgh and brings in students from across the UK. A quarter of graduates starting work there were English and Cardiff is particularly effective among UK cities at retaining graduates who had studied locally but were from elsewhere.
All regions of Wales have a high demand for graduates and it needs around 1,000 new STEM professionals every year to meet demand in 2035. However, last year only around 600 first degree graduates are known to have found those roles.
Charlie Ball, Head of Labour Market Intelligence at Jisc said:
“This report shows that there is no one single graduate labour market in Wales. Rather it is made up of distinct, sometimes overlapping, job markets, each with their own character, needs, opportunities and challenges.
“Cardiff and Swansea are attractive to graduates, but they have different opportunities. In the North and West of Wales, there are not the same kind of large urban jobs markets with corporate employers offering graduate programmes. Here graduates are often motivated by the chance to be part of a community and view their careers as being at least as worthwhile as their counterparts in more traditional urban roles.”
Rhys Daniels, Director Wales at Jisc said:
“These findings highlight the importance of graduates in Wales, particularly for STEM roles, yet there are very distinct job markets. The north and south divide means that there is no one solution for Welsh institutions who work hard to deliver high quality employability support to students and graduates.
“As we welcome the introduction of Medr, reports like this are invaluable for aligning higher education with the evolving needs of employers. Jisc is committed to supporting Welsh universities by providing the digital tools and skills necessary to thrive in this changing landscape. This support is essential as we continue to adapt and respond to new challenges and opportunities within the sector.”
