I have just published a new paper with Rosie Alexander and Robin Mellors-Bourne. In the paper we evaluate the Office for Students’ local graduate programme. You can view the paper on the OfS website.

In the paper we explore how individuals’ careers are pursued in spaces and places. We argue that where we live, where we study, where we work and the connection between these places makes a difference to the opportunities that are available to us.

Yet, individuals are rarely free just to follow opportunities wherever they may be. A range of personal, practical, familial, societal and legal ties, affinities and constraints mean that our careers always have to navigate the art of the possible within geographical constraints.

While graduates are typically more mobile than non-graduates, their mobility decisions continue to be complex and intertwined in their lives. Importantly, in the context of
this Office for Students (OfS) funded programme, the evidence shows that the most mobile
graduates (those who move for university and then move away again after university) have
some of the best graduate outcomes.

In contrast, students with lower levels of mobility are less likely to be in professional employment. The OfS Challenge Competition: ‘Industrial strategy and skills – support for local students and graduates’ (more commonly referred to as the ‘Improving outcomes for local graduates’) was launched in October 2018. The competition aimed to support universities and partnerships to deliver innovative projects targeted at supporting local graduates and students, and through doing so improve both graduate outcomes and local prosperity. Funding allocations were announced in May 2019 with funding awarded to 16 projects based across different English regions. A total of £5.6 million of funding was made available by the OfS, with a further £4.9 million of in-kind support. The funded projects, which together constitute what we refer to as the programme, ran from Spring 2019 for three years (with many extended to later in 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic).

Programme reach

This evaluation demonstrates that, overall, the projects aspired to engage 6500 students (or graduates) and 1400 employers between them. Over the life of the programme, the target student (or graduate) participation was exceeded, with total participation of 6933, while the employer target was largely achieved, with the programme reaching 1269 employers. This is a significant achievement given that many project activities took place during the Covid-19
pandemic.

Outcomes

• 89% of student or graduate participants were positive about their participation in the programme with improvements evident in relation to:
• Confidence in their potential ability to get the type of employment that they would want;
• Employability skills and, in some cases, technical skills;
• A sense of ‘belonging’ to the university community, local community and/or to an
  employment sector;
• Interest in remaining in the local area after graduation;
• Clarity of career intention and aspiration;
• Understanding of the local labour market, the needs of local employers and the relevance of their skills and experience to local employment.

87% of employers participating in the programme reported that their participation had brought
value to their business. Specific value was identified in the following areas:

• Extra capacity within the business (especially for those employers hosting internships or placements);
• New skills leading to business improvements (especially technical or digital skills);
• Market insights particularly relating to young people’s perspectives and interests;
• Improved recruitment processes supporting graduate applicants from diverse backgrounds;
• Improved awareness of the value of employing graduates, including those from a wider range of subject specialisms than they would previously have considered.

Alongside valuable outcomes for employers and students/graduates, the projects also demonstrated wider valuable outcomes for the partnerships themselves. These included:

• Improved understanding of the regional graduate labour market, achieved through bespoke research activities or monitoring and evaluation activities;
• Improved networks between stakeholders (students or graduates, employers, universities, and in some cases the wider regional communities) often facilitated through forums, conferences or sectoral events;
• Generation of spin-off activities or potential activities through the partnerships established and the insights developed.

To find out more see…

Alexander, R., Hooley, T., & Mellors-Bourne, R. (2023). Supporting local students. An evaluation of the Office for Students Challenge Competition: Industrial strategy and skills support for local students and graduates’. Office for Students.