Report reveals North and South Wales graduate jobs divide

New research has highlighted the unique characteristics of the Welsh graduate labour market, according to Prospects at Jisc

A new report reveals the unique character of the graduate labour market in Wales, including the way students and graduates move within the country and to England.

Prospects at Jisc analysis of ONS workforce data and the Graduate Outcomes survey found distinct graduate job markets in North and South Wales with little movement between them - graduates in the north don't typically leave to work in the south, and vice versa.

The What do graduates do? Wales report found that graduates in the north, particularly 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.'

Media enquiries

Clare Tregaskis, Prospects and Jisc Student Services, clare.tregaskis@jisc.ac.uk, 07792 429227

About Prospects

Prospects has worked at the heart of higher education for more than 50 years. Part of Jisc Student Services, the directorate collaborates with government, universities and employers to improve student and graduate career outcomes through information, guidance and opportunities. It includes Prospects.ac.uk, which is visited by 1.8 million students and graduates each month, Prospects Luminate and the UK's official postgraduate course database. Jisc Student Services also manages Prospects Hedd degree verification and fraud services.

About Jisc 

Jisc's vision is for the UK to be a world leader in technology for education and research. It owns and operates the super-fast national research and education network, Janet, with built-in cyber security protection. Jisc also provides technology solutions for members (colleges, universities and research centres) and customers (public sector bodies), helps members save time and money by negotiating sector-wide deals and provides advice and practical assistance on digital technology. Jisc is funded by UK higher and further education and research funding bodies and member institutions.