University is no longer just about granting someone a qualification on paper: in today’s competitive market, that degree has to mean something in the wider world of work. Those attending Scotland’s universities in the 2,000s are looking to graduate with practical, employable skills that will see them hired within 6 months of leaving.
While they won’t pay the tuition fees that are mandatory south of the border, Scottish students will still fork out up to £5,000 on living expenses, educational materials and travel for every year of their four-year undergraduate study. Degrees nowadays need to convert into value for money. Where on the higher education map should prospective students focus their attention, for the best chance of getting a job at the end of it all?
The positive slant on all of this is that two of Scotland’s universities have ranked in the UK top ten for employability, according to a 2013 YouGov poll. Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and the University of St Andrews are amongst the best universities in the whole country, with the former boasting a huge 98% of university-leavers in employment or enrolling for further study within half a year of graduating. Elsewhere, the figures for Glasgow Caledonian University were at an impressive 96%.
Robert Gordon also came first in a separate employability survey by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, while the percentage of successful Stirling graduates reached 94%, equal to York and Bristol universities in England.
Naturally, students shouldn’t consider these figures in isolation; the widely-recognised university league tables rate institutions in terms of factors like quality of research, student satisfaction and entry standards, as well as taking into account graduate prospects. But Scotland’s still up there in the overall student experience; St Andrews and The University of Edinburgh appear in the top 20 for the league tables this year, with Glasgow University ranking 23rd.
In addition, factors like whether the university organises work-based placements, actively helps you develop skills such as teamwork, entrepreneurship and customer awareness, or arranges industry talks can make the difference as to your strengths when you emerge on the other side.
With an increasingly educated workforce, Scotland has a competitive jobs market, which should be tackled with all the available resources behind you. Before making that final decision on the UCAS application, it’s certainly advisable to look for vocational markers as a priority.