Vigorous labour market recovery for building and architecture graduates, research reports

Architecture and building graduates enjoyed higher than average employment rates with 85.1 per cent in work six months after leaving university when compared to all graduates (76.6 per cent). Unemployment rates were one percent lower than those for all graduates at 5.3 per cent.

In 2010, 68 per cent of architecture and building graduates were in work and 10.9 per cent, unemployed six months after graduating.

Prospects’ annual What do graduates do? research published in partnership with the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), reveals the destinations of 267,735 full- and part-time first degree graduates in January 2015 – six months after they had left university. A total of 5,830 had studied architecture and building.

Architecture and building graduates were most likely to go into professional-level work directly related to their degree, with 44.7 per cent working as engineers, architects or surveyors, and 21.4 per cent as architecture or town planning technicians.

The gender divide in building related degrees was least notable in architectural-related subjects where nearly 40 per cent of all graduates were women.

Charlie Ball, head of higher education intelligence at Prospects said: “This cohort started university mid-recession, when the outlook for graduates was the worst it had been for a generation. They worked hard, they made themselves employable and they have been rewarded.

“The good news for architectural and building graduates reflects growth in the construction sector, which looks set to continue into next year with the forecast looking particularly rosy for public and private housing investment and infrastructure improvements in road, rail and energy.

“This doesn’t mean that new graduates can just walk into a job. They will still have to work hard to get where they want. They can get excellent support from their university – careers services have also worked hard during the recession and these improved graduate outcomes are also a testament to the quality of the advice and guidance offered to students.”

Eluned Jones, AGCAS President and Director of Student Employability at the University of Birmingham, said: “It’s encouraging to see this continued rise in graduate employability and we especially welcome the strong outcomes in students gaining graduate-level employment. This demonstrates the commitment of everyone working towards the employability agenda in universities, including careers services, students, academics, professional services and employers - all of whom play a vital part in this journey”