Levels of employment stability are particularly high for part-time students with four out of five working throughout their study and two years later, according to a new report co-authored by Birkbeck’s Professor Claire Callender.
Students were surveyed when they were in their final year of study and two years later to examine the impact of part-time courses on career progression.
The longitudinal study published by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit shows that 81 per cent of respondents were employed before, during and after their course, and 78 per cent of this group worked full-time. Of those who were working in their final year of study, 80 per cent were with the same employer and 93 per cent were continuously employed two years after graduation. Around half of this group reported that the course had enabled them to do more interesting work, get more job satisfaction, and improved pay and promotion prospects.
According to the report, called Futuretrack: Impact of part-time learning two years after graduation, only a fifth of employees changed employer since graduation and the study revealed that employer support for part-time education dampens mobility – giving paid time-off to study increases the likelihood of graduates remaining with their employer.
Employers further benefited from having staff who felt better qualified and able to do their job, had a deeper understanding of their work and were more confident. Roughly eight out of ten graduates felt their course had a direct impact or was helpful in each of these measures.
Overall, graduates reported other benefits from part-time study; they cited that it had helped them develop as a person (88 per cent), improve self confidence (78 per cent) and increase their overall happiness (55 per cent).
The report’s co-author Claire Callender, Professor of Higher Education Policy in Birkbeck’s Department of Psychosocial Studies, said: “Our research clearly shows the value of part-time study – how it improves skills, leads to higher salaries, and boosts social mobility. As a result of their studies, 83 per cent of students surveyed felt better qualified to do their jobs and 63 per cent had taken on more responsibilities at work. One-third of all UK undergraduates study part-time, so this is not a marginal issue.”
The report’s co-author David Wilkinson, Principal Research Fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, added: “Our report is one of only a few longitudinal studies of part-time undergraduate students in the UK, and its findings are very encouraging. Two years after finishing their courses, former students were positive about their experiences of part-time study: 69 per cent said their time spent studying was a good investment.”
Jane Artess, director of research at HECSU, commissioned the report. She said: “Part-time study clearly benefits both the employer and employee as well as wider society. Students quickly enjoyed the advantages that they had gained from their course after graduating, using what they had learnt very effectively – and to their advantage - in the workplace. Employers who support staff through their studies are set to gain the most, with a higher chance of retaining talented employees who are better engaged and equipped to do their job.”
HECSU is a registered charity that supports the work of higher education careers services in the UK and Republic of Ireland and funds major research projects that benefit the higher education careers sector.
Source: Birkbeck, University of London
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