Graduates get jobs…
Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:38:00 BST
Research by a Government agency has put the University of Huddersfield’s School of Education and Professional Development at the top of the class for propelling its students into well-paid careers.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has completed its latest survey into the paths taken by graduates and postgraduates when they leave their universities and colleges – the exercise is known as Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE).
Education graduate Dave Brook (centre) receiving the Keith Webb Prize for Best
Teaching Resource from tutors Dr Margaret McLay and Ian Findlay.
And once they began their careers, graduates from the School of Education and Professional Development received an average starting salary of £24, 200, which is £4,500 higher than the national average. Students who went on to complete postgraduate degrees began their working lives earning an average of £26,000 – more than £1,500 above the national norm.
The University of Huddersfield is one of the country’s largest providers of teacher training and the School of Education and Professional Development is one of just eight departments in the country that are designated as a Centre for Excellence for Teacher Training. The latest HESA findings came in the same week as the announcement that Dr Christine Jarvis, who is Dean of the School, has been granted a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship – in 2009 her colleague Denise Robinson won the same award.
The HESA statistics were compiled from a survey of 838 School of Education and Professional Development students six months after their graduation. It was discovered that 96.1 per cent of those with foundation degrees had found work or gone on to further study.
The same applied to 96.8 per cent of those with postgraduate degrees. And 100 per cent of graduates with bachelor degrees were in employment or were in the process of studying for extra qualifications. Overall, 96.9 per cent of Education and Professional Development graduates had seen this positive outcome to their studies – the UK average figure is 90.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, the numbers of ex-students who found graduate level jobs, paying enhanced salaries, was also found to be exceptionally high at Huddersfield. In the case of those with bachelor degrees it was 97.2 per cent.
Stephen Boyd, who is Head of the Careers and Employability Service at the University of Huddersfield, commented: “For consecutive years now, this survey has shown that the School of Education and Professional Development has consistently produced highly-employable and highly-skilled professionals. The training and support they receive throughout the course undoubtedly helps these students make such a great start to their careers and, as can be seen by these results, their time at the university acts as a wonderful springboard into this sector.”
The Dean of the School of Education and Professional Development, Dr Christine Jarvis, said: “We produce outstanding graduates. These excellent employment results are a tribute to the high calibre of our students and the professional expertise of the staff that support them at the University and in our partner schools and colleges.”
