One in ten UK computer science graduates don't have a job
According to the latest figures compiled by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), computer science graduates are still at the top of the UK’s higher education unemployment rankings.
During the academic year of 2014/2015, 10 percent of computer science graduates were unable to find a job six months after graduation. This figure is even higher than the 7.7 percent for students, who studied Mass Communications and documentation, Physical sciences, or Engineering and technology, that had difficulty finding work after graduation.
However, the percentage is slowly improving as last year the HESA’s statistics showed that 11.3 percent of computer science graduates in the 2013/2014 school year were unemployed after finishing their degrees. The figure was even higher in the 2008/2009 school year when 18 percent of computer science graduates were unable to find work. Although this is likely a result of the economic recession and how companies were less eager to hire at that time.
The UK Commission for Employment and Skills published a new report in May 2016 that estimates that by the year 2022 there will be an additional 518,000 "digital" jobs. It is unlikely that all of these jobs will be taken by computer science graduates, but the number unable to find work after graduation will likely decrease.
Another report titled Shabolt Review of Computer Sciences Degree Accreditation and Graduate Employability, by Nigel Shabolt, professorial research fellow in Computer Science at the University of Oxford, offered recent and future computer science graduates advice in regard to how to secure a position in their field after university.
While technical expertise is absolutely needed to pursue a career in computer science, Shabolt also pointed out that computer science graduates could make themselves more appealing to potential employers by developing teamwork and interpersonal skills.
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