April 16 2006 - A recent study by the University of the West of England (UWE)
shows that students are increasingly becoming 'job market savvy' and picking more university subjects
with specific employment prospects.
UWE has found that the number of students choosing vocational degrees, such as Marketing, Tourism and Music Technology,
has risen dramatically, mirroring job markets. Courses that hardly existed ten years ago, like Sports Conditioning, Forensic Science and business-related studies,
are also attracting a growing number of applicants, in some cases more than trebling their numbers.
The UWE study reviewed course choices at the university over the past ten years
and also identified a 'huge expansion' in the popularity of Psychology, possibly due to a
positive media image and the wide range of job choices open to Psychology
graduates
Conversely, numbers are declining in traditional subjects such as History.
The Bristol-based university is attempting to revamp History by offering it as part of a joint honours
programme with topics like Marketing. This course combination has grown from 73 graduates in 1995 to 91 in 2005.
"There has been a rise in the number of students signing up to courses
focused on new areas of interest in popular culture, such as the growth in sports students
which reflects the burgeoning health industry and consequent growth in employment
opportunities," said Wendy Trevett, operations director at Lucy Bristow Appointments, a leading Bristol recruitment agency.
"Ten years ago most business graduates entered more traditional management
or administrative roles after graduation. Diversity in the workplace means that there is
now a greater variety of positions available, from event managers and sales executives to
operations managers and finance officers, which we work very closely with employers to fill.
It is not surprising, therefore, that business courses are so popular."
Commenting on changes in the breadth of UWE courses over the past decade,
Wendy Trevett said: "Previously, marketing was a general subject studied as part of a
business degree. It now stands in its own right as both a course option and a desirable
profession. We place people in a raft of marketing roles across the city and are not
surprised to see an increase in the number of people graduating in this field or that
destination results for marketing graduates were among the best in the University."
The study also found an increase in degree-level nursing qualifications -
attributed to its recently-elevated professional status. There has also been a substantial
rise in business-related courses from 164 graduates in 1995 to
500 and students training in legal practice have increased by more than 30% in
the past decade with most successfully entering trainee solicitor posts
after completing studies.
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