Who gets the jobs? Factors influencing the employability of property and construction graduates in the UK

Against a background of a strongly performing property market, the last decade saw a significant rise in entrants to postgraduate built environment programmes in the UK. This reflected the emergence of conversion programmes with the result that, across a range of built environment pathways, employers can choose between two types of graduates: those straight from an undergraduate programme or those who have taken, following a first degree in another discipline, a conversion course in property or construction at postgraduate level. Based on a sample of 12,582 graduates from the HESA Destination of Leavers dataset for 2005/06 to 2008/09, this paper uses probit analysis to explore if there is evidence that the level of degree programme that a student graduates from (undergraduate or postgraduate) systematically affects their probability of finding graduate level employment. It considers different built environment subjects and a range of other factors that may influence employment outcomes, including university type, mode of study, gender, ethnicity and age. The approach adopted allows for the fact that similar characteristics may affect both the probability of undertaking a taught postgraduate course and that of obtaining graduate level employment. Results suggest that postgraduate degrees in land and property management are positively associated with graduate level employment, but this is not so in the areas of quantity surveying or building surveying. The paper concludes by relating findings to the wider discussion on changes in UK Higher Education.