Graduate outcomes

Graduate flows in and out of the North East

Students and graduates are some of the most geographically mobile sections of the UK population. They are more willing to move between regions of the UK for the purposes of study and work. 

However, students and graduates originally domiciled in the North East are more likely to stay in their region of domicile than those from other regions. 70% of North East domiciles who graduated in 2020/21 attended a North East university, and 3 in 4 of the same cohort worked in the region after graduating.

There are many students who move to the region for study. 46% of all those studying in the region were originally domiciled outside of the region before starting university. Most of these students then left the region again after coming to the North East to study, only 15% remained in the region out of the 2020/21 cohort.

Compared to other regions the North East has a low number of graduates who find work in the region despite not having any prior connections to the region. Only 11% of all graduates working in the North East from the 2020/21 cohort neither studied nor were originally domiciled there. A majority of the North East graduate workforce were graduates who were both originally domiciled and studied in the North East.
 

North East LEP universities and graduate outcomes

Of those who responded to the graduate outcomes survey a majority had found full time employment 15 months after graduating. However, it should be noted that only 44% of graduates respond to the graduate outcomes survey, which may mean the overall percentages of graduate activities differ to the percentage reported here.

The occupations and sectors of employment which North East LEP graduates find after leaving university are very similar to UK graduates overall. Health, education and professional, scientific and technical are the most common sectors, with the North East having slightly more graduates who find employment in professional and related occupations than UK graduates. This does not necessarily mean that these graduates are working in these sectors in the North East. 

In terms of occupations graduates from the North East LEP and the rest of the UK are most likely to find employment in professional occupations 15 months after graduating. 55% of graduates from the North East LEP were employed in professional occupations, with a further 21% in associate professional occupations.