Performance Indicators released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that 95 per cent of the University's 2004/5 graduates progressed to employment or further study within the first six months of graduating, which is higher than the national average of 87 per cent.
Statistics relating to the destinations of these graduates also show that three quarters of graduates, or 77 per cent, were in graduate level jobs.
The North East has also benefited from the skills and expertise of these graduates, as many have found jobs with regional companies and organisations, and some have set up their own companies. A total of 54 per cent of graduates are now working in the region.
The HESA figures are based on information collected from university leavers with first degrees six months after they graduate. Newcastle University was also shown to beat its Government benchmark target of 95 per cent of leavers in employment or further study.
Figures on unemployment show that Newcastle has a low rate compared to the rest of the UK, at 4.1 per cent compared to a national figure of 7 per cent.
Nick Keeley, Director of the Careers Service, said:
“This goes to show that the University's investment and foresight in putting employability high on the agenda for all our students continues to pay off.
“Here in the Careers Service staff work closely with academics, employers, the Union Society and others to ensure that students have ready access to the training and experience they need to go into the jobs market with the relevant practical skills and knowledge to make them highly employable individuals.
“We are particularly proud of our emerging enterprise programme, which, through a variety of course modules and other activities, encourages our students to explore their own ideas and to consider turning these into actual business ventures. In fact, some of our recent graduates are already making a name for themselves as self-employed entrepreneurs.”
END OF PRESS RELEASE: Issued by Newcastle University Press Office. Contact Angela Upex, Press Officer, tel. + 44 (0) 191 222 7850 or email press.office@ncl.ac.uk. Press Office website: www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office
published on: 4th July 2006