A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

56

September 2011

This is one of the conclusions reached by AQU Catalunya on the basis of the fourth three-yearly survey, which in the 2011 survey took in over 16,000 graduates from all the Catalan universities – both public and private – three years after completing their studies.

The AQU Catalunya president, Joaquim Prats, accompanied by the Agency’s director, Josep A. Ferré, and the Vice-President of the Catalan Association of Public Universities, Núria Basi, presented the results of the survey, which are similar to those of the previous survey (2008), yet they reflect certain effects of the crisis. Specifically, the employment rate went up from 3% to 8%, although it continues to be half that of the employment rate of the working population aged between 25 and 54, which is 17% (EPA Ist quarter 2011). The current job satisfaction of graduates also went down by a significant amount compared to the previous survey, although the levels of job quality remained steady (job content, salary, job stability, utility of knowledge), which is probably a reflection of how graduates see the current economic situation and their career prospects. As a whole, the situation of the graduate population is as follows:

• 9 out of 10 graduates were working at the time of the survey, and 8 out of 10 were working full-time. 
• 8 out of 10 graduates had a job three months after completing their studies, and only 7% were looking for a job one year after completing their studies.
• 7 out of 10 graduates were working in the private sector and recruitment in the public sector remained steady, although the increasing trend in the three previous surveys was broken. 1% of all graduates, around 200 people, had set up their own business. 
• 8 out of 10 graduates required a university degree to get their jobs and the same proportion had graduate level job duties and responsibilities. 
• 6 out of 10 graduates had a fixed term contract, and the same proportion of those who were working full-time had a fixed term contract. 
• 5 out of 10 graduates were earning more than EUR 2,000 a month and only 1 out of 10 was earning less than EUR 1,000. In the case of graduates, earnings of EUR 1,000 a month or less are associated with people who work part-time.

The survey also analyses the way that graduates find employment, with personal contacts being the main way, although with a decreasing trend, whereas the boom of the Internet over the last ten years has led to it becoming the second most important way and taken the place of newspaper classified ads.

There is also a change in the profile of the students, with a decrease in those studying full-time and an increase in those combining their studies with employment. More than half of all graduates had some kind of job related to their studies.

In terms of graduate satisfaction with their studies, the percentage of people who would retake the same degree remained steady compared to the previous surveys, with 7 out of 10 who would take the same degree again.  

See the complete survey: University and employment in Catalonia. 2011 survey

See the survey summary

See the results reports according to subject and university