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The Dean on the new breed of graduates

It’s graduate week on Bdaily and we are looking at the state of play for graduates and SMEs, as an alternative to large corporate schemes.We spoke to Graeme Thompson, Dean of The Faculty of Arts, Design and Media at the University of Sunderland, about the new breed of graduates.

Graeme is a former ITV boss and is a board member of Northern Film and Media. His background immediately places him , and is obviously excited by the future of the media and arts. Despite the enthusiasm, Graeme admits he was concerned about the introduction of higher fees, and what affect they would have on admissions.

He said: “The Government was making noises around the suitability of media and arts degrees, and talking up the need for engineering, science degrees and so on. This coupled with the fee increases - for us this meant fees of around £7,600 and £8,000, so not necessarily the upper limit - lead us to expect a significant drop off in applications.

“In fact what we found was the complete opposite, and we couldn’t have been more wrong. We’ve actually experienced a 20% rise, and we’ve been inundated with students from the North East and across the UK.

“We found we were getting a higher number of AAB students, and they are a prized commodity among Universities.”

There is a new breed of graduate, according to Graeme. He suggests that students leaving sixth form are displaying increasing commercial and industrial savvy, and therefore look for these qualities in a degree.

He added: “I think if you came from public school, went to read philosophy at Durham, you would always consider that type of degree as sacrosanct. But that isn’t the type of students that we have at Sunderland.

“Our students are investing in their education, as a stepping stone to their career. They’re quite hard-nosed about what they want from a programme, they demand something that’s well networked, industry specific and going to provide them with the right skills to get them a job.”

Bdaily recently spoke to Bernie Callaghan, a colleague of Graeme’s as Dean at the Faculty of Business Law. Bernie suggested there is huge potential in the exporting of UK education, via campuses in developing countries.

To this, Graeme added: “I think the international marketplace is a big thing for the likes of our business and law departments, but it’s less so for arts. Saying that, around 10% of our journalism students are from the EU, and it’s something that we are working to build on. They want to study in this country because they know it is highly regarded around the world.

“In terms of home recruitment, I think the popularity is down to the programs and their strong links to industry. Looking at the wider picture in journalism for instance, many newspapers and publishers are unable to invest in training, and they are looking for graduates who are invested in their industry and come equipped with some of the skills.

“They want to know they have some broadcasting skills, knowledge of the law to keep them out of the courts and the ability to write differently for radio and magazine. That’s not to say what they want is ‘oven ready’ graduates, but they want a graduate that’s further towards employment.”

The impetus for degree programmes with employability emphasis is of course quite different to that of the traditional academic counterparts.

Graeme said: “We work closely with industry partners who inform curriculum, engagement, work experience - all components of a degree programme. It means the degree is more vocational and linked more directly to the sector. This is how you develop a reputation as a valuable institution.”

So what about when this breed of graduates leave the lecture hall and enter the business world? Graeme recognises a changing dynamic, and that is a jobs market where graduates will need to be adaptable and are likely work across a broader range of roles and for a wider range of employers than they have ever done before. Marci Alboher coined them “slashers” in his 2007 book, One Person/ Multiple Careers, which looked at the growing number of graduates with a slash in their job title.

Graeme added: “I think it’s really important to remember that today’s graduates are going to experience a portfolio career, gone are the days when you would experience one career path for some time. Freelancing is becoming more popular, and many of our graduates have had a lot of success in down this route.”

Remember to check out our graduate week articles: If you want to see more articles from Graduate Week, take a look at these links: Clegg makes a visit to a Teesside graduate business; Bringing graduates into a small business; Don’t play job market odds, change the game; Graduate X: The truth behind the graduate scheme; Mike Hill talks graduate careers; Having a graduate on board; Bdaily speaks to CIHE chief David Docherty; the graduate hotseat; and a path for digital graduates.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .