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Get your head around the UK labour market and its implications for school leavers making decisions about careers or higher education. Below you will find informative links to skills shortages, links between pay, qualifications and employment, and gender differences from TARGETcareers:
Labour market guides: the degree subjects that are best for employment and pay
Subjects such as medicine, maths, engineering, physics and chemistry are associated with good salaries, but much depends on the career you choose when you graduate. Find out more about graduate labour market statistics and how career choices can impact your salary by clicking the picture.
Labour market guides: gender differences in pay and career choices
Say goodbye to stereotypes. There are differences on average in the careers and educational paths that attract males and females but there’s no need to follow the herd. Read more about the differences, on average, in which degrees and careers males and females are attracted to and to explore the gender pay gap.
Do’s and don’ts for using labour market information in your career decisions
Job market data can tell you about employment trends but not which careers you personally could succeed in. Read more from TARGETcareers and see how to put labour market information in context.
Do university graduates earn the highest salaries?
Graduates tend to have higher earnings than workers whose highest qualifications are apprenticeships or A levels. However, this isn’t always the case. Be aware that average figures hide lots of variation, so there’s no guarantee that one route will be more financially rewarding than another. Read on to learn about earnings for graduate and non-graduates and to understand average lifetime earning statistics.
Some jobs are better than others if you want employers fighting over you. TARGETcareers outline which types of workers are most in demand in the UK.
Employers find some types of jobs harder to fill than others. These are known as skills shortage areas. In theory, it may be easier to find work if there are fewer other applicants for the jobs you apply for, and employers could feel more pressure to offer a competitive salary. In practice, you will still need the right skills and a genuine interest in the job to get hired. What’s more, skills shortages can exist in areas that offer relatively low pay, such as driving or cleaning.