An important indicator of performance with regard to graduate employment is the graduate level job indicator. Universities use the HESA SOC2010 coding system to identify those in graduate level jobs. This has replaced the Elias & Purcell (2004) method for defining graduate level occupations and is intended to provide a stronger coding system. Further details of this are shown in the Appendices tab. This indicator is used in calculations that go towards producing league tables and is therefore a useful area for analysis. The table below shows the proportion of Sussex UK UG first degree leavers whose job is classified as graduate level.
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| 54% | 75% | 85% | 87% |
Table 1 proportion of Sussex UK UG First degree leavers in graduate level jobs
A full department level breakdown of destinations is available in the Executive Summary tab and a breakdown by department of the level of work is available below in the Graduate Level Work link.
When we break down the headline figures from above we can see that all Sussex departments are performing strongly in this measure. Some departments have matched already strong performance such as ESW and BSMS while all other departments have significanty improved results. The graduate level employment rate at Sussex is now at an historic high point.
Table 2 represents the proportion of Sussex first degree graduates who are in graduate level work 6 months after graduation. Original figures collected by CEC as part of the DLHE survey.
| Graduate Level Jobs composed of: | 87% | 807 |
| Managers Directors and Senior Officials | 2% | 19 |
| Professional Occupations | 30% | 279 |
| Associate Professional and Technical Occupations | 55% | 509 |
| Non-Graduate Level Jobs composed of: | 13% | 125 |
| Administrative and Secretarial Occupations | 3% | 27 |
| Skilled Trade Occupations | 1% | 10 |
| Caring Leisure and other Service Occupations | 2% | 21 |
| Sales and Customer Service Occupations | 3% | 32 |
| Process Plant and Machine Operatives | 0% | 3 |
| Elementary Occupations | 3% | 32 |
The level of jobs are determined by the SOC2010 classification system which is in use
across all sectors and is the generally accepted standardised class system for occupations.
These are the industrial sectors that are employing Sussex graduates
nb. The final category in the chart was identified by HESA as non classifiable industry.
Examples of job titles held by graduates classified by industrial sector (Standard Industrial Classification SIC2007)
Using Postcode Information of Employers:
19% of employed leavers stayed in the local area.
This has decreased from last year's 33% and is significantly below the peak of 47% from 2011
Brighton & Hove, more than any other area in the Sussex region, provided the most employment opportunities. The local economy requires highly skilled graduates and the Coast to Capital Economic Plan (2014) identifies digital business, sustainable enterprise, advanced engineering and bioscience clusters at the forefront of economic development regionally.
Average salary of 2015 Sussex UG leavers: £23,944
Based on reported full-time annual salaries
The Highfliers UK Graduate Market Report 2016** had an median salary of £30,000 from graduate employers nationally.
The average public sector worker was paid £21,000 a year down unchanged on 2015, compared with private sector workers who were paid £30,000. (Source: High Fliers)
And the most generous salaries on offer are in Investment Banking, Law and Banking & Finance.
However, it is important to note that AGR salary figures and the Highfliers figures are sampled from large blue-chip organisations likely to offer higher salaries.