Employment Opportunities for Arts Graduates

Abstract

It has been established that general transferable skills are the key requirements employers expect of graduates. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether the acquisition of these skills by Arts students translated into work opportunities. Employment opportunities for Arts graduates were compared to those for graduates from other disciplines.

A questionnaire based on the selection criteria used by employers, and graduates' performance on the job was administered to 50 employers. The survey, which achieved a response rate of 62 per cent, indicated that Arts students appeared to develop a higher level of transferable skills than other students but did not develop the professional/technical skills that employers required. Specifically, the ability to handle quantitative data and computer literacy were frequently mentioned as the areas in which Arts students were lacking in skills.

Although general transferable skills are claimed to be the most important in graduate recruitment, it was evident that these skills alone did not enable Arts graduates to find work. As expected, the survey also confirmed that the rate of employment for Arts graduates was lower than for other graduates.