Manchester University ranks fifth in UK for graduate employability

The University of Manchester is the fifth best university in the country for graduate employability, according to the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2018.

Improving on last year’s 35th place, the University of Manchester positioned 33rd in the world in the QS rankings.

Employer reputation was central to QS’ assessment criteria — 30,000 global employers were asked to identify the institutions from where they hire the best graduates.

In this section, The University of Manchester scored 96 out of a possible 100.

Tammy Goldfeld, Head of The University of Manchester’s Careers Service, said: “The University of Manchester is working hard to produce well-rounded graduates who learn from world class-researchers but also gain the other non-academic skills demanded by employers. This increase in our ranking indicates that programmes such as Stellify and our ethical grand challenges, which all students are encouraged to take part in, are helping graduates succeed in the workplace.”

“Delighted by these results”, Tammy Goldfeld suggested that they were “indicative of the quality support the Careers Service offers graduate recruiters who target the University of Manchester for student and graduate talent” as well as the broad services on offer to students both during their time at the university and post-graduation.

QS used a broad range of metrics to assess “graduate employability” with employer reputation carrying the largest weighting in the ranking (30 per cent), followed by alumni outcomes (25 per cent), partnerships with employers per faculty (25 per cent) and employer/student connections (10 per cent).

1,000 universities around the world were considered and QS published a list of the top 500.

Stanford University was ranked number one in the world, followed by the University of California, Los Angeles and Harvard University.

In the UK, The University of Cambridge came out on top, followed by the University of Oxford, University College London, Imperial College London, and the University of Manchester.

The overall graduate employability ranking score for the University of Manchester was 76.2 out of 100, with the University scoring well when it came to ‘Partnerships with Employers’, achieving 80.8 out of 100.

As the University’s Careers Service continues to develop and market its “Manchester Graduate Talent” (MGT) scheme, this particular score is more than likely to improve year on year.

The MGT scheme helps source paid graduate-level jobs exclusively for University of Manchester students graduating in 2017, working with a range of organisations based in Greater Manchester, from start-ups to multi-national firms, plus recruiters within the University, each offering a variety of different roles which will appeal to students from diverse backgrounds.

Advising incoming freshers and returning students as to how they can develop employability skills throughout the year, Tammy Goldfeld suggested looking at the Careers Service’s website, with tailored advice for first years, mid years, final years, and graduates.

However, Tammy’s quick top tips were to “take part in at least one extra-curricular activity; start to write a CV, and get some work or voluntary experience”.