Campus to career: a graduate perspective on the usefulness of their degree

Dinning, T ORCID: 0000-0003-2311-8610, Nixon, S ORCID: 0000-0003-0715-9711, Williams, L ORCID: 0000-0002-2893-7941 and Brown, J ORCID: 0000-0002-4072-3698 (2025) Campus to career: a graduate perspective on the usefulness of their degree. Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning. ISSN 2042-3896

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Abstract

Purpose
Accessing higher education (HE) in the UK has been a primary pathway for school and college leavers for the past two decades. The present study, through a case study approach, aims to explore graduates’ evaluations of the usefulness of university education by examining their evaluations of skill development, employability-focused learning and the usefulness of both over time as their career develops.

Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative design with semi-structured interviews, this study involved 33 graduates who had completed their studies at the university within a 10-year period.

Findings
Over time, the programme components that initially helped graduates secure their first jobs lose significance. Within the first 1–3 years after graduation, the degree remains a positive factor in job interviews. However, for those who graduated more than four years ago, the focus shifts towards the overall university experience and the value of friendships. The utility of the degree diminishes as experience gained from previous job roles becomes more prominent. Graduates who left university 6–10 years ago recognise the usefulness of certain elements from their university experience, underscoring the importance of reflection, continuous learning, and seizing new opportunities for personal development. However, one factor remained important for all individuals: their transferable skills.

Originality/value
Despite evidence highlighting the importance of employability-focused activities for student development, there still needs to be more research on the link between learning perceptions, developed competencies and students' readiness for employment. This case study aims to fill this gap by examining the perspectives of HE graduates.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Employability; Graduates; Usefulness; skills development; learning; 3903 Education Systems; 39 Education; 4 Quality Education; 3903 Education systems
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5001 Business L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Divisions:	Liverpool Business School
Publisher:	Emerald
Date of acceptance:	19 May 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	19 August 2025
Date Deposited:	19 Aug 2025 08:20
Last Modified:	19 Aug 2025 08:30
DOI or ID number:	10.1108/HESWBL-07-2024-0189
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/26946

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