Hands up if you’re completely terrified about the future. You’re probably among 100 per cent of people who at least feel a little bit worried or confused about what the future is going to hold when we do start to come out of the coronavirus pandemic. 

It’s totally ok to feel concerned. To be honest it would be very weird if you had no worries at all in the midst of a global pandemic. What’s important though is finding a way to deal with these worries. One way to do that is making full use of the services we have available to us right now. 

It could be very tempting to curl up among the cushions of your sofa and not resurface until you’ve watched the whole of the internet. Especially if your school studies have been put on hold and you’ve not got much to do at the moment. 

But instead of doing that, why not start thinking ahead to university and making plans for the future, if that’s what you’re doing next? 

Debut Careers submitted a Freedom of Information request to find out how much UK universities are spending on their career services and compared it with the best universities for employability. 

Their findings may be useful, both if you’re trying to decide which unis to apply to and if you’ve already got somewhere lined up for the Autumn. 

Top universities for spend on career services

The FOI request asked UK universities how much they spend on careers services per student.

These results reveal the institutions that are supporting their students most during this difficult time.

1. University College Birmingham – £199.73 (per student)
2. Liverpool Hope University – £150.38
3. Lancaster University – £145.39
4. De Monfort University – £131.58
5. Bishop Grosseteste University – £118.86
6. University of East Anglia – £105.50
7. University of Oxford – £104.41
8. University of Reading – £101.69
9. University of Bradford – £98.64
10. Solent University – £94.56
11. University of Nottingham – £91.72
12. University of Exeter – £91.50
13. Liverpool John Moores University – £83.45
14. University of York – £79.77
15. University of Cambridge – £78.84
16. Swansea University – £77.30
17. Manchester Metropolitan University – £74.79
18. University of Derby – £74.78
19. University of East London – £72.57
20. Birmingham City University – £71.86

Best universities for employability

UK universities have also been ranked in terms of employability of the student once they graduate.

This list was compiled by looking at three key factors: the university’s spend on career services, as detailed above, along with its average graduate salary at age 29, according to the Department for Education and the number of graduates in work or further education, the data of which came from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Longitudinal Survey.

1 – University of Oxford – 7.92/10

Overall careers spend – £2,601,400

Average graduate salary – £52,100

Graduates in work or further education – 95.2%

 

2 – University of Cambridge – 7.27/10

Overall careers spend – £1,617,000

Average graduate salary – £47,300

Graduates in work or further education – 95.9%

 

3 – Imperial College London

Overall careers spend – £752,869

Average graduate salary – £50,200

Graduates in work or further education – 96.9%

How could you use this time?

If you’re keen to use this time in lockdown to do a bit more planning towards university, there are several steps you could take. 

A quick note to say that just because the university you’re heading to doesn’t appear in these lists it doesn’t mean you’re not going to get a great education and skills that will enable you to follow a successful career.

But if you want to make use of the support available from your uni, you could get in touch to see what’s available now and what will be available when you start. And if you think they could do more, it’s always worth sharing your ideas. 

If you’re in Year 12 you could begin researching where you want to go and what you want to do. You could even begin drafting your personal statement or seeing if there’s anything you could do in your extra-curricular life to increase your chances of getting onto your chosen degree. It may seem early, but applications tend to open in September so it’s only a few months away. 

If you’re in Year 13 and you are heading to study a degree, it’s likely you’ve already accepted a place somewhere. There’s no time like a lockdown to plan for the future. Why not check out the careers support services your university already has in place for you so you can make the most of them when you get there? And while you’re at it, what could you do when you get to uni that might improve your employability? Join a society or the student newspaper? Get a part-time job? Study a language? Why not make some promises to yourself!