Recently, High Fliers, the UK’s leading research organisation, released The Graduate Market in 2024. This report investigates the latest changes in graduates’ starting salaries and the number of jobs in the sector for the UK’s 100 best-known and most successful employers and lists 10 UK universities with Employers!
Graduate Market in 2024
The rankings refer to Times’ Top 100 Employers for Graduates 2023, which includes renowned organisations such as Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vodafone, and JPMorgan Chase, and covers sectors such as finance, consulting, law, technology, engineering, public sector, and retail, as listed below:
These universities attracted top graduate employers during the 2023-2024 recruitment season by participating in on-campus recruitment fairs, hosting recruitment presentations, skills training events, university online events, careers service promotions and other local outreach activities.
The most popular UK university among the top 100 employers this year was the University of Birmingham, with the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge dropping out of the top 10. Some of the UK’s Top Universities, such as LSE, one of the G5, and the Guardian’s UK No.1 ranked University of St Andrews, still need to make it onto the list. The list is still somewhat limited, but there’s no doubt that being in the top 20 is a direct testament to these schools’ superb career services.
Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, said: “It’s great to see that Birmingham graduates are among the most sought after by the UK’s top employers. This is a testament to the quality of teaching and our student’s ability.
Stuart Johnson, Director of Career Development at the University of Bristol, also recognised this. He was delighted to see University of Bristol graduates being sought after by the world’s top employers. The University of Bristol has been ranked in the top ten of this ranking for many years and in the top five in most years, which is a testament to the high calibre of its graduates and the university’s support of its students’ careers.
Top 10 Universities for Employers
Top10 University of Exeter
The University of Exeter has a very comprehensive careers counselling service. The official website has a list of jobs available to graduates in a particular field of study, employers of past graduates, career skills and directions for further study in the future. For example, for computer science students, past graduate employers include Amazon, IBM, Morgan Stanley and many more.
Top9 Durham University
Durham University is ranked in the top ten in the UK according to the three major UK-based rankings containing student satisfaction indicators: the CUG, the Guardian, and the Times! Durham University helps students develop their career plans and achieve their goals, including developing skills, gaining work experience, making effective applications, and preparing for interviews.
Top8 University of Southampton
Career Guidance at the University of Southampton provides an excellent opportunity to develop skills and network. It matches students with a mentor who can offer personal support. Not only does it help students build sector-specific knowledge and develop vital employability skills, but it also provides a platform for alum networking.
Top7 University College London
Of the G5 universities, only UCL made it into the Top 10 this year, whilst Cambridge, Oxford and IC ranked in the Top 20. According to UCL’s latest Graduate Employment Report, 66 per cent of graduates are employed in the UK, and 28 per cent are employed overseas (excluding EU countries). The median salary is a whopping £32,000 a year! And some faculty graduates are paid above average. For example, UCL School of Management graduates earn a median salary of up to £35,000 a year!
Top6 University of Warwick
Whether you are a current student or a graduate, the University of Warwick offers job search support, both face-to-face and remotely, with the flexibility to meet students’ needs and find them the right career. Business Studies is its strength subject. According to the list of target institutions made by WSO Investment Bank’s in-house practitioners, Warwick is in the Top tier.
Top5 University of Bristol
At the University of Bristol, MSc students have access to the university’s job search service during their studies and for three years after graduation. Professional career services staff run academic and non-academic CV workshops for Masters students and provide one-to-one CV feedback.
Top4 University of Leeds
Studying at the University of Leeds, students will receive support and advice from professional career advisors, including job fairs, workshops, access to online job resources, and more. Over 650 local and multinational employers visit the campus each year to target Leeds students for recruitment. Such organisations include Teach First, PwC, Unilever, L’Oréal, and many more.
Top3 University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham Business School, through the AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS “Triple Crown” accreditation, less than 1% of the world’s business schools have been awarded this honour; employers and universities believe that this accolade is a sign of high standards, high quality and high reputation. The University is ranked in the top five for research in pharmacy and health sciences, area studies and economics; it is ranked first in the UK for public health and primary care research, third for engineering, and in the top ten for nine other subject areas assessed.
Nottingham University offers students several months of job search counselling in the spring. Career mentors from a range of industries and professions, at different stages of their careers, volunteer their time to provide one-to-one support and advice.
Top2 University of Manchester
The University of Manchester slipped from the top spot in the UK this year to second in the UK. However, the University is ranked in the top 5 in the UK in the QS Employability Rankings 2018, 19, 20 and 22! The University of Manchester Business School’s “Manchester Project Teaching Method” is renowned in management alongside Harvard Business School’s “Case Study Teaching Method”. The University of Manchester’s programmes focus on employability, with annual careers fairs, job search seminars, professional careers information events, and more for graduates. More than 6,000 jobs are also advertised annually by the Careers Service.
Top1 University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham has overtaken UMass to successfully top the UK, becoming the favourite university for top employers in the UK! In 2021, Birmingham also achieved the UK Top 1 in this report.
Birmingham’s School of Engineering and Physical Sciences is at the world’s forefront of its field. It is committed to education, research and the dissemination of knowledge. Chemical Engineering is ranked in the top 5 in the UK. The University of Birmingham organises exclusive job search events for international students, including information on how to find a job in the UK and events organised externally in collaboration with other universities and external partners.
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FAQ
Which university in the UK has the best employment rate?
The University of Cambridge in the UK consistently ranks among the universities with the highest employment rates, according to the Global University Employability Ranking 2024.
What is the average UK graduate salary?
According to the Department for Education Official Statistics, the current average graduate salary in the UK is £38,500.
Which speciality earns the most money in the UK?
Medicine and Surgery: Doctors, especially those in specialized fields such as neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, and cardiology, often command high starting salaries due to the extensive education and training required.
