Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Jobs and workplace skills of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences undergraduates and postgraduates

Background to the research

We at the Institute for Employment Research (IER) at the University of Warwick are carrying out some research investigating what sorts of jobs graduates and postgraduates from Arts, Humanities and Social Science (AHSS) subjects do and the skills they use in their work. As well as traditional creative arts, humanities and social sciences this includes wider subjects like law, business studies, media and communications, and languages. This important research will involve analysis of largescale graduate surveys, as well as in-depth interviews and focus groups with graduates and employers.

The research is being carried out by us on behalf of the British Academy as part of their Flagship Skills project, which aims to articulate the skills that are inherent to the study of AHSS subjects and the value they make to the individual and the wider labour market and society. The research will investigate what sorts of jobs AHSS graduates do, the industries and sectors where they are employed and the skills they use in these jobs. The British Academy believes that there is a growing need for a better understanding of whether the UK has got the right balance of skills, skills levels and disciplines for the future.

** Please note, focus group recruitment has now closed. **

Where do you come in?

As part of the research we would like to interview graduates and postgraduates from AHSS subjects in order to get an idea of what sorts of jobs they are doing, what skills they use in their jobs and what additional skills would be useful in their careers. In order to do this we will be holding a small number of focus groups with graduates from undergraduate (UG), taught postgraduate (PGT) and postgraduate research (PGR) programmes.

This is where you come in. If you are interested, we would love to hear from you so that we can get in touch to invite you to take part in an online focus group. If you take part in one of our focus groups we will give you a £10 Amazon voucher as a thank you for taking part.

But before you decide whether or not to take part, it is important to understand why the research is being done and what it would involve for you. Please take the time to read the information on our ‘Project information’ page. Please feel free to talk to others about the study or ask us if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.

Further information about the research and what taking part would involve can be found here. If you have read the further information and would like to take part in one of our focus groups, you can sign up by filling in a consent form.

If you have any questions about any aspect of the study, or your participation in it, please contact: C dot Lyonette at warwick dot ac dot uk

Duration: 2017

Project team:

Clare Lyonette, Principal Investigator

Wil Hunt

Beate Baldauf

Funder:

b