Third of graduates not in professions

Almost three in ten students took “non-professional” jobs after graduating last year – including bartending, cleaning and waitressing.

Figures published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that 29 per cent of fulltime undergraduates at UK institutions – about 48,930 students – who went on to work in the UK were in “non-professional” jobs.

The biggest group – about 17,030 graduates – were working in sales and customer service roles, while around 10,285 were in administrative positions such as library, bank and post office clerks and secretarial roles.

Around 9,520 were in “elementary” positions, including window and street cleaners and around 71 per cent of graduates (119,960) were in “professional” roles.