T HTEH U E NUI N V IEVRESR IT S IYT O Y FO O F POPPOPROTR UTNUI N T IYT Y A UNIVERSITY THAT MEANS BUSINESS
SUMMER 2018
KNOWLEDGE NEWS New national centre for brownfield research announced
Employability is working out for students A national report has revealed that more and more graduates from the University of Wolverhampton are proving to be highly employable and securing professional roles after they leave. The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Survey, an annual national survey of all recent graduates from university or HE college, showed that 96% of the graduating class of 2017 are in work or further study, six months after they graduated. This outperforms the UK average for all universities and also makes the University the best performing university nationally for graduate employability, amongst comparable institutions.*
The University of Wolverhampton will help tackle the housing shortage through its new dedicated brownfield research centre. Plans for the National Brownfield Institute were revealed by West Midlands Mayor Andy Street at its new home, the University’s Springfield Campus. The project is being funded as part of the £350 million Housing Deal for the West Midlands that the Chancellor announced would go to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in his Spring Statement. The authority has set an ambitious target to build 215,000 new homes in the region by 2031, using around £100 million of the money to purchase former industrial sites in the Black Country. The Institute will play an integral role in the process of developing these sites so homes can be built on them – and is itself based on brownfield land, as part of the University’s £100 million regeneration project transforming the former Springfield Brewery site into the new campus. Alongside the Institute, Springfield Campus will be home to the University’s School of Architecture and Built Environment students – as well as the West Midlands University Technical College and Elite
Centre for Manufacturing Skills Hub, both of which are already operational on the site. Andy Street said: “The Institute will help safeguard and nurture our region’s most important assets – its people and land – helping to give everyone the opportunity of a decent job and an affordable home.” He also announced the launch of a new WMCA £5 million Regional Construction Training Fund to help fill the 2,800 additional jobs being created each year by the region’s booming construction industry. Professor Geoff Layer, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, said: “The Institute is a major part of our vision for Springfield and we see it as being very much a beacon for skills, providing solutions through innovation and new technology for the sector as a whole." The campus is part of wider large-scale projects helping to regenerate the city including the redevelopment of Canalside, the £55 million Westside development and the ongoing £150 million Wolverhampton Interchange project. For more information about Springfield Campus, visit: wlv.ac.uk/springfield
Local businesses may be interested to learn that Wolverhampton students are supporting the regional economy, with 77% working in the West Midlands after graduation. The number of our students going into graduate level jobs continues to rise with 72% in professional or managerial roles – up from 68% last year. The survey also showed that the average starting salary of a graduate has risen from £24,024 to £24,455 per annum. Results highlighted that two thirds (67%) reported earning £15,000 to £29,999 and a further 20.5% were earning £30,000 to £59,999, six months after graduating – up by 4%. Professor Ian Oakes, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University, said: “University of Wolverhampton students continually demonstrate that they have the knowledge, skills and qualities that employers are looking for. “We have had very high employability rates over the last few years, so to maintain them is an outstanding achievement by both our staff and students, resulting in the University having one of the highest overall employability rates in the UK. “At the end of three years, students want to give themselves the best chance possible of securing not just a job but a career and what we have proved at the University is that we can help them achieve that.” * DLHE 2016/17. Based on highest positive difference between HEI Employment PI and Benchmark, for universities with eligible population of 2,000-2,500 graduating students (full-time UG).