Differing employment levels among young higher education arts graduates in 2017 [CE-2018-5]

Having graduated from their courses, one third of higher education arts graduates, from some hundred or so establishments under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture, opted to continue their education whilst the other two thirds entered the job market. Three years later, 87% of those who left higher education to seek employment were in work; however, their employment rates and conditions of employment varied depending on their field of study.

Architecture students fared better than graduates in other fields: 89% were in work three years after graduation, usually as salaried employees in the public or private sector (77%) and were in stable employment (80% were on permanent contracts or working for the civil service or public sector). Regarding pay, there is a higher proportion of architecture graduates in the upper income sectors of young arts graduates in employment.

Conversely, visual arts graduates show much lower employment rates. Only 34% of them entered a first job related to their qualification within three months. Three years after graduating, 79% of those entering the job market in this sector were in employment and half of those were working on a freelance basis. Visual arts graduates feature more highly than graduates from other fields in the lower income sector.

Such diverse employment conditions suggest variable levels of satisfaction. Graduates fall into four broad categories in this regard. A quarter of graduates in employment report high levels of satisfaction. The second group, formed of ‘optimistic’ individuals (30%), is very much like the first group, with the exception of their working conditions. Although they are aware of the value of their jobs, those in the ‘enthusiastic’ group (25%) show high levels of dissatisfaction. Finally, those in the ‘dissatisfied’ group (19%) expressed negative feelings in terms of integration and professional activities.