Futuretrack
Futuretrack is a five year longitudinal survey of student career development in the United Kingdom. It aims to provide insights into the relationship between higher education, employment and how students’ perceptions of career options change during their studies.
Objectives
1. To learn more about the experience of applying for Higher Education. Who finds it easy and who has difficulties?
2. To explore the educational and career development of 2005 and 2006 applicants over a six year period.
3. To investigate the impact of educational and community background on: the information available to those applying to enter Higher Education; the choices that they make and the implications of these choices as they progress through HE (or make alternative decisions).
Who’s participating?
Two cohorts of UCAS applicants are being surveyed at four points in their careers: as they are about to embark on higher education; a year later; after three years of study (or alternative experiences) and in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
In the 2005 pilot, data were collected from just over 3500 respondents. In the 2006 survey of all UCAS applicants, almost 130,000 usable responses have been achieved.
Who's behind the project?
Futuretrack is funded by HECSU (Higher Education Careers Service Unit) - the charity behind Graduate Prospects. The project is being conducted on behalf of HECSU by a team of researchers at the IER (Institute for Employment Research) at Warwick University. It's being led by graduate labour market expert Professor Kate Purcell and labour economist Professor Peter Elias.
Significance
The results of the study will will be passed to the government, careers advisers and higher education staff. As such, the information will be used to guide students throughout their higher education careers.
Futuretrack will also provide information to policymakers, universities, employers and individuals who are considering applying for higher education places. This will assist them in planning and decision-making.
The findings will also contribute to knowledge about the development of career decision-making in students and graduates.