University graduate employment rate is 92%, back to pre-pandemic levels

92% of the graduates of the University of Navarra are working or continuing their studies training. With regard to graduates from Master's Degree, the employment rate is 91.7%. 

These are data published in the latest study carried out each year by high school of Market Research and Strategic Marketing Ikerfel for the University of Navarra and "which are very positive when compared with the status of youth employment in Spain: according to the study for the first quarter of 2021 carried out by the high school National Statistics Institute (INE) youth unemployment in Spain reaches 36.5% (28% in Navarra)", highlights Roberto Cabezas, director of Career Services at the University of Navarra.  

Ikerfel conducted the study between February and April 2021, with the participation of graduates who completed their programs of study in the academic years 2017-2018, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. In total,2,471 (1,738 alumni from Degree and 733 from Master's Degree) responded to survey .

The report reveals that graduates who are working have found their first job employment relatively soon after completing degree program. It took 74% of Degree graduates and 71% of Master's Degree graduates less than six months to find a job; and 61% of Degree and 57% of Master's Degree graduates less than three months.

As for the place where graduates who have studied a Degree at university work, 48.6% work in Navarre, 16.1% in Madrid, 15.2% in the Basque Country and 6.3% in Catalonia.

"It is very important to start discovering what you want to contribute to society during the degree program. Curricular and extracurricular internships bring students closer to companies, allow them to apply acquired knowledge and facilitate their employment rate. Moreover, I believe that the new generations can contribute a lot to companies," says Roberto Cabezas. According to the study, 82% of those surveyed who completed a Degree at the academic centre said that they had done an internship during their degree program university studies; and 66% of those who studied a Master's Degree confirmed this.

"The satisfaction of employers who bet on the University's talent continues to increase year after year. This indicates that companies continue to value the potential of our students and graduates very positively," says Roberto Cabezas. In five years, "employer satisfaction" has risen from 7.7 to 8.36.

A plan to tackle youth unemployment

At the University of Navarra, 10 measures were developed to address the employment consequences of the pandemic, especially for the promotions that have been graduate in 2020 and 2021. Some of these measures implemented through Career Services, Careers Office, are: alliances with platforms that offer employment youth in national and international companies; training in employability with the partnership of company managers and specific programmes designed for students and graduates; and individual and personalised accompaniment through career counsellors.

"We believe that the University's efforts have borne fruit, according to sample the Ikerfel study. But, of course, we will continue to work to understand and respond to the needs of our graduates and the demand for talent from companies, trying to minimise the feeling of uncertainty as much as possible," says Roberto Cabezas.