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Futuretrack

Career Making is the umbrella name for HECSU's Career Making research programme. There are two major longitudinal studies running as part of Career Making; they are Futuretrack and Futuretrack:part-time students.

Both studies will look at the motivations, expectations and aspirations of students and at what interventions affect their careers decision making. The results of this research will be invaluable to careers advisers, staff in universities and colleges and policy makers within the sector.

Find out more about these projects and follow their progress below.

 STUDENT STOP PRESS  9 July 2009

Important notice for third year students graduating this year (and ALL undergraduates who submitted UCAS applications to study on full time undergraduate courses in the 2005-6 application round)

What is REALLY happening in the graduate labour market? Whether you are in your final year or not, or know what you’ll be doing next year or not, if you fit into the category above and have not yet completed the Stage 3 Futuretrack Survey, please do so NOW, by clicking on the link below. The survey remains open for one more week until July 18th.

https://www.snapsurveys.com/futuretrack2009/ 

Futuretrack is THE ONLY wholly independent survey of higher education applicants in the UK, conducted by a research team at the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick. Completing it won't take long and you can save your answers and return to it later if you wish. Your response is confidential and your personal details will not be used for any other purpose or seen by anyone outside the Warwick research team. The research, and the sponsor HECSU, the educational charity behind Futuretrack, aim to provide accurate and unbiased information for all the people to whom it matters, including course applicants, students, graduates, employers and higher education policy-makers and providers. The prize draw for applicants, with a top prize of £1000 and 50 0f £500, is still open - but this isn't about prizes, it's about contributing to really valuable research and helping to ensure that it is representative of all the 2006 applicant cohort, whatever paths they have followed. This is your last chance to be part of it.

The Research

Futuretrack is tracking the 2006 cohort of UCAS applicants for five years, starting from their initial application to higher education. By surveying them four times in this period, Futuretrack will shed light on the relationship between higher education, employment and how students’ views of career options change during their studies.

130,000 applicants responded to the first questionnaire about their experiences of the application process for HE and the choices they made. The full report of their experiences and a summary of the results of this, the first stage of the Futuretrack study, can be downloaded from the following link:  Applying for HE - the diversity of career choices, plans and expectations.

Stage 3 data collection is now taking place.  Feb09

'Futuretrack:part-time students' is a four year study looking at two samples of students: 1st years and final years in the 2007/8 cohort. They will be questioned in 2008 and again in 2010. The study will also include a longitudinal survey of employers who employ part-time students, and in-depth interviews with both students and their employers.

Follow the Futuretrack:part-time students link for details as this project starts.