The University of Stirling is top in Scotland and third in the UK for university graduate employability among institutions with more than 500 respondents, according to new statistics released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
Almost 97 per cent of graduates from Stirling, a 0.8 per cent increase on last year, have a positive destination after University, including employment and further study.
Stirling tops the table of Scotland’s universities, second only to a Small Specialist Institution (SSI), the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and gains the third highest percentage of positive destination leavers of 151 UK universities.
The University’s graduating class of 2016 saw hundreds of graduands swap the campus of Stirling for bright careers.
Calum Burns, a 23-year-old football scholarship student, graduated from Stirling with a first class honours in Business Studies. He won an internship with Barclays in New York through the Saltire Foundation at the end of his third year and will now join the company’s Personal and Corporate Banking graduate programme.
Fellow classmate Emily Jenkins also graduated from Stirling last month with a degree in Business Studies and Economics and now joins GlaxoSmithKline’s Future Leaders programme. With the help of the University’s Career Development Centre, Emily secured a 12-week pharmaceutical marketing internship with the company during her final summer.
Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Gerry McCormac, said: “In delivering high quality, relevant and innovative academic courses, we aim to equip all of our students with lifelong knowledge and skills that ensure their readiness for life after University.
“Our Careers and Employability Service is also integral to developing students into employable, confident graduates with the requisite skills, knowledge and experience to contribute to and succeed in an ever changing environment outside of campus. It’s fantastic to be recognised for this as we continue to see our graduates thrive and reach their full potential.”
The full UK Performance Indicators in Higher Education 2014/15 for Employment of Graduates can be viewed here.
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Media enquiries to Corrie Campbell, Communications Officer on 01786 466 169 or c.r.campbell@stir.ac.uk.