From access to graduate success: the next phase of social mobility

This blog was kindly authored by Professor Sir Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester and Martin Edmondson, Chief Executive of the Graduate Futures Institute.

Access is not enough

Britain has made real progress in widening access to higher education. More people, from more backgrounds, now have the chance to benefit from university than in previous generations. But access to university is no longer the whole social mobility story.

Disadvantage can persist through higher education and into employment. The continuing challenge is to ensure graduates from every background can access meaningful work, build confidence and secure opportunity.

This challenge is at the heart of From Access to Graduate Success: The Next Phase of Social Mobility, a new report launched by the Graduate Futures Institute, in partnership with the University of Leicester.

The report draws on 288 professionals working across 107 UK higher education providers, alongside 47 institutional perspectives. Of survey respondents:

• 97 per cent agreed that students from under-represented groups face employment disadvantage compared with their peers;
• 96 per cent said work-related learning is essential or very important in reducing that disadvantage; and
• 69 per cent believed some under-represented groups are at greater risk of being left behind as AI tools reshape the labour market.

These findings do not point to a lack of talent or excess of graduates. They indicate unequal access to what helps people progress: professional networks, paid experience, recruitment knowledge, financial flexibility, confidence and careers support.

A shared jobs challenge

Universities UK’s Future Jobs Roadmap makes the economic case clearly: the future economy will need more graduates, and employers need stronger links with universities to access the skills required for growth.

But the transition into work is still uneven. Graduates are more likely than non-graduates to be in education or employment and tend to move into work more quickly, yet too many still face difficult starts, especially those from under-represented groups or weaker regional labour markets.

If Britain wants stronger growth, higher productivity and a fairer labour market, graduate opportunity must become a shared national priority. Universities can prepare students, but employers, local authorities and government can help turn that preparation into real opportunity.

Higher education’s public promise

Higher education matters for many reasons: intellectual growth, civic participation, cultural enrichment and economic benefit. But for students and families, the prospect of a better career is a central part of its public promise.

That does not reduce university to a single employment metric; it recognises that fair access to graduate careers is now an important test of whether higher education is delivering on social mobility.

We should be honest about what is at stake. Graduate opportunity affects who gets to build influence, enter the professions, lead institutions and shape society. Research by LSE in Born to Rule: the making and remaking of the British elite found that “there is less movement at the top than we think”, with those born into the top one per cent almost as likely to enter the elite today as they were 125 years ago.

If we want our institutions, professions and public life to better reflect the talent of the whole population, universities, government and employers must work together to remove the barriers that prevent capable graduates from progressing.

The recent creation of the Class Unit in the Office for Equality and Opportunity should sharpen the national focus on this agenda. It speaks directly to this report’s central challenge: talent is not lacking, but routes into good work are still too often shaped by networks, assumptions and uneven access to opportunity.

Putting this into practice

For universities, the response must be practical and strategic. Employability support should reach students who cannot easily access optional activities. Targeted guidance, mentoring and specialist provision should be protected where barriers are greatest, and work-related learning should be embedded in the curriculum.

At Leicester, we have been putting this into practice by designing opportunity directly into the student experience. Every student has access to at least 100 hours of work-related learning as part of their degree, ensuring they graduate with real-world experience, confidence and the skills employers value. Through our collaboration with Microsoft, which gives every student full and equitable access to Microsoft’s Copilot AI tools, and by embedding use of AI across our teaching and assessment, we are helping students develop the digital and AI capabilities that will increasingly shape graduate careers.

The sector already knows much about effective practice, yet financial pressure is reconfiguring provision. Many of the activities respondents value most, including one-to-one guidance, specialist roles and bursary-backed experience, are also among those being reduced. This risks compounding the challenges faced by students who most need support. Digital and AI-enabled services can extend reach, but they complement human support rather than substitute for it.

Universities cannot do this alone. Employers should create more paid, accessible entry routes, backed by inclusive recruitment, induction and progression. Government should make it easier and less risky for employers, particularly SMEs, to recruit new graduates in weaker regional labour markets. Local authorities and civic partners should help connect talent, transport, employers and place-based growth.

From participation to opportunity

Widening access to university has been one of the major social mobility achievements of recent decades. The next phase is to widen access to graduate success.

We must support every student to access the skills, confidence, networks and experiences needed to succeed after graduation. Anything less risks asking students to reach the door of opportunity, only to find that others still hold the key.

The full report, From Access to Graduate Success: The Next Phase of Social Mobility, published by the Graduate Futures Institute in partnership with the University of Leicester, is available here.