What Happens Next? – A Report on the First Destinations of Disabled Graduates

This report compares the employment outcomes of disabled and non-disabled graduates and provides real evidence of the effects of a disability on a graduate's employment prospects.

This latest edition reports on the first destinations of 2016 disabled graduates. Findings are based on the analysis of 322,810 graduates at first degree, higher degree (taught) and higher degree (research) level who responded to the 2015/16 DLHE survey. Of this total, 12.9% (41,490) identified themselves as having either a disability or learning difficulty during their period of study.

What Happens Next? has been produced annually by the AGCAS Disability Task Group for 16 years. Over the years these reports have unearthed that disabled graduates’ prospects in the labour market are better than previously thought. However, it remains the case that disabled graduates are still at a disadvantage when entering the graduate labour market and that notable differences remain in the outcomes of disabled and non-disabled graduates.

Key findings from the 2018 report:

  • Compared to non-disabled graduates, at all qualification levels graduates disclosing a disability were less likely to be in full-time employment, more likely to be in part-time employment and more likely to pursue further study.
  • Over the past three surveys, at each qualification level, there has been a year-on-year increase in the proportion of graduates disclosing a disability.
  • At all qualification levels, graduates disclosing a disability were more likely to be self-employed or in the process of starting their own business than non-disabled graduates.
  • A key theme emerging from this year's report is the disadvantage experienced by graduates with a social communication condition/Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who were the least likely of all disability groups to be in full-time employment and most likely to be unemployed.

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