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

92% of the graduates of the University of Navarra are working or continuing their education. In terms of master's degree graduates, the employment rate is 91.7%. 

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

Ikerfel conducted the study between February and April 2021 and graduates who completed their studies in the 2017-2018, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 academic years participated. In total, 2,471 (1,738 undergraduate and 733 master's degree alumni) responded to the survey.

The report reveals that graduates who are working have found their first job relatively soon after completing their degree. Seventy-four percent of bachelor's graduates and 71% of master's graduates took less than six months to find their first job, and 61% of bachelor's and 57% of master's graduates took less than three months.

As for the place where graduates who have studied a degree at the 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 your studies. Curricular and extracurricular internships bring students closer to companies, allow them to apply the knowledge they have acquired and facilitate their labor market insertion. I also 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 center said they had done an internship during their university career, 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 grown from 7.7 to 8.36.

A plan to tackle youth unemployment

The University of Navarra worked on 10 measures to address the employment consequences of the pandemic, especially for the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021. Some of these measures implemented through Career Services are: alliances with platforms that offer youth employment in national and international companies; employability training with the collaboration of company managers and specific programs designed for students and graduates; and individual and personalized accompaniment through career counselors.

"We believe that the University's efforts have borne fruit, as shown by 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 minimize the feeling of uncertainty as much as possible," says Roberto Cabezas.