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Wales

To see whether graduates from Wales showed any major differences between themselves and the rest of the UK (rUK), we took a look at the graduates from Welsh universities between the 2009 and 2014 to see if graduates from Wales showed any remarkable difference in their attainment, ambition and employability.

Sectors

Starting by looking at their sector choices, graduates from Wales were not too different from the rest of the UK, with the top two most popular sectors being the same as the rest of the UK's. The one thing that did stand out was the proportion of the graduates from Wales who wanted to work in Management. The 36.4% of graduates who wanted to work in this particular sector was well ahead of the 28.5% national average, and proportionally much higher than any other city or part of the UK.

Most popular sectors for Welsh university graduates

Degree Classifications

In terms of degree classifications awarded from Welsh universities, it appears that it is much more difficult to be awarded the top mark of a First Class degree, with graduates from Wales being among the lowest in the UK. The amount of graduates who left a Welsh university with a First Class degree stood at 8.3%, much lower than the national average of 9.8%, with only Nottingham, Sheffield and Northern Ireland where an even lower percentage of graduates achieved a First.

However, graduates from Wales are nearly as likely to receive a 2.1 classification for their degree, with 48% of graduates from Wales receiving this level of degree and the national average standing at 48.1%.

Degree classifications for Welsh university graduates

Work Experience

Work experience is often believed to be the counter part of a graduate's degree, so that they can prove to employers they are the full package. Graduates from Wales are no exception to the problems that employers are finding. Only 15.3% of graduates from Welsh universities had work experience, although this was not that far off the national average of 16.6%. Graduates from Welsh universities are also not the worst, with Liverpool and Newcastle having even lower percentage of graduates with work experience.

Percentage of Welsh university graduates with work experience