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Industrial and Product Design

These statistics relate to graduates from a number of different pathways – Industrial Design and Technology, Product Design and Product Design Engineering.

In 2010/11, six months after graduating:

78.7% of graduates with a first degree were in employment

7.4% were in full-time further study

3.2% were combining work and study

The very vocational nature of the course means that a high proportion of Design graduates are keen to develop their design portfolios and in order to gain entry into graphics, product or industrial design. The first step for many Design graduates in the first 6 months of employment is to gain design related employment experience.

A high proportion (74.5%) of students from this graduating cohort took a sandwich placement as part of their course. In what is an extremely competitive sector the opportunity that placement brings in terms of networking has undoubtedly benefited many graduates from this subject.

In 2010/11 Industrial and Product Design graduates were employed in the following positions:

• Branding Consultant
• Design Consultant
• Design Engineer
• Design Ergonomist
• Graphic Designer
• Industrial Designer
• Mechanical Engineer
• Packaging Technologist
• Product Designer
• Promotional Designer
• Teacher (Design and Technology)

In 2010/11 Industrial and Product Design graduates entered further study courses such as:

• MA Design and Branding Strategies
• MA Design for Development
• MA Fashion
• MSc Forensic Ballistics
• MSc Product Design
• PhD Product Design
• PGCE Secondary Design and Technology

The positive impact of a sandwich placement on graduate employment outcomes across Brunel is considerable. Those who have done placements are also much more likely to be in employment for which their degree was a formal requirement or where they believe their degree gave them a competitive advantage in recruitment.

Placement leavers from Design experienced the following outcomes:

• 87.1% progressed into employment or further study
• 90.2% were engaged in a graduate-level activity (employment or further study)
• 89.5% of employed leavers were working in the top three categories of graduate level employment
• The average starting salary was £21,519.

The graduate labour market remains competitive and relevant experience is increasingly required for graduate level jobs. For those without related experience job search strategy is often about getting a ‘foot in the door’ in order to compete for graduate positions later.

A growing national trend is for many students to delay their job applications until completing their studies, preferring to focus on achieving the highest grade possible. This can result in some graduates initially continuing with their part-time job while they explore their options after graduating. As a result some graduates were working in non-graduate level positions including administration and skilled trades.

The DLHE survey provides a snapshot of a very short amount of time (six months) after graduating and while many have progressed into relevant graduate jobs others are taking time out, travelling, waiting to start a course or continuing with their part-time job while they explore their options after graduating. Many graduates have moved on in their careers since completing the questionnaire.