Who funds Futuretrack?

Futuretrack is funded by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU).

HECSU is an independent educational charity with over 30 years of experience in higher education. It works with careers advisers, students, teachers and employers to provide information about what graduates do after university.

Because Futuretrack is free from political and commercial funding, it provides an unbiased account of students and the problems they may face when making decisions.

Mike Hill, Chief Executive of HECSU: "We know there is a tremendous interest in how successful graduates are at landing good jobs. But we spotted a gap in our knowledge: why do students go to university at all? What do they expect to get out of it? How do they choose their subjects? What sort of jobs are they aiming for? We wanted answers and that’s why Futuretrack was started."

Who is carrying out the Futuretrack research?

A team at the Univeristy of Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER) run Futuretrack.

The Institute has lots of research experience into the relationship between education and career development. The leading researchers in the Futuretrack team (Kate Purcell and Peter Elias) have completed several longitudinal studies of graduates and students in the past.

Professor Kate Purcell
Kate has a background in sociology. She specialises in investigating the interface between labour markets and organisations. Her specific focus is on changing employment boundaries. She’s published and lectured widely on her research, both nationally and internationally.

Professor Peter Elias
Peter is a labour economist and statistician. His research interests range across a wide and diverse field, bringing him into contact with labour market researchers from other disciplines. Widely published, Peter is regarded as an expert in his field.