# How Student Activities and Opportunities Help Skills Development  ## Metadata - Author: [[Wonkhe]] - Full Title: How Student Activities and Opportunities Help Skills Development - Category: #Source/articles - Document Tags: #Admin/review - URL: https://wonkhe.com/blogs-sus/how-student-activities-and-opportunities-help-skills-development/ ## Highlights - Headlines ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmenddw18v6dm4mmx15eag3)) - 29% of graduates said their university experience did not give them the necessary skills for the jobs they wanted. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmenf9hjtv38mjrt5yh11j2)) - 1 in 5 of working-class graduates said that they could not afford to undertake a work placement. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmengtpb341046nd87jys3c)) - 32% of students who did not take part in student societies, volunteering or sport could not due to paid work commitments. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmenjzgm1497geascmd9n6q)) - [Previous research by the Sutton Trust](https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/life-lessons-workplace-skills/) on non-academic skills has found that 94% of employers think they are as or more important than academic qualifications, but that 52% of employers do not think university graduates have the skills required for the workplace. That research shows that school pupils from less well-off backgrounds less likely to take up extra-curricular activities that can develop life skills than their more advantaged peers (46% compared to 66%). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmenwvcwayewjr3drry0f68)) - [A large-scale follow-up study](https://hecsu.ac.uk/assets/assets/documents/Futuretrack_Stage_4_Final_report_6th_Nov_2012.pdf) of thousands of students found that taking part in extra-curricular activities, and especially being an office holder or student representative (which often follows from taking part in student societies), are all associated with better outcomes for graduates. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmenzf35tdzx1hj916rq2a2)) - [One study found that graduates who had taken part in extra-curricular activities](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229609258_Extra-Curricular_Activity_and_the_Transition_from_Higher_Education_to_Work_A_Survey_of_Graduates_in_the_United_Kingdom) while in HE were more likely to have a graduate job than other graduates, were more likely to be satisfied with their current job, feel their job was appropriate for someone with their skills and qualifications, and to feel positive about their long term career prospects. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmep1q5at12rqcbj1yr04nx)) - [Research has found](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gordon_Clark2/publication/258124492_%27It%27s_just_like_an_extra_string_to_your_bow%27_Exploring_higher_education_students%27_perceptions_and_experiences_of_extracurricular_activity_and_employability/links/57ab538d08ae42ba52aed44b/Its-just-like-an-extra-string-to-your-bow-Exploring-higher-education-students-perceptions-and-experiences-of-extracurricular-activity-and-employability.pdf?origin=publication_detail) that if students take part in extra-curricular activities which they see as important, they are more likely to feel a sense of connection to others. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmerngw6hr2f7kh2aeywd2x)) - [Taking part in societies may also impact on retention](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/advance-he/Advance%20HE%20UKES%202019_1572367661.pdf). Research has found that students who take part in societies or sports are considerably less likely to consider leaving their course. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmertq6aa4sz432693gved3)) - Working class students were instead more likely to spend time in paid work, and to say that time spent on student societies negatively impact on their university performance. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmes2fbrybf45pe5d4mnc7y)) - [Previous Sutton Trust research](https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/home-and-away-student-mobility/) has highlighted the challenges for students living at home in accessing extra-curricular activities, which often involve staying late after the teaching day has finished, which can be difficult for students who have a long journey home from campus. The same research found that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are over three times more likely to stay living at home and to commute to university (45%), compared to their better-off counterparts (13%), and that state school students are also more likely (2.6 times) to stay at home and study locally compared to the privately educated. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmevfemrfzcphw4vn9t1x8e)) - [Even before the pandemic, for all students,](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/advance-he/Advance%20HE%20UKES%202019_1572367661.pdf) there has also been a decline in participation in student societies and sports over the last few years, accompanied by a rise in time spent on paid work and caring responsibilities. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmew44qmvbt3f936k69x3tm)) - Participation findings ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmew2t6aj97hreywabp03gf)) -  ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmewh97bx0h0rd72q5trjep)) - participation differs substantially by socio-economic background. Just over half (52%) of recent graduates from working class backgrounds took part in student societies, compared to almost two thirds (64%) of better-off students. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmewsb0h89nxsm5cj0vkc9n)) -  ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmewxtd2e6fr044y0kqg681)) - Development of essential life skills at university ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmf29jzh3x1heta2x8b5v81)) - While many graduates felt their university course had helped them to develop life skills such as communication (62%) and resilience (53%), fewer than half (43%) felt it had developed their motivation, and less than a quarter (24%) felt it helped them to develop leadership skills. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmf2a69k9yhmnxp2ctbncn1)) ## New highlights added March 28, 2023 at 5:08 PM - While 43% of those who took part in student societies felt it had developed their leadership skills, less than a third (29%) who did a work experience placement said the same. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmf45dt522cec9069wbnt99)) -  ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmf5g9xbt0fd8aj4b44dej8)) - The most common reason students did not take part in work experience was because their ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmfef4dhtxj4cq9p5ry5e8k)) - university or course did not give them an opportunity to do so (39%). This proportion was higher for graduates of Pre and Post 1992 institutions (41% at both, compared to 36% of Russell Group attendees). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmfefpe78eg33rgsjw4qfwa)) - Just under a third (31%) of those who did not do work experience said no relevant placements were available, 18% cited cost as a barrier, while 16% said they were unable to do a placement due to other paid work commitments. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmfeg30acvnj6syxq5bsm7v)) -  ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmfenjpg5e8ysa1pv5hmkaa)) -  ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmff9mekhj8yzaq26s84e0r)) - Recommendations ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmffq5f1k7v3jg823kpaf1j)) - universities should help students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to access paid internships and work experiences, including through targeted provision of information and advice, along with financial suppor ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmffy75qg447geet0d3zfh0)) - universities should look at embedding opportunities to develop employability and life skills within students’ courses ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmfg51ctmc9tmm0pd9pnxgv)) - universities and students’ unions should explore and tackle barriers that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds face in taking part in extra-curricular activities ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmfgd0hpjazy3sqf70kawyh)) - • ensure all students feel comfortable and can fully participate in their courses and extra-curricular activities. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gwmfh01gxtkekp14k7wpdjk9))