Why are employers more accepting of 2:2 degrees in 2023?

In the UK, many employers have historically considered a 2:1 degree to be the necessary minimum for entry into their graduate roles and programmes. Recent research carried out by the Institute of Student Employers (ISE), however, found that the number of UK employers stating a 2:1 degree as a minimum entry requirement dropped to 48% in 2022. This is an all-time low since the ISE began conducting their research. Further support, also from ISE research, comes from the finding that over a third of UK employers planned to shift to qualification blind recruitment.

Before considering the reasons for this change in approach from employers, let’s look at the range of degree classifications in the UK.

What is a 2:2 degree?

UK universities award a degree grade based on the percentage pass that a student achieves. Here are the grades:

• First class honours or 1st: 70% or over
• Upper second class honours or 2:1: 60-69%
• Lower second class honours or 2:2: 50-59%
• Third class honours or 3rd: 40-49%

Each university has its own method for calculating the final grade, drawing different elements from each year of university study.

Why are some employers now accepting 2:2 degrees?

Here are the top five reasons why many employers have changed their approach to graduate recruitment.

  The UK skills shortage

The UK skills shortage and resulting competitive labour market has been caused by a number of factors:

• a shrinking workforce due to the rising number of economically inactive people post COVID
• workers want higher wages, increased benefits, and better working conditions since the pandemic resulting in a trend commonly known as the Great Resignation
• Brexit’s curb on free movement has caused lower levels of migration into the country
• a combination of Brexit and the pandemic caused many foreign workers to leave the UK
• training programmes across a wide range of industries were halted during the pandemic and are now struggling to tackle backlogs

There has been a shift among many UK employers to accept 2:2 degrees as a means of increasing the number of graduates who are eligible to apply.

  Effects of the pandemic on university students

Employers recognise the stress and constraints placed on university students during the COVID pandemic. This might include:

• spending time in lockdown at or away from university
• lack of access to course resources
• mental health issues caused by isolation
• lack of available lecturers
• adapting to online lessons

All of these issues may have impacted student performance and their resulting degree grade.

  The importance of skills and strengths alongside qualifications

Many UK employers will examine a candidate’s skills, strengths, and experience alongside their degree grade. While personality tests have seen a dive in popularity according to ISE research, employers are still keen to look at candidates as a whole, not just as a 2:1 or a 2:2 graduate. Instead, they place importance on an applicant’s skills, life and work experience, values, and attitude towards work alongside their degree grade.

This means that employers may disregard a candidate’s specific degree grade if that person is an excellent fit in other ways and demonstrates the potential to be a valuable employee.

  Building a diverse workforce

Diversity is the concept of difference within a group of people, such as a workforce. Diversity in the workplace has become increasingly popular with employers and with good reason. There are definite benefits for companies who incorporate diversity into their values and culture, including increased profitability, better performance than companies that do not embrace diversity, a wider pool of candidates to recruit from, and a reduced possibility of being penalised for breaching employment law.

Information from the Office for Students (OfS) states that young people from deprived backgrounds are less likely to achieve first or 2:1 degrees. By accepting graduates with 2:2 degrees, employers increase the socio-economic diversity of applicants and ultimately their graduate workforce.

  Following the big names

When well-known organisations and brands embrace a workplace trend, this is often a sign for other companies to do the same. By providing evidence that accepting 2:2 graduates can benefit an employer, these organisations lead the way for others to follow.

Well known organisations that have already embraced the recruitment of 2:2 graduates include:

• Ernst Young (EY)
• PwC
• BAE Systems
• British Armed Forces
• Santander
• Lloyds Banking Group
• HMRC
• Tesco

Wrapping it up

The recognition that graduates are more than simply the degree grade they accomplish is gaining popularity among UK employers in 2023. Driven by the skills shortage and a realisation that the pandemic has affected university students, this trend can only build on the increasing diversity of workforces across the country.