The 11 UK universities which produce the most employable graduates

UK unemployment may be at its lowest level for over a decade, but the picture is different for graduates.

Business Insider reported back in September that the UK graduate job market had shrunk for the first time in four years, as companies scale back entry-level recruitment efforts in the wake of the Brexit vote.

With that in mind, it is more important than ever for many prospective university students to select a course which will offer the best employment prospects upon graduation.

The Times Higher Education's newly-released "Global Employability Index" is a global ranking of universities which produce the most employable graduates, based on a variety of factors which are deemed to make someone employable.

The factors considered to benefit employability in the study were professional experience, a high degree of specialisation, proficiency in at least two foreign languages, extracurricular activities, an excellent academic record, and graduation from a "top" university.

Business Insider took a look at the UK universities which made the list.

Here is the list:

11. University of Nottingham — the university scooped the Times Good University Guide's 'University of the Year' award for graduate employment in 2015/16.

10. University of Birmingham — Birmingham's most prestigious university has a strong track record for employability, and scooped the Good University Guide's graduate employment award in 2015/16.

9. University of Bristol — the university runs over 200 undergraduate courses across six academic faculties. It ranks at 84th in the global list for graduate employability.

8. University College London — the world-renowned university, based in central London, comes 48th in the global index. 92% of graduates find work or further study within six months of finishing studies.

7. London School of Economics and Political Science — LSE specialises in a wide range of social sciences, including economics, politics, sociology, law, and anthropology. The top four employment sectors for LSE graduates are banking and finance; politics, government and public sector; consultancy; and education and teaching.

6. University of Edinburgh — the Scottish university comes 32nd in the global index, and sixth in the UK. According to 2016 figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 94% of its students go immediately into employment or postgraduate study straight after finishing their studies.

5. University of Manchester — the university consistently ranks highly in employment indexes. According to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 94% of its graduates go straight into employment or further study after their course ends.

4. King’s College London — established in 1829, King's College is the fourth-oldest university in England. Its main campus is on the Strand, central London, but it also has four others, two of which are training hospitals.

3. Imperial College London — the science-based institution's motto is "Scientia imperii decus et tutamen," which translates as “Scientific knowledge, the crowning glory and the safeguard of the empire.” The university has 15,000 students and 8,000 staff.

2. University of Oxford — the oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford comes seventh in the global index but second among UK universities. It is a world-renowned research institute, with students and staff spread across 38 constituent colleges.

1. University of Cambridge — founded in 1209 by a group of scholars who fled from Oxford after a dispute with townspeople, Cambridge is celebrated as a research institute which turns out celebrated graduates across a huge range of disciplines.

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