Estimación del rendimiento agrícola en dependencia del clon

This Section explores whether business size affected the likelihood of graduates reporting that they used their degree skills and degree knowledge in their current main job at the time of the Futuretrack survey. The following hypothesis is tested:

H1.Graduates working in small businesses will report different levels of skill utilisation as measured by (a) using skills that they developed during their undergraduate degree, and (b) using subject/discipline knowledge that they developed during their

undergraduate degree, compared to graduates working in large businesses when controlling for occupation, industry and personal background.

Graduates were more likely to use their skills than their knowledge: there was a fairly consistent difference of about 14-20 percentage points between the proportion of graduates who used their degree skills and those who used their degree knowledge in their main current job (Figure 6.1). There was relatively little variation between graduates’ reports of using skills and knowledge across employer size. Graduates employed in small businesses were slightly more likely to report that they used their skills and their knowledge than those who were employed in large businesses (only significant for degree knowledge),126 _{and the} absolute difference between the proportions for using skills and knowledge was very small. This result suggests that there may be a positive association between graduates employed in small firms and their perceptions of using degree knowledge in their jobs.

However, the regression results did not find any association when controlling for occupation, industry, and other characteristics (Table 6.1). Although working in a small or a medium-sized

125 _{The decision whether to apply weights in regression analysis is a debated issue. Unweighted} regressions were run for two main reasons: first, the Futuretrack Stage 4 Report did not weight multivariate regression models. Second, unweighted OLS estimates may be preferred when the weights are a function of the independent variables (Winship and Radbill, 1994), which is the case for the Futuretrack survey weights. Regressions using weighted data were run to check robustness of results, but are not reported in this thesis – the results were very similar to unweighted data. 126 _{Uncorrected χ}2_{((3), N=4,260) = 22.60; design-based F(3.00, 12761.36) = 5.70, p<.001.}

137 business compared to a large business was significant for using degree knowledge in Model 1 (odds ratios: Small = 1.12; Medium = 1.33),127 _{business size ceased being significant as soon} as occupational groups were added to the model (Model 2 onwards). This change in employer size coefficient significance suggests that any association between business size and the likelihood of using degree knowledge was mediated through the occupations in which the graduates were working, rather than being attributed to business size directly.

Figure 6.1: Reported use of degree skills and knowledge in current job by business size

Source: Futuretrack Stage 4, UK-domiciled, UK-university first-degree graduates only, private sector, non-self-employed, weighted percentages. N (skills) = 4,259; N (knowledge) = 4,260.

Graduate employment in any occupation relative to professional occupations decreased the likelihood of using skills and knowledge, particularly in sales and customer services and in elementary occupations (0.07 and 0.04 times as likely compared to professional occupations). Graduates employed in the associate professional occupations were less than half as likely to report using their degree skills and knowledge at work as those in the professional occupations (0.45 and 0.44 times as likely for skills and knowledge respectively).

Graduates employed in manufacturing and construction industries were between 1.8 and 2.8 times as likely to use their degree knowledge relative to those employed in the banking,

127 _{Where the odds ratio is greater than (less than) one it implies that this variable increases} (decreases) the likelihood of the outcome variable occurring. The odds ratios should be interpreted as follows: in Model 1 (controlling for business size only) the likelihood of reporting that one used degree knowledge in one's current main job was 1.12 times more likely if one was employed in a small business relative to a large business, and 1.33 times more likely if one was employed in a medium-sized business relative to a large business, all other things remaining equal.

69.7 73.4 77.5 71.3 51.3 59.2 58.5 50.8 0 20 40 60 80 100

Micro Small Medium Large

138 finance and insurance industry. Unsurprisingly, graduates employed in the distribution, hotels and catering industry were only 0.7 times as likely to do so - this is largely due to selecting the banking, finance and insurance industry group as base.

Interestingly, while graduating from a medium-tariff university relative to a highest-tariff one decreased the likelihood of using degree skills at work, the reverse was true for degree knowledge: graduating from any HEI type other than the highest-tariff type increased the likelihood of reporting using knowledge between 1.3 and 2.4 times. The reason for this may be that graduates from non-highest HEI types were more likely to have studied more vocationally-orientated subjects (with the exception of medicine, which was predominantly found in highest tariff HEIs – but the proportion of graduates in this sample who studied medicine was very low). The STEM subject dummy had no effect on the likelihood of using either degree skills or knowledge; however, there were some differences between subject groups.128 _{High self-confidence (added to control for highly confident individuals over-} reporting their skill use) was only significant for reporting using degree skills.

128 _{For instance, having studied business and administrative studies subjects relative to natural} sciences increased the likelihood of reporting using degree skills; having studied business and administrative studies, mathematics, and engineering relative to natural sciences increased the likelihood of reporting using discipline knowledge, while having studies humanities and languages subjects relative to natural sciences decreased the likelihood of reporting using discipline knowledge at work.

139 Table 6.1: Likelihood of using degree skills and knowledge (odds ratios)

Degree skills Degree knowledge

Model 1 Model 6 Model 1 Model 6

Micro 0.846 0.794 1.039 0.89

Small 0.975 0.801 1.220* 1.048

Medium 1.255 0.996 1.331** 1.099

Large organization (ref.)

Managers, directors and senior officials 0.305*** 0.270***

Professional occupations (ref.) Associate professional and technical

occupations 0.448*** 0.439***

Administrative and secretarial occupations 0.163*** 0.155***

Skilled trades occupations 0.126*** 0.119***

Caring, leisure and other service

occupations 0.135*** 0.211***

Sales and customer service occupations 0.0720*** 0.0722***

Process, plant and machine operatives 0.109*** 0.149***

Elementary occupations 0.0445*** 0.0448***

Agriculture, mining, quarrying (includes gas

extraction) 1.341 2.723***

Manufacturing 1.927** 1.864***

Electricity, gas, water supply 1.419 1.257

Construction (includes civil engineering) 1.299 2.842***

Distribution, hotels, catering (includes

retail) 0.558*** 0.693*

Transport and tourist services 1.075 1.364

Information and communications sector 1.096 1.089

Banking, finance, insurance (ref.)

Business services (includes legal services) 1.062 1.041

Education (includes schools, colleges, etc.) 0.947 1.003

Other public services (local / central gov’t) 1.18 1.786**

Female 1.067 0.896

Mature student 21+ 0.666** 1.011

Non-white ethnic group 0.916 0.954

Routine and manual occupations 0.955 0.937

Highest tariff (ref).

High tariff 0.856 1.346**

Medium tariff 0.771* 1.604***

Lower tariff 0.865 1.501**

Other 0.84 2.423***

STEM subject dummy 1.122 1.089

High self-confidence 1.266** 1.116

Observations 3940 3940 3939 3939

Pseudo R-squared 0.001 0.221 0.002 0.189

Log lik. -2187.9 -1706.5 -2714.2 -2206.3

* p<.05, ** p<.01, *** p<.001.

Source: Futuretrack 2006, Wave 4 sample, non-missing observations only, odds ratios (exponentiated coefficients). Base: a male graduate without high self-confidence, who did not study a subject with a STEM component, attended a highest-tariff HEI, and worked as a professional in the banking, finance, and insurance sector in a large business.

140 To check whether the results for using degree skills and knowledge held for SOC(HE)2010 job groups, the regressions were repeated using the SOC(HE) classification instead of SOC 2010 major groups. The results were similar: business size was not associated with the likelihood of using skills in any of the models. Once the industry sector was controlled for, there were no significant differences between being employed in expert jobs (reference group) and in the orchestrator or communicator jobs. However, for using degree

knowledge, business size remained significant when controlling for jobs (Model 2), and only ceased being significant when industry groups were added (Model 3). Graduates employed in orchestrator and communicator jobs were less likely to report using their degree

knowledge compared to those in expert jobs, and those in non-graduate occupations were least likely to report using degree knowledge.129 _{Ultimately, business size did not affect the} likelihood of graduates reporting that they used their degree skills or their degree

knowledge when controlling for occupation, industry and personal characteristics.