‘You have to work ten times harder’: first-in-family students, employability and capital development

Abstract

Since the 1990s, UK government policy has sought to increase access to higher education, with a plan to improve social mobility. However, enhancing the employability prospects for all has proven difficult to achieve through widening participation alone. This research explores this paradox, via the experiences of first-in-family undergraduates as they prepare to enter the UK graduate labour market. The concept of capital development is applied to understand the structural disadvantages experienced by students who lack a familial university background. Twenty-five interviews with first-in-family students at a Russell Group university in the UK were analysed thematically, with the application of the Graduate Capital Model. Findings reveal the high value attached by these students to human capital and the barriers they face in accruing social and cultural capital. This research illustrates how students who lack such capital face numerous obstacles in developing the strong career identities necessary to transition to graduate employment. Whilst the Graduate Capital Model gives valuable insight into the experiences of these students, the role of economic capital in shaping prospects is also recognised. Recommendations are proposed as to how universities, careers services and employers might act in support of first-in-family students’ graduate transitions.