Who has heard about the HEAR? Evaluation of initial employer impact of the higher education achievement record

Regardless of whether strategy/ policy on graduate employability originates from the Government, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), employers, or students, the associated rhetoric is remarkable by it’s inter- changeability. Notions of ‘… Competitiveness within a ‘knowledge’ economy and (global) labour market’, and the employable graduate as ‘Future Fit’ recognise perceptions of the contribution that graduates play to (inter)national economic growth and broader social and cultural development. This level of agreement between all stakeholders is positive in the context of recent recession and higher costs raising both concerns and the importance of employability to UK engineering students.