Certificates and Degrees by Industry
The chart above displays the field of study of recent URI, RIC, and CCRI graduates working in RI, viewable by their industries of employment. Though a small portion of RI’s total workforce, examining the intersection of their education and employment offers insight into the fields of study valued by employers in each industry. Some highlights:
• Several industries (e.g., Health Care & Social Assistance; Education; Finance & Insurance) draw heavily from graduates with closely related fields of study, with some hiring graduates almost exclusively from just one or two fields (e.g., Utilities, and Wholesale Trade). Employment in such industries seems to require a highly directed educational path.
• Industries hiring from a variety of fields may have demand for less-specific training or credentials (e.g., Retail Trade, Accommodation & Food Services), or, perhaps, for a broader array of expertise. The Information sector draws from Engineering Technology, Communication & Journalism, and Business Management. Surprisingly, manufacturing firms employ graduates from backgrounds including Visual & Performing Arts!
• The high-wage Professional, Scientific, & Technical industry employs more recent graduates from Business Management backgrounds than from Engineering and Computer & Information Sciences combined. This highlights both the versatility of business-oriented credentials and potential unmet demand for graduates of technical fields of study.
