2022 Generation Global Alumni Survey Signals Sustained Career Growth and Improved Financial Outcomes for Graduates

As an organization centered on data, Generation systematically collects employment, financial, and well-being feedback from our graduates for one full year following graduation. This helps us to better understand our impact and areas of opportunity to support our graduates. Three years ago, we introduced the Generation Global Alumni Survey to help us assess if we are achieving our goal of durable outcomes for graduates and laying a foundation for lasting positive change.

The 2022 Global Alumni Survey took place in April and May and was sent to alumni who completed a Generation program between two and six years ago, across the 12 Generation countries that have been running programs for at least two years: Brazil, France, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States. We had more than 3,500 responses from alumni of Customer Service, Sales, Healthcare, Tech, and Skilled Trade programs; 49% from women and 50% from men.

The Alumni Survey is a platform for graduates to share their experience and voices with us. As with the first year feedback we collect, we ask about current employment, financial health, and overall well-being. Based on responses from recent years, we have introduced alumni benefits like free LinkedIn Learning licenses and the Generation Global Alumni Ambassadors Council.

Key outcomes from 2022 are highlighted below.

Strong employment outcomes, particularly in roles related to Generation training

Globally, 62% of alumni remain engaged in paid work two to six years after graduation, and 67% of these are in a role that is very related to their Generation training. The link to training is important, because when alumni work in a very related role, they are more likely to have had a wage increase in the past 12 months (62%) and/or to have been promoted (53%) than alumni working in less related roles.

Financial health and well-being are also sustained

After graduating from Generation, people are much more likely to be able to cover their daily needs, a key financial health indicator. Only 22% of Generation alumni from 2019 were able to cover their daily financial needs before joining the program; today it has increased to 70%.

More than 75% of alumni report positive well-being scores across several dimensions. Well-being is a vital measurement of our impact, since unemployment, underemployment, or poor quality employment can have negative consequences for physical and mental well-being.

Progress in ability to save money and savings goals, with regional variation

Globally, 38% of alumni two to six years out from graduation are able to go beyond covering their daily financial needs and save money, an important factor in driving increased economic mobility for them and their families. This number varies widely by region and sector; ranging from 25% of alumni that are able to save in our SAMEA region (Kenya, India, Pakistan) to 71% of alumni in our APAC region (Hong Kong, Singapore), and from 17% of alumni working in Skilled Trades to 64% of alumni working in Tech professions.

For the first time, we asked those alumni who are able to save about their savings goals, which encompass a desire to invest in things like housing, retirement, and education. In all regions except SAMEA, the most reported savings goal is better quality housing and/or home ownership. In the SAMEA region, the most reported savings goal is essential items like household appliances, vehicles, or heating or cooling systems.

Tech jobs remain a particularly attractive pathway for graduates

Generation tech graduates see particularly strong employment and income outcomes. They are employed at higher levels than alumni overall (86% versus 62%). They are more than twice as likely to be able to save money when compared to graduates of other program professions (64% versus 29%), more likely to have had a wage increase in the last 12 months (61% versus 54%), and show a high rate of advancement with nearly half (46%) recently having had a promotion.

As we increase our program offerings in tech around the world, we will continue to strive for high-impact, long-lasting outcomes, and to increase access to these professions for non-traditionally represented groups.

Strong impact outcomes extend to women tech graduates

Around the world, women face additional systemic barriers to employment and Generation graduates are not immune from these. Globally, 70% of women coming into Generation programs are unemployed. Two to six years after graduation, women graduates are more likely to have left the workforce than men graduates (20% versus 12%) and are more likely to have done so for family or health reasons (41% of women who have left the workforce versus 14% of men who have left the workforce).

Given this, we are proud that Generation’s tech programs offer a particularly strong pathway to lasting employment and improved financial health for women. 83% of women tech graduates who responded to the Survey are currently employed with 77% of these in permanent employment. More than half (55%) have had a wage increase in the last 12 months and 60% are able to save money.

We thank all Generation alumni that participated in this year’s Alumni Survey. We invite all to learn more about our graduates and their stories here.