High Fliers Research

Name

High Fliers Research

Legal name

High Fliers Research

Website

https://highfliers.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Syndicated Market Research (Panels, Omnibus, Tracker Studies) (MPAAALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

Keywords

• Graduate recruitment research
• Apprenticeship research
• Employer benchmarking
• Graduate market reports
• Student career surveys

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Employer Research Partnerships: Graduate employers pay to participate in research programmes and receive exclusive access to survey results, benchmarking reports, and in-depth analysis of student career expectations and recruitment marketing effectiveness.
2. Publication Distribution: Hard-backed books distributed free to universities, with digital editions read by hundreds of thousands of students. Revenue generated from employer feature entries, advertising, and recruitment marketing opportunities within publications.
3. 5% Club Employer Audit: Research and accreditation programme where employers pay to participate, complete questionnaires, receive 48-page benchmarking reports, and achieve Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum accredited membership of The 5% Club.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

High Fliers Research is a specialist independent research organisation that conducts graduate and apprenticeship research in the UK. It sells survey-based research products, annual rankings, and benchmarking reports to major graduate employers, universities, and government bodies. Its core methodology relies on large-scale face-to-face interviews with final-year university students across 30 UK universities, conducted annually since 1995.

Product overview

High Fliers Research is a specialist independent research organization that offers a portfolio of research products focused on graduate and apprenticeship employment in the UK. Its core offerings include The UK Graduate Careers Survey (annual student survey with up to 15,000 interviews), The Graduate Market Report (annual employer recruitment analysis), The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers rankings (in partnership with The Times newspaper), The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers rankings, The Sixth Formers' Guide to Degree Apprenticeships (digital guide for school-leavers), and The 5% Club Employer Audit (accreditation programme for apprenticeship employers). These products work together to serve employers, universities, government bodies, and students across the graduate recruitment ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The UK Graduate Careers Survey

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 250,000 students and graduates read The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Department for Work & PensionsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership with the Department for Work & Pensions for the production of The Sixth Formers' Guide to Degree Apprenticeships, providing government support and endorsement for the publication.
• The Careers & Enterprise CompanyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership for The Sixth Formers' Guide to Degree Apprenticeships, leveraging the Careers & Enterprise Company's network to distribute the guide to schools and sixth form colleges across the UK.
• Future LeadersminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership with Future Leaders for the production of The Sixth Formers' Guide to Degree Apprenticeships, featuring Faheem Khan's contributions on the life-changing impact of degree apprenticeships.
• BPP (Lyceum Education Group)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Official sponsor of The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2026 rankings, providing sponsorship support for the prestigious annual rankings programme.
• Association of ApprenticesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Supported by the Association of Apprentices for The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers rankings, bringing industry expertise and endorsement to the programme.
• AELP (Association of Employment & Learning Providers)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Supported by AELP for The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers rankings, providing industry body endorsement for the annual apprenticeship employer rankings.
• The 5% ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Research partner for The 5% Club since 2021, conducting annual Employer Audit to measure and benchmark employers' progress towards the 5% 'earn-as-you-learn' workforce target. Manages research with over 250 participating employers annually.
• The Sunday TimescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnership with The Sunday Times for the annual The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers rankings, bringing apprenticeship employer rankings to a wide audience through the newspaper and dedicated microsite.
• The TimescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Long-running partnership with The Times newspaper for the annual The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers rankings and related research publications, distributing content to the widest possible audience of students, graduates, parents and careers advisers.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Universum: Global employer branding research firm that conducts large-scale annual student and professional surveys (most desired employers rankings) across 60+ markets. Most direct comparable to High Fliers' UK Graduate Careers Survey and Times Top 100 Graduate Employers methodology, with a broader international footprint.
• Group GTI: UK-based provider of graduate recruitment media, student insight research (targetjobs, Milkround), and employer branding solutions. Directly competes with High Fliers on graduate employer intelligence and student-facing careers media across UK universities.
• Target Jobs (IDP Connect): UK graduate careers information platform with employer directories, application advice, and industry research. Competes directly with High Fliers' Times Top 100 Graduate Employers for student attention and employer recruitment marketing spend.
• Milkround: UK graduate recruitment media brand now part of Group GTI, featuring employer profiles, application advice, and graduate job listings. Directly overlaps with High Fliers' Times Top 100 Graduate Employers audience and employer recruitment marketing proposition.
• Prospects: UK official graduate careers website operated on behalf of the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, providing graduate labour market data, employer profiles, and career guidance. Adjacent mission to High Fliers' graduate market research, with similar university/government stakeholder base.

Regional players

• Research Australia (Graduate Outlook): Australian peak body for health and medical research that conducts graduate employer and sector research analogous to High Fliers' Graduate Market Report methodology, but focused on Australia's research workforce market rather than UK graduate recruitment.

Broad incumbents

• Times Higher Education: Global higher education rankings, research, and events business owned by Inflexion. Comparable to High Fliers in combining authoritative annual rankings with employer/university research products, though focused on university rather than employer rankings.
• QS Quacquarelli Symonds: Global higher education and careers research firm behind QS World University Rankings and QS World Grad School Tour. Operates student and employer surveys internationally with annual employer reputation rankings that overlap with High Fliers' Times Top 100 methodology.

Emerging players

• Handshake: US-headquartered early-career recruitment platform connecting students, universities, and employers. While UK footprint is limited, it represents the digital-first, data-driven evolution of graduate employer intelligence that could disrupt traditional research-led models like High Fliers.

Others

• The Student Room: UK's largest student community platform with university application, careers, and student life content. Adjacent audience to High Fliers' student publications and an enabling channel for student-facing research and rankings distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about High Fliers Research