The increasing dominance of an economic ideology of higher education, that its principal role is to contribute to national competitiveness, has increased focus on the employability of graduates and their transition into the labour market. Drawing on a major study of the early career paths of 1995 graduates from 38 UK higher education institutions, this paper looks specifically at graduates from business and management programmes. Such graduates would apparently be attractive to employers seeking to recruit degree holders with specific transferable skills who might be expected to "hit the ground running" once in organisations. The paper seeks to address the question of what effect holding a business degree has on the employment outcomes in comparison with other degree disciplines and whether or not there is any gender effect upon relative success in the labour market.