DMU Student Bags Indian Internship With Ubisoft

Laura Hutton, a 22 year old second year student at De Montford University, has earned the opportunity to undergo an internship with Ubisoft, a leading gaming company.

The six month internship will take place at Maharashtra in India and will start in October this year.

Ubisoft is the company behind famous video games such as Assassin’s Creed, Petz, Imagine and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six. Their gaming portal attracts five million unique visitors every month and some games sell as many as 30 million units around the world. Earlier this month, the company announced first quarter sales of over €103 million.

Laura is studying Game Art Design at De Montford University but will get some solid real life work experience at Ubisoft when she works with them on fresh adaptations of some of their older successful games titles.

“Getting an internship in this highly competitive industry is a dream come true. Working for a company like Ubisoft will give me a fantastic head start in the games industry. I am really excited about getting the opportunity to live in India for six months, and I can’t wait to work in a studio environment and find out what it is like to work on well-known titles,” said a thrilled Ms Hutton.

Laura’s course leader at DMU, Michael Powell, was also happy that his university had produced the first student in England to win a place on the Ubisoft internship.

“The internship with Ubisoft will greatly boost Laura’s future prospects – internships are a fantastic way to develop real professional experience. Gaining it in the face of intense competition is further proof that De Montfort University produces some of the best future game artists in the world,” said Mr Powell.

Source: Employment4students.co.uk, Sunday 31st July 2011

Bigger universities are better for graduates searching for a job

Graduates from Wales’ biggest universities have a better chance of finding a job than those in the smaller institutions, new figures have shown.

The vast majority of students leaving Cardiff University and the University of Glamorgan last year found a job or entered further study within six months.

Of the 1,525 Glamorgan graduates surveyed by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa), 1,435 (94%) were employed or studying last winter.

Cardiff University returned the same success rate, with 2,915 of its 3,100 responding full-time students finding a job or extra education.

Glamorgan and Cardiff rank 22nd and 23rd – and above Oxbridge – in a comprehensive list of the UK’s degree-offering institutions.

Cambridge has a 93% employment indicator, while just over 90% of students from Oxford were in work or study six months after graduating last summer.

The now defunct University of Wales, Lampeter came lowest on the Welsh scale, with almost one in five of its graduates out of work.

Lampeter merged with Trinity University College in Carmarthen to become the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David last July.

Since then, the newly-formed institution has won the right to charge students between £8,500 and £9,000-a-year for its courses.

The University of Wales, Newport will also charge its full-time undergraduates up to £9,000 from 2012, despite just 88% of last year’s cohort finding work within six months.

But the institution’s part-time provision, which represents 54% of its total student population, is among the best at securing jobs with a 98% graduate employment rate well above the UK average.

Only Cardiff and Glyndr (both 100%) have a better success rate than Newport, whose spokesman said: “A large proportion of our full-time undergraduate students study within the arts subjects, where it can take longer to find a job because of the lack of traditional graduate schemes from employers. This is the case for these subjects nationally.

“Against this backdrop, Newport is ahead of the game. By bringing together arts and business in our brand new City Campus and embedding employability across the curriculum, we are developing graduates with entrepreneurial skills ready to meet the needs of employers and the Welsh economy.”

Cardiff University said it has strong links with a number of key employers, many of whom attend the institution’s jobs fairs.

Les Rees, director of the university’s careers service, said: “Cardiff University’s approach to employability focuses upon building the skills our graduates will need once in employment, whether that is in the public or private sector, in academia, in a multi-national company or a small and medium enterprise here in Wales. Our students are valued for their academic ability, motivation and resourcefulness. As one of the UK’s leading teaching and research universities we prepare students for leadership.

“Students benefit from a stimulating study environment, research-led teaching and interaction with academics working at the frontiers of knowledge in their field.”

Cardiff said its careers support continues beyond graduation, in person or at a distance, for as long as it is needed.

Julie Lydon, vice-chancellor at Glamorgan, said the university has a strong record of providing employers with the skills they require.

“We firmly believe that useful and relevant work experience is a key element of graduate employability,” she said.

“At Glamorgan, this can mean aircraft maintenance students working alongside engineers at General Electric.

“For other students, work experience can mean undertaking voluntary work for local communities and clinical placements or research projects with external organisations.

“These experiences may include field trips to international partners or locations, study on work exchanges, internships or students’ union engagements. All give the individual student a taste of the real world, adding value to their degree and helping them be to distinctive in the highly competitive employment market.”

The Hesa survey is compiled six months after students leave university. Information includes the type of work a leaver has entered or what sort of further study they may be engaged in.

Source: Gareth Evans, Walesonline.co.uk, Saturday 30th July 2011

Job-seeking health graduates offered mental health positions

Graduates of a pilot programme by an NHS Trust to stop people with health degrees leaving the profession due to a lack of jobs have started work.

Staff at Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust started the scheme after they found that graduates with health or science degrees could not find jobs and were leaving the sector.

Now 22 former students have finished a year-long placement in mental health and been employed by the trust, including Ponders End graduate Richard Hazlett.

The 25-year-old said: “I originally did a degree in herbal medicine at Middlesex University and heard about the graduate scheme during my final year.

“I was interested in mental health and worked in several areas of the trust before settling on psychosis where I now work one-to-one with clients who are just starting to experience conditions such as bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia.

“I like the fact that you can work closely with people and make a real difference to people’s lives.”

During the placement, which included a postgraduate diploma, students studied for two days a week at Middlesex University and spent the rest of the week in forensics, dementia care, and crisis and emergency.

Chief executive of the trust, Maria Kane, said she thought the unique scheme was a solution to filling vacancies caused by negative stereotypes of mental illness.

She added: “In reality, it’s a rewarding career where you can make a real difference to people’s lives as well as having access to a variety of often well paid positions that offer great career progression both in and outside the NHS.

“We saw an opportunity to bring graduates into the fold by removing some existing barriers instead of losing them to other professions.”

Source: David Hardiman, Haringeyindependent.co.uk, Thursday 28th July 2011

Cold hard cash is the biggest factor for graduate job seekers

Financial concerns are dominating the graduates of 2011’s career choice criteria but according to research from management consultancy, Hay Group, average graduate level salaries may be "considerably" higher than they expect.

Hay Group compared graduate level salaries from its remuneration database PayNet with 400 UK graduates' expectations for six key company functions: HR, finance, IT, sales & marketing, legal and engineering.

Salary data is based on over 10,000 graduate level wages in over 600 mid-sized and large private sector organisations in the UK.

Salary is the main contributing factor for new professionals, Hay Group found.

The overwhelming majority (93%) of this year's graduates describe base pay as an important or very important factor in their career choice.

And their top three criteria after salary are all unashamedly financial: benefits were cited by 51% of this year's graduates, followed by future earnings outlook (45%) and bonus potential (37%).

Passion for the job is an important factor for just 16%, as are the values and beliefs of an organisation. The ability to make a difference was the least important consideration of all, registering in just 4% of graduates' top three criteria.

Christopher Smith, reward information consultant at Hay Group said: "The economic climate is clearly influencing graduates' career decisions. Acutely aware of the difficult labour market and rising living costs, they are looking for a career path that makes financial sense first and foremost. Idealistic factors barely come into consideration."

Hay Group found wide discrepancies between what graduates expect to earn and graduate level salaries in the most common professional functions of mid-to-large private sector organisations - the UK's main graduate employers.

On average, the Class of 2011 underestimate the starting wage they can expect across the six functions by almost £7,500.

For example, graduates put a starting salary in the finance division at just £18,880, but could actually expect over £7,100 more. In reality, a graduate level employee could earn an average of £26,000 in the finance function of a mid-to-large organisation.

In HR, graduates envisage a starting salary under £19,700, but could actually earn almost £26,300 on average - a difference of approximately £6,500.

Smith added: "Confidence in the market is understandably subdued amongst the Class of 2011.

"Confronted by an uncertain outlook, graduates have lowered their remuneration expectations well below what they can expect to earn in the main functions of the UK's largest graduate employers."

Source: David Woods, HRMagazine.co.uk, Thursday 28th July 2011

Overseas work 'offers graduates fresh opportunities'

Some graduates may soon be requiring euro exchange services following one expert's advice about working abroad.

Lizzie Fane, founder of ThirdYearAbroad.com, described how looking for employment opportunities outside of the UK could be the way forward.

She explained that working overseas may be advantageous for those hoping to get on the career ladder and expand their connections.

"There are opportunities abroad in large multinational organisations, and in industries such as travel, tourism and hospitality, which you would not necessarily be open to you in the UK," Ms Fane commented.

It was suggested that widening the job search to nations outside of Britain could lead to individuals expanding both their skills and their contacts.

Students were advised that working abroad may help them to develop an international network of business associates, as well as boosting their foreign language knowledge.

Ms Fane said: "Graduates have such a huge range of choice when looking for opportunities abroad."

She claimed that many foreign companies are keen to recruit English-speaking employees so they can "enhance their trade with English-speaking countries".

In addition, it was noted that many UK-based organisations have international offices and outposts across the globe that believe hiring recent graduates who are willing to travel and work anywhere can be beneficial.

Global payments may become increasingly popular in the years to come, as recent research by the Institute of Leadership and Management and Ashridge Business School revealed many graduates intend to move on from their current role.

A study found that more than half (57 per cent) of university leavers plan to depart their position within two years.

Meanwhile, 40 per cent hope to find a new job within the year and 16 per cent want to switch roles as soon as possible.

Source: Thomas Smith, Hifx.co.uk, Monday 18th July 2011

Lifting the lid on the reality of the workplace for graduates

Ashridge Business School and the Institute of Leadership & Management have undertaken research into Generation Y graduates and their managers, which reveals a clear and compelling picture of the similarities and differences between them.

Great Expectations: Managing New Graduates, the report highlights a lack of understanding between managers and graduates, which extends across many aspects of work, creating a potentially damaging disconnect.

Alarmingly, more than half of new graduate recruits plan to leave their current role within two years, with two-fifths hoping to find a new job within the year. Almost one in five wants to move into a new role as soon as possible despite huge competition for graduate jobs.

Commenting on the results of the research, Penny de Valk, Chief Executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management, says: “With the cost of graduate recruitment reaching anything up to £3bn each year, such high levels of attrition should not simply be accepted by employers. Organisations put a lot of effort and investment into nurturing and developing their graduates in order to establish a pipeline of talent that will drive innovation, organisational effectiveness and competitiveness. However, a widespread desire among graduates to move on within a few years undermines efforts to manage talent effectively and promote the long term success of the organisation.”

Kai Peters, Chief Executive of Ashridge Business School, backed this up, adding: “To succeed in an increasingly challenging economic environment, organisations must harness the best efforts of all their employees – not least their graduate recruits who will become the leaders and managers of the future. By bridging the gap between what graduates expect and what organisations provide, employers can pave the way for both better graduate recruitment and retention, and a more productive working relationship between graduates and their bosses.”

Due to the financial downturn, many graduates say they have opted to take any job, rather than their ideal job, some are working in the right area but not in their ideal job, or are staying in a job their don’t like. Nearly a fifth are in the right job but their career advancement is slowed.

Remuneration is a notable point of contention for graduates; a significant proportion think that their salary is below or greatly below expectations, while job status and achievement at work are other points of contention. Career advancement and salary prove the biggest disappointment with 80% unhappy with these areas.

When asked what they felt was important to graduates, managers underestimated the value of salary, career advancement and work-life balance, while overestimating the importance of good management and leadership. It is little surprise that over a third of graduates said they are dissatisfied with career advancement in their current organisation, while many managers say the greatest challenge when working with graduates is managing their expectations.

Despite high levels of ambition amongst new graduates, they do not appear to buy into the long working hour’s culture of their managers and are much less likely than their boss to take work home with them.

By contrast, the research shows that graduates feel comfortable spending company time on personal tasks, with over a third of graduates regularly undertaking personal tasks compared to just a quarter of managers.

Graduates want a boss that is more of a coach and friend than a manager in the traditional sense. The research also reveals a significant disconnect between graduates and managers over the type of relationship that exists.

Their ideal manager is a coach/mentor or friend rather than someone who directs or examines and audits. Most managers believe they are fulfilling the role of coach/mentor, but few graduates agree.

Graduates favour freedom and independence, rather than direction and control in the way that they work and are managed.

Source: Carina Paine Schofield, HRZone.co.uk, Tuesday 26th July 2011

Graduate Job Intake To Increase At Tesco

Tesco has announced that it will step up its graduate intake in the next year by a whopping 30%. This should lead to almost 450 graduate jobs in retail being advertised by the supermarket group over the next twelve months.

Tesco lays claim to employing more staff than any other private sector company in the UK. With not far short of 2,500 stores in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the company certainly provides lots of regular and graduate jobs here. And, worldwide they have a headcount of over 450 thousand people.

The announcement of the 450 graduate jobs available this year is a huge increase on recent graduate recruitment by Tesco. The next twelve months will see more graduates join the company than did in total for the previous two years.

Tesco has 17 different graduate job programmes available to suit students from almost every discipline. As well as the Store Programme and the Distribution Programme, there is a range of Office Programmes on offer. Typical Office Programmes at Tesco include Finance, Buying, Merchandising and Customer Analysis.

Personnel director for Tesco in the UK, Judith Nelson, said of the new graduate jobs on offer: “It’s a challenging time for graduates but, as other firms cut back on hiring, we remain committed to offering opportunities to talented young people. Our current chief executive was a Tesco graduate trainee. We aim to find the Philip Clarkes of tomorrow and provide them with the skills and training they need for a long and successful career.”

Source: Employment4students.co.uk, Sunday 24th July 2011

The essay-writing firm reaching out to graduate lawyers

A couple of years ago, a controversial essay-writing company caused a storm when it broadened its services to assisting wannabe lawyers with their traineeship applications.

Behind the consequent stern warnings issued to students against resorting to paid-for assistance, and a suggestion from a senior lawyer that to do so equated to "cheating", was concern that a trade in graduate job application assistance could take off in the way it had with essay writing. After all, the company involved was Oxbridge Essays, whose model-answer essay business has caused universities more than a few headaches since its launch in 2006.

Two years on, though, and the legal profession's fears have proved to be largely unfounded, with Oxbridge Essays admitting earlier this week that the legal graduate job application market hasn't turned out to be as lucrative as it had hoped. In 2009, Oxbridge Training Contracts (OTC) – as Oxbridge Essays' law graduate job application spin off is known – claimed to be assisting 75-100 law students a month on tasks ranging from model application form essays and cover letters, to a £500-an-hour "chaperone" service that provided students with a "specialist" to escort them to their interviews.

But Oxbridge Essays' head of sales, John Foster, says "a commercial decision" has recently been taken to "focus less on the training contract and pupillage side of the business" – despite this being the busiest time of year for graduate legal job applications and the junior lawyer graduate recruitment market facing a surge of candidates.

So what went wrong? Foster is reluctant to elaborate on his basic explanation that the "pool of people wanting this type of assistance is relatively small", adding that the few inquiries OTC has had over the last few months have "tended to come from people using other services offered by Oxbridge Essays".

It's not easy to find someone who will admit to using OTC, and Foster refused my request to be put in touch with any clients on confidentiality grounds, but the suspicion among law students is that the prices charged aren't justified by the results. Ekaterina Zelenova, a paralegal at Attwood solicitors, sums up the low esteem that the OTC is held in by many recent law graduates when she describes some of its work as "hilarious".

This criticism is borne out by the bizarre nature of some of the model answers posted on the company's website. For example, OTC's customised answer for an inns of court scholarship interview, which costs between £300 and £1,000 depending on the level of seniority of the lawyer commissioned to author it and the length of time it is required to be provided within, begins:

"It may not be the best thing to say but all the Inns are beautiful and offer fairly similar services. I wanted to go with whichever Inn I felt a greater attachment to and that was Lincoln's Inn, primarily because I used to walk through New Square past Wildy's each day on the way to university and was able to picture myself working in the gardens for which Lord Denning used to care from time to time in his later years, or drinking tea in the newly refurbished MCR!"

Confusion about who exactly writes these model answers may also have acted as a turnoff to students. On one page of OTC's website the company states that it "uses a growing team of skilled and experienced Oxbridge-educated and Magic Circle-trained lawyers, trainees, pupils and top lawyers-to-be", alongside "a small number of other specialists such as HR personnel." But elsewhere on the site the company seems to suggest that it uses lawyers at less elite firms.

Doubts over the legal expertise of these "specialists" is compounded by the argument that a lawyer providing some of the services offered by OTC could risk breaching their professional conduct obligations (barristers, for example, must avoid conduct that would "diminish public confidence" in the profession or "bring the bar into disrepute"). But even if law's governing bodies were prepared to take a relaxed view about their members getting involved with OTC, it's still unclear why someone earning big money, and working long hours, at a top law firm or barristers' chambers would choose to spend their limited free time in pursuit of a few extra quid writing covering letters. Foster puts it down to "altruism".

The biggest factor behind OTC's failure to make it big, though, may simply be the sheer volume of free information out there available to assist wannabe lawyers. Sites such as Lawcareers.net and Lawyer2B allow students to build up a very detailed picture of the profession just by spending a few hours in front of a computer. Perhaps it's no coincidence that one area of OTC's business that has continued to perform relatively strongly is its one-to-one interview coaching – a service that free websites are not able to offer.

OTC isn't the only player in the law interview coaching market. Over the last two years, Judicial Appointments Training (Jat) has extended its services preparing senior lawyers for judicial appointments and silk applications to assisting law students looking for their first jobs. Co-founder Mark Eldridge, a former barrister, says the company sees at least a dozen students a month, despite not advertising its trainee interview preparation services. As with OTC, Jat refused my request to be put in touch with a student who had used the service – which costs £150 per hour – on confidentiality grounds. There is, however, a favourable review of it posted by one customer on the "Pupillage and how to get it" blog run by barrister Simon Myerson QC.

The danger for students using this kind of service is that they risk being penalised, with some organisations, including Inner Temple (one of the inns of court), explicitly asking graduate applicants to disclose if they have received outside assistance at any point of the application and interview process. Neither Eldridge nor Foster thinks this is fair. "The question arises as to what is outside assistance?" asks the former. "Is it outside assistance to receive some kind of advice from a friend or a family member who happens to have a connection to the legal profession?"

It's a fair point. And with grey areas like these, I don't imagine companies which target student job hunters will disappear any time soon.

Source: Alex Aldridge, Guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21st July 2011

Rise in self-employed graduates

Rising numbers of graduates are choosing to work for themselves or take professional qualifications after leaving university, new figures suggest.

Data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) shows that 4.4% of those who left university last summer were self employed or working as a freelance six months after graduation.

This is an increase on the previous year, when the figure stood at 4.1%.

The statistics also show that of last summer's graduates that went on to further study, some 15.4% chose to do a professional qualification. This is compared to 13.8% in 2009.

The figures suggest that following the recession more graduates are looking to set up on their own, or boost their qualifications to help them in the job market.

Martin Birchall, of High Fliers Research, which has studied the graduate employment market for the past 15 years, said: "It is not surprising that more people are trying to run their own business. As things begin to improve some very talented graduates will look at the jobs market and think that the odds of getting a place on a top scheme are still tough."

He said the figures were part of an overall picture of the graduate employment market improving.

"This year, graduates are really engaging with the job market," Mr Birchall said.

"Whether applying for popular graduate programmes or going off and doing their own thing, graduates seem to be determined to make a success of it."

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: "With an increasingly competitive jobs market and graduates leaving university with record levels of debts, it is perhaps unsurprising that so many are looking at ways to bolster their chances of securing gainful employment."

Previous HESA figures have shown that 8.8% of last year's graduates were unemployed six months after graduation.

Source: Cambridge-news.co.uk, Friday 22nd July 2011

UEA graduate lands dream job with Norwich City Football Club

PE and sport graduate Graham Stark has already begun a dream career working with Norwich City Football Club to help boost the team’s performance on the pitch.

Graham, 26, from Norwich, has just started working for the club’s sport science department to make sure the players are in peak physical condition.

He started on his career ladder by doing volunteer work for NCFC.

He said: “I got in touch with the club, asking if there were any opportunities to gain some experience. I was incredibly lucky that there was an opening at the time.”

The club offered him the opportunity to work with the NCFC Academy and ladies teams as a performance analyst.

The role involved identifying trends, strengths and weaknesses within the team to improve their performance. He also analysed opposition teams to ensure the best possible preparation for a match.

Graham went on to receive National Volunteering Awards for his hard work from the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) in 2010 and 2011.

“The awards were set up as part of the FA’s programme to get young people volunteering in the game. I was really honoured as they recognised all the work I’d done with the ladies team at Norwich.

“I was offered my new full-time role at NCFC following their promotion to the Premier League. I had also spent the last two seasons working with the U18 team, and they were aware of what I did with the ladies, so I think it was a combination of the two that got me the job.

“Unfortunately my new role means I will be away in Germany for the pre-season training camp during graduation week, but it’s a small price to pay for landing such a great job.”

As well as working full-time with the Canaries, Graham also plans to continue his studies part-time, and has secured a place at Bedford University to study an MSc in Sports Performance next year.

More than 4,100 people are being honoured for academic achievement in the UEA Graduations 2011 this week.

Source: Edp24.co.uk, Thursday 21st July 2011

Never mind the £9K degree... I need a job!

A university that finished bottom of the graduate employment rankings has defended its decision to charge tuition fees of £9,000 next year.

One in five students leaving the University of East London last year failed to find a job or enter further study within six months, according to figures released last week by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

The situation was similar at some other newer universities, including London Metropolitan University, London South Bank University and Birmingham City University, where almost one in five graduates was out of work six months on.

However, while these institutions will charge a range of fees between £4,500 and £9,000 for courses in 2012, UEL will impose a £9,000 fee for all subjects. Average fees after financial support for poorer students will be £8,560.

Selena Bolingbroke, UEL's pro vice-chancellor for strategic planning and external development, said the £9,000 fees were needed across the board to fund "a full range of teaching programmes and research activities".

She said: "Unlike London Met, we have a very broad range of subjects, including law, arts, education and health. We are equipping people with a degree certificate and a set of skills that will set them up for life.

"Even with higher fees, a degree is a worthwhile investment."

She blamed the university's poor performance in the graduate employment statistics for 2009-10 on the recession, which she said had hit UEL graduates harder than others.

"Our graduates tend to stay in East London, and many seek work in the public sector with local authorities and the NHS," she said.

"These areas have been hit hard by recruitment freezes, and unemployment is higher in East London than other areas. However, we have consistently exceeded our benchmarks over the past five years."

Graduates unemployed after three months would be entitled to paid internships as a result of new partnerships with the financial services and telecoms industries, she added.

Other universities also complained that unemployment hot spots in their region had unfairly contributed to their lowly ranking in the Hesa table.

The UHI Millennium Institute (now the University of the Highlands and Islands), which was second worst, said the data were based on just 140 graduates looking for jobs in hard-hit rural Scotland. A spokesman said: "Thirty students were unemployed, but the survey did not ask for supporting information to explain why."

However, some newer universities performed well. Graduates from the University of Huddersfield and the University of Chester, for example, were more likely to be in employment or further study than University of Oxford alumni, the figures show.

The best-performing institution was the private University of Buckingham, which had a 100 per cent employment rate, although the number of its students responding to the Hesa survey - 60 out of a cohort of 75 - was tiny in comparison with those of most other universities.

A number of small and specialist institutions also recorded employment rates of 100 per cent, including Ravensbourne, a digital media and design college; the Royal College of Music; and the School of Pharmacy, University of London.

Besides Buckingham, the highest-ranked universities were Robert Gordon University (95.7 per cent) and the University of Surrey (94.8 per cent).

Source: Jack Grove, Timeshighereducation.co.uk, Thursday 21st June 2011

Can China's economy absorb six million graduates?

There are approximately 81 million young people around the world actively looking for work, according to the UN. In most countries, 15-24 years olds are more than three times as likely to be unemployed than older adults. The BBC's Martin Patience reports from a job fair in Beijing, where competition for jobs is fierce.

Armed with their resumes, the job-seekers prowl the cavernous exhibition hall, searching the job fair for any sign of an opportunity.

More than 200 businesses have representatives sitting at kiosks.

There are a variety of industries and sectors advertising positions, ranging from tourism to teaching, mining to banking.

Then there was the more specific: a position as a professional shoe-shiner.

One of those looking for work was Zhang Hui Li.

"It's kind of hard to find a job in Beijing," said the 24-year-old business graduate.

China's economy continues to boom which means there are low levels of unemployment, but one of the big changes to the country's job market in recent years is the increasing number of university graduates seeking work.

There are now six times as many graduates as there were a decade ago - over six million in total. The figure is the highest number of graduates anywhere in the world.

But while there are greater opportunities than before, the competition is getting tougher.

The real challenge is getting a good job.

This year, more than 1.4 million people applied for civil service jobs when there were only 16,000 positions on offer.

Despite only graduating last month, Zhang Hui Li said she had already applied for 30 jobs.

"Some of my friends have applied for more than 100," she said.

"They realise it's a problem to produce students with high expectations," said Zhang Dong Hui, an associate professor of public policy at Renmin University in Beijing.

That sense of expectation is growing. China has been transformed by economic reforms in the last three decades: long gone are the days when jobs were assigned by the government - that ended in 1981.

Private businesses have flourished helping to make this the second largest economy in the world.

However, Xie Yan, a successful property developer whose company employs dozens of people, believes that many Chinese graduates simply are not good enough.

"These graduates from the universities, seemingly they can do everything," he said.

"Many of them have learned a lot very sophisticated stuff. But in fact, they have no specific skills.

"The ability of some graduates can't even compare with that of a craftsman."

A few days after the job fair, I caught up with Zhang Hui Li.

In that time, she found a job, started it, and then decided to quit. "It wasn't the perfect job for me," she said.

Zhang Hui Li admits she is lucky - her parents pay for her apartment in central Beijing while she looks for work.

But in China, it is not just about finding a job to support yourself.

Because of the country's one-child policy, it is likely graduates will have to support their parents and possibly two sets of grandparents as well.

With little help from the state, there can be enormous pressure to find a well-paid job.

"I don't worry about my future right now," said Zhang Hui Li, but she says that when her parents become elderly the pressure will grow.

As for job hunting, Zhang Hui Li remains optimistic.

"It's only a matter of time before I get a good job," she said.

Source: Martin Patience, BBC.co.uk, Wednesday 20th July 2011

Is it easier to find a graduate job with social media skills?

Graduates could find it easier to land a job if they have good social media skills, it has been suggested.

According to Lizzie Fane, founder of ThirdYearAbroad.com, the increasing number of internet businesses, including many abroad that are looking for English-speaking graduates, are requiring employees to have a good handle on social media.

"If students make an effort to have a significant online presence - via a blog, YouTube or Twitter accounts - and a large network of friends and followers before they leave university, they will find it much easier to get a job in whichever country they want to work."

She added: "While getting a foot on the traditional career ladder is increasingly competitive, graduates already have the required skills for new job sectors which are opening up."

Her comments come after research by IMRG and eDigitalResearch found that 63 per cent of online businesses increased their hiring over the past year. Now, there are around 730,000 people working in the e-commerce industry.

Source: Womenintechnology.co.uk, Monday 18th July 2011

How to survive looking for a job

Keep busy

Reconnect with friends

Pick carefully. If you've not found a job then make sure the friends you see haven't either. Seeing friends with careers lined up for them will be more than a little dispiriting, and steer well clear of anyone currently choosing between two job offers who claims they "really, really need your advice" (the consult-o-brag). If you are one of those people who has had a job lined up since Christmas, then this guide isn't really for you.

Hit the gym

Odds are one too many biscuit-fuelled all-nighters have taken a heavy toll on your precious BMI. Getting back in shape after six months spent squatting in libraries should be the graduate's first priority. Not only will you be more confident in job interviews, you'll be more likely to find part-time work as a model or personal trainer. Get buff enough and you may find you don't need that degree at all.

Start a blog

Blogs are like hairdressing salons: they stand or fall on the quality of the pun in the title, so choose well. Blogging about your area of interest is a great way to demonstrate a passion for your chosen career. Just be careful. Never get drunk and blog about how much you hate your ex. Potential employers will visit your blog, read that post and hire the ex instead. Happens all the time.

Read for pleasure

Remember what it was like to read a book just because you could? To get from start to finish without whipping out a highlighter, nabbing a quotation or inserting a Post-it note? Well then, here's some good news: that rare and outdated pleasure can be yours once again. It's not just reading that you're free to enjoy now either. Remember all that time you spent attending lectures because you had to? Now you can go to those lectures just because that's who you are.

Stay motivated

Get off Facebook

When you're hunting for jobs, your first urge each morning will be to hop on the big white book and see if anybody else has had an offer yet. Don't. Keeping tabs on the progress of fellow graduates may seem vital but it's really just a waste of your time. Would Usain Bolt be the fastest sprinter in the world if he turned round to check on his opponents all the time? No, of course not. If anything, he'd probably fall over. And that's Usain Bolt.

Choose a nemesis

Pick someone younger and more successful than you are and hate the living daylights out of them. Jack Whitehall is an obvious target, but the more obscure the nemesis the more rewarding the vendetta. Hating, for example, medical prodigy Akrit Jaswal – famous in India for performing surgery at the age of seven – should provide enough frustrated energy to propel even the weakest of candidates into a magic-circle law firm.

Keep your eyes on the prize

Create a collage of the lifestyle that awaits you when you finally land that graduate job. Take some scissors to a pile of upmarket catalogues and coat your walls in photos of woks, cafetieres and jars of pesto. Not only is this a great way to keep your spirits up, it will save you a fortune on wallpaper. If you're really feeling down try building yourself a papier-mache Vauxhall Astra.

Get the job

Dress to impress

Ever heard the phrase: "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have"? Well, it works. From 1958 to 1964, an anonymous Ohio bank clerk came to work every day in a spacesuit. People laughed, pointed and demanded to speak to his line manager. He laughed last. That bank clerk's name was Neil Armstrong.

Do the research

Above all, employers are looking for someone who's passionate about the company. Competition is fiercer than ever, so reading the Wikipedia page just won't cut it. Subscribing to industry magazines is a step in the right direction, but for real insider knowledge your best bet is to fish out those binoculars and take a trip to the firm's head office. All the most memorable telephone inquiries begin with the words: "I can see you."

Get networking

The seldom-appreciated truth about the job market is that it's not what you know or who you know. It's who knows that you know what you know. Look at the guy from Good Will Hunting. He was the smartest man in the world but he was working as a janitor. And why? Because while everyone else was out showing the world what they could do he was sitting in an Irish pub with Ben Affleck obsessing about being abused as a child. They might as well have called that film Bad Job Hunting.

Pimp your CV

Have you seen that clip-art image of a stick man using a rolled-up diploma as a surfboard? In more ways than one, that stick man is you, so let prospective employers know it and put that image right there by your name. Fonts, colours, glitter, Magic Eye – there are millions of ways to make a CV stand out without acquiring a single new marketable skill. So why bother?

Intern yourself

Where would Nick Clegg be today without internships? He would never have become deputy prime minister, that's for sure, and I think we can all agree that that would have been a shame for everyone. David Cameron has said it's fine to give an internship to a friend's child, so tell your parents to bite the bullet and spend more time hanging out with David Cameron. If they can't stand that, just ask them to buy you one. You should be able to pick up a two-week investment banking placement at auction for as little as £2,000.

Start a business

Ideas are money

All successful businesses began as ideas. Therefore, as philosophy graduates will have recognised, all ideas are potentially successful businesses. Hats for doors? That's a business. Spanish pens? That's a business. Remote-control hair? That could be the next Facebook. Who needs a social network when they can steer their own beard round the garden? Probably no one. All I'm saying is there was an episode of The Apprentice where they literally made money selling wood.

Make money

Sell your books

There's a tidy sum to be made by sticking those old textbooks up on eBay, and more still if you can take the time to forge the author's signature. A signed first edition copy of Mathematics for Economists can sell for upwards of £11.50. If there's no one willing to buy them you can always save some money by putting them to work as makeshift firelighters. As the old saying has it: first they burned the books, then they found long-term employment.

Go door to door

In the words of Heath Ledger's The Joker: "If you're good at something, never do it for free." You're good at critically assessing things, or doing physics, or whatever your degree was in, so hit the streets and find the people who are looking for those skills. There's bound to be someone in your area hoping to discuss the role of class in the writings of John Stuart Mill. You can answer that very very weird person's prayers. For a fee, of course.

Temp (temporarily)

Think of temping as like being a superhero. Wherever there is photocopying, you will be there. Wherever there is thirstiness, you will bring tea. Wherever there is illness, you will find short-term employment. You are above petty office rivalries, detached from gossip, not invited to post-work drinks. You appear only when needed and vanish long before anyone can learn your name. You are The Temp. At least until you find something better.

If all else fails

Apply for a master's

Sometimes the smartest decision you can make is to decide not to make a decision. Taking on a master's will give you at least another year to work out what you actually want to do with your life. Plus, once that's over you can apply for a PhD, staving off "the real world" almost indefinitely.

If you can't do that

Go travelling

Studying for a master's may be the more prestigious way out but taking a gap year has its own advantages. For one thing, it gives you a year-long amnesty from the question, "So what are you up to at the moment?" For another, when you return you'll have an arsenal of anecdotes with which to bore friends who whine-o-brag to you about their jobs. Spend your year abroad helping others and it might even look quite good on that CV. Which it'll have to, since by then there'll be another 150,000 graduates to compete with.

Oh, and finally

Don't worry

You'll be fine.

Source: Tom Meltzer, Guardian.co.uk, Sunday 17th July 2011

Graduates have ‘unrealistic expectations’ of first job

There is a “significant disconnect” between recent graduates and their employers over salary expectations, promotion prospects and management relations, new research has shown.

One-third of graduates are unhappy with their line manager’s performance, while more than half plan to leave their organisation within two years, according to a report from the Institute of Leadership & Management and Ashridge Business School.

The study described Generation Y university leavers as “fiercely ambitious and strongly motivated by money, status and career advancement”, while their managers “have a more conservative view of graduates’ pace of progress.”

The survey of 1,200 graduates and nearly 700 managers found that a significant proportion (45 per cent) of new recruits with degrees believed that their salary was below or greatly below expectations.

And while 13 per cent of graduates expected to land a management role within their first year, only 6 per cent of managers thought this was a realistic target.

The report – Great expectations: managing Generation Y – found that graduates’ top three priorities in the workplace were challenging and interesting work (33 per cent), earning a high salary (32 per cent) and advancing their career (24 per cent). They considered work-life balance to be the fifth most important factor.

However, managers were found to have misconceptions about what university leavers prioritised – rating salary fifth and work-life balance tenth. They also overestimated the importance of good management and leadership – rating it third, while graduates placed it twelfth.

And although graduates were broadly engaged at work – 75 per cent said they were proud to work for their employer – 40 per cent expected to leave their organisation within a year and 57 per cent within two years.

Some 16 per cent intended to find a new role as soon as possible, despite recent research from the Association of Graduate Recruiters showing that 83 graduates are chasing every available vacancy.

The Generation Y study also revealed that graduates had a distinct vision of the type of relationship they expected with their boss.

Graduates’ cited their ideal manager as a coach and mentor (56 per cent) or a friend (21 per cent), rather than someone who directs (8 per cent) or examines and audits (2 per cent).

While three-quarters of bosses believed they were fulfilling the role of a coach or mentor, just a quarter of graduates agreed this was the case.

“The survey highlights a significant disconnect between graduates and managers across many issues,” said the report. “This rift in understanding is bound to affect graduate job satisfaction, long-term talent planning and management, and individual and organisational performance, and needs to be addressed.”

Source: Michelle Stevens, Peoplemanagement.co.uk, Thursday 14th July 2011

One in 10 graduates unemployed amid fragile jobs market

Almost 10pc of graduates failed to get a job last year after leaving university, with those studying arts, communications and engineering courses faring the worst, an official report shows.

Figures reveal 9.6pc of graduates - 18,495 - were unemployed six months after leaving university last year as they graduated into a weak labour market.

The unemployment rate rises to as much as 15pc on some courses, with computer science officially being the worst degree in terms of not being able to find a job, the figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, published today, found.

Just 84.7pc of computer science graduates were in work, followed by 86pc of communications graduates and 87.7pc of engineering graduates. Arichtecture and creative arts gradautes also fared badly compared to other courses.

The figures raise question marks over employer concerns that not enough young people are studying engineering at university. The report shows 12.3pc of engineering graduates were out of work - despite the so-called skills shortage in the sector.

In contrast, just 0.4pc of medicine, dentristy and veterinary science graduates were jobless, the statistics showed. Those studying teaching and law also did well, with employment rates of 95pc and 92.7pc respectively.

Almost one in four graduates (22pc) from the University of East London were unemployed last year, making it the worst institution in terms of finding a job. The next worst was UHI Millenium Institute, with an unemployment rate of 21.7pc, followed by the University of Bolton (20.1pc) and the University of Wales, Lampeter (19.9pc).

The low employment rates will raise questions over whether those universities have the right to charge the maximum tuition fees from 2012-13. The University of East London - which came last in terms of employment - plans to charge the full £9,000-a-year rate. The University of Bolton's yearly fees are slightly reduced, at £8,400, while London South Bank, also in the bottom five, plans to charge £8,450.

The universities of Oxford and Cambridge featured nowhere in the top 10 list of institutions in terms of employment. Buckingham, Surrey, Aberdeen and Newcastle universities all appeared in the top 10 list, as did several specialist institutions such as the Royal College of Music or the Royal Agricultural College.

However, the HESA statistics, covering 2009-10, show some improvement on 2008-9 figures, where 10.1pc of graduates were out of work after leaving university.

But a separate study today warns that students think their degree is more appealing to employers than work experience. All of the 478 students polled by My Performance Pitstop said university was the best route to improving their job prospects.

Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the Association for Graduate Recruiters, said: “These days a good degree is not enough to guarantee a graduate a decent job. Nor does a degree, by itself, prepare the graduate for the demands of the world of work in the 21st century.

"I am the first to acknowledge the growing emphasis in our universities to improve the employability of students. The challenge is to get the students to treat their own employability seriously.

"The excuse of 'if only I’d known' will not wash any more. Employers have high expectations of the graduates they recruit including skills, knowledge and understanding of business, and the ability to take control of their own learning and career.“

Source: Louisa Peacock, Telegraph.co.uk, Friday 15th July 2011

The grass is always greener for graduates itching to move on

The majority of graduates plan to leave their current jobs within two years, or as soon as something better comes along, a study of 1,900 graduates reveals.

According to a report from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) and Ashridge Business School released today (Thursday 14 July), more than half (57%) of new graduate recruits plan to leave their current role within two years, with two-fifths (40%) hoping to find a new job within the year. Almost one in five (16%) wants to move into a new role as soon as possible, despite huge competition for graduate jobs. Over 1,900 graduates and managers were surveyed for the report, Managing New Graduates.

The research reveals that money, status and career advancement are the key career drivers for the current generation of graduates, with their top three priorities identified as challenging/interesting work (33%), a high salary (32%) and advancing their career (24%).

In contrast, the managers do not agree: when asked what they felt was important to graduates, they underestimated value of salary, career advancement and work-life balance, while overestimating the importance of good management and leadership. It is little surprise that 38% of graduates said they are dissatisfied with career advancement in their current organisation, while a third of managers (31%) say the greatest challenge when working with graduates is managing their expectations.

Commenting on the results of the research, Penny de Valk (pictured), chief executive of the ILM, said: "With the cost of graduate recruitment reaching anything up to £3 billion each year, such high levels of attrition should not simply be accepted by employers. Organisations put a lot of effort and investment into nurturing and developing their graduates in order to establish a pipeline of talent that will drive innovation, organisational effectiveness and competitiveness. But a widespread desire among graduates to move on within a few years undermines efforts to manage talent effectively and promote the long-term success of the organisation."

Kai Peters, chief executive of Ashridge Business School, added: "To succeed in an increasingly challenging economic environment, organisations must harness the best efforts of all their employees - not least their graduate recruits, who will become the leaders and managers of the future. By bridging the gap between what graduates expect and what organisations provide, employers can pave the way for both better graduate recruitment and retention, and a more productive working relationship between graduates and their bosses."

The research also found more than half of graduates (56%) expect to be appointed to a management role within three years of starting work. At least one in ten (13%) believe that they will be promoted to a management position a year into their first job.

De Valk added: "Recent graduates are hugely ambitious and are looking for rapid career progression and it seems that the majority do not expect to be able to progress within their current organisation. This desire to move on signals a disconnect between the expectations of graduates and that of their employers. Despite a sizeable majority saying that they are happy with their employer, too many are planning to move on within a very short timescale."

Despite high levels of ambition among new graduates, they do not appear to buy into the long working hours culture of their managers and are much less likely than their boss to take work home with them.

The majority of managers (63%) take work home once or twice a week, compared to just over a third of graduates (38%), while 28% of managers find themselves taking work home four or five times a week, compared to just 17% of graduates. A quarter of graduates never mix work with home life, while this is true of just 6% of managers.

Peters said: "Despite their desire to move quickly into a management role, most graduates are unwilling to model the behaviour of their bosses as a way of advancing their careers. The current generation of graduates appears more able to separate work from the rest of their life and believe that their high level of education warrants quick promotion.

"This, however, is a trait that employers should not be overly critical of. Employees should be able to complete tasks within office hours and overloading staff does not create an effective workforce. Graduates should not have to take work home, or stay late at work to prove to their managers that they are working hard. Instead they need to demonstrate a can-do attitude, be efficient, effective and driven, and prove to their mangers that they can and will go the extra mile when they need to." By contrast, the research shows that graduates feel comfortable spending company time on personal tasks, with over a third (39%) of graduates regularly undertaking personal tasks, compared to just a quarter of managers.

Due to financial downturn, 18% of graduates say they have opted to take any job, rather than their ideal job, 16% are working in the right area but not in their ideal job, while 12% are staying in a job they don't like. Some 17% say they are in the right job, but their career advancement is slowed.

Remuneration is a notable point of contention for graduates; a significant proportion (45%) think their salary is below or greatly below expectations, while job status (30%) and achievement at work (28%) are other points of contention. Career advancement and salary prove the biggest disappointment, with 80% unhappy with these areas.

Graduates favour freedom and independence, rather than direction and control in the way that they work and are managed. But the recession has had an impact on the careers of the majority of graduates, with many reporting that they have taken the wrong type of work, or are progressing at a slower pace than they had hoped for.

More than half (56%) of graduates want their managers to be a coach/mentor to them, but there is a serious mismatch between wish and reality, the survey finds. Three-quarters (75%) of managers believe they are fulfilling this role, when in fact 26% of graduates actually feel this is the case.

Source: HRmagazine.co.uk, Thursday 14th July 2011

Graduate engineering jobs up by 46.5%

The latest report from the AGR (Association of Graduate Recruiters) predicts that the engineering industry will see a massive 46.5% rise in graduate jobs at blue-chip employers this year. This figure is based on information collected from some of the top engineering recruiters in the UK, which also predicts a slight starting salary increase of 2.1% for graduates entering such positions. However, the report also shows a fall in the number of vacancies in closely related sectors including energy (-4.1%), fast moving consumer goods (-13.7%) and construction (-60.6%). Vacancies with leading employers in the IT sector have increased very slightly (0.8%), but this has coincided with a huge increase in the number of IT applicants, which now stands at 129.5 per job.

Currently, there is an average of 46.3 applicants to one engineering job - but don’t let this put you off. Figures show that engineering recruiters are not as impressed with the standard of applicants as those in some other sectors are. On a scale of one to six (one representing ‘very poor quality’, and six ‘very high quality’), the average standard of engineering applications was just 3.9, compared with public sector and investment banking, which both rated their applicants at 4.8.

It may be that graduates are applying to more roles, but sending off lower quality applications. Take time to think about which companies appeal to you, and only apply to those you genuinely want to work for. A few really good applications will benefit you more than a hundred rushed ones.

Source: Targetjobs.co.uk, Wednesday 29th June 2011

Universities 'must recruit poor students' to justify £9k fees

Thousands of middle-class teenagers face missing out on top universities after institutions were ordered to dramatically increase the number of students recruited from deprived backgrounds.

England’s leading research universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and the London School of Economics are preparing to admit up to 50 per cent more undergraduates from certain “hard to reach” groups, documents show.

Under new plans, they must set tough targets to recruit students from state schools, under-performing comprehensives, working-class families, neighbourhoods with a poor record of university participation and those in local authority care.

The move is a trade-off for being allowed to charge up to £9,000 a year in student tuition fees.

But the disclosure is set to reignite the row over “social engineering” in higher education amid fears these places could be taken at the expense of students from middle-class backgrounds and independent schools.

Wendy Piatt, the head of the Russell Group, which represents 20 top universities, attacked the imposition of crude targets, saying the poor performance of schools themselves remained the “root cause of the problem”.

And Oxford said selection by school type was “misleading as an indicator of social diversity” because many pupils from “wealthy” homes were admitted to state schools while independents often took in disadvantaged pupils on bursaries.

Under plans, all universities with fees higher than £6,000 a year must draw up “access agreements” setting out how extra cash will be used to boost participation among deprived students.

The Government’s Office for Fair Access said institutions charging the most from 2012 – typically those ranked among the best in the country – must set the most “ambitious” targets.

An analysis of access agreements published on Tuesday shows how all 16 English members of the Russell Group are setting out ambitious outreach targets.

Many institutions also said they would make more use of “contextual admissions” – the system in which pupils from the poorest backgrounds are often admitted with lower A-level grades to recognise the extra effort they make to get good results.

According to the documents, Oxford is to increase the number of undergraduates from the most deprived postcodes by half within five years, from six per cent to nine per cent of the student body.

It will also boost representation from schools and colleges ranked among the bottom two-thirds nationally – ensuring they make up 25 per cent of students compared with the current rate of 21.5 per cent. But it is refusing to make a distinction between independent and state schools.

Cambridge is to increase the proportion of students from “low participation neighbourhoods” from three to four per cent, although it translates to just 103 students compared with 80 at the moment.

The university also wants to ensure state school students take up as many as 63 per cent of places against the current figure of 59 per cent.

It comes despite claims made in Cambridge's access agreement that targets "have severe limitations" because they fail to take account of the university's A-level entrance requirements which are already the toughest in England.

Other access agreements show:

• The London School of Economics intends to increase the proportion of students from low-performing state schools by more than half – from 257 to 400 by 2017;

• UCL wants to increase the proportion of places turned over to candidates from state schools by 10 per cent, on top of the 65 per cent of students already recruited from the state sector;

• Warwick is proposing a 32 per cent increase in students from the lowest socio-economic groups over 10 years – from 400 to 530;

• Bristol wants 40 per cent of students to come from “low performing schools”, compared with just 25 per cent at the moment;

• Leeds is setting a target to increase the proportion of places turned over to students from the poorest backgrounds from 19 to 22 per cent in five years;

• Newcastle wants a 50 per cent increase in students from neighbourhoods with a poor record of university attendance – from 7.9 to 12.2 per cent;

• Liverpool is to ensure 15 per cent of places are turned over to applicants who have been in local authority care, compared with the current figure of 11.5 per cent.

Members of the Russell Group are proposing to spend around a third of additional fee income on outreach programmes.

But David Barrett, assistant director of Offa, suggested universities could be asked to pay more if they “do less well on [their] benchmarks”.

Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader and the Coalition’s fair access tsar, called for universities to be fined for failing to hit their targets.

“All universities must understand that this extra investment has now to lead to results,” he said.

“From now on, all universities will be assessed on their performance in improving access every year. In future universities which do not deliver greater access must face penalties.”

Tim Hands, head of fee-paying Magdalen College School, Oxford, insisted universities should recognise “potential” not just raw exam results, but added: “Anyone sensible also knows that politicians should be kept out of education and that politicians can ruin education just as easily as they have ruined economies.

“Do we want to retain a global reputation for quality education or political interference?”

Source: Graeme Paton, Telegraph.co.uk, Tuesday 12th July 2011

IBM failed to fill 200 jobs because of the skills gap

IBM have written to the government after they failed to fill 200 job vacancies because of the current shortage in skilled workers.

Over the past year IBM have created about 1,000 new technology, analyst and consulting jobs across the UK, but were only able to fill 80% of these because of the low quality in applicants.

Although there is an influx of graduates into the job market, IBM believes that the problem occurs at GCSE level. Stephen Leonard, Chief Executive of IBM’s UK and Ireland operations has said that the lacklustre GCSE curriculum is partly to blame.

"Our combined ability [as an industry] to identify, recruit and retain skilled candidates is weaker today than it has probably ever been," he said. "We need to do more as a country to develop more IT-capable people and we need a curriculum that is more adaptable to change over time. If we pioneer new technologies here then we can take them elsewhere, and we have a great reputation as innovators and entrepreneurs, but how do you keep that going when there are not enough people?

"We are going to have a shortfall of 20pc over the next two or three years and it is potentially going to widen further. Skills, I think, is the biggest challenge we will face in the next five years."

Recruiters also blame ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees as one of the biggest problems facing the UK, as these degrees do not train graduates in any of the necessary skills that are needed today.

Many recruitment agencies are finding it increasingly harder to fill graduate vacancies because recent graduates do not match the required skills for any of their roles.

Source: Pareto.co.uk, Monday 11th July 2011

Parents consider overtime and second jobs to pay university fees

A fifth of parents intend to work overtime in order to help pay for their child's university fees and other costs from 2012, new research has revealed.

Just under one-sixth of parents (15 per cent) are actually considering taking on a second job to help pay for their child's university education, according to a HSBC survey.

Nine in ten parents still intend to do everything they can to help with costs, with fees set to treble from next year across the majority of institutions.

However, half of parents have still not started to save, despite the extra anticipated costs.

On top of increased fees, many parents will also feel obligated to help their offspring with the cost of accommodation, averaging £3,807 at university halls.

The bank's survey revealed that a quarter of parents (26 per cent) will advise their child to live at home while at university, in order to cut back on costs.

HSBC Head of UK Savings Bruno Genovese believes that it is prudent to start saving as "early as possible" to avoid having to take "drastic measures further down the line".

Recent research by the Association of Investment Companies suggested that half of students now expect to graduate with over £20,000 of debt.

A fifth are considering taking a lower-cost course to avoid having to pay the £9,000 tuition fees that will be demanded by the majority of institutions.

Source: Jennifer Smith, Sfs-group.co.uk, Monday 11th July 2011

Graduate jobs on the rise but so are graduate applications

Graduate job opportunities are set to rise this year in line with increasing graduate application numbers

Average applications per job have risen to 83 in 2011, from 69 in 2010 and 49 back in 2009. In 2008 there were 31 per graduate job according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), which shows that graduate jobs are still hard to come by and the competition for these jobs is incredibly high.

The survey of 200 employers has found that starting salaries have also risen, and graduate job opportunities will rise by 2.6%. The Vice Chancellors body said that the report shows an upward trend in graduate job opportunities after what was a sharp decline.

Graduates are expected to apply to a lot more roles than previously as they realise the amount of competition they face and the best strategy is to fire out a lot of applications. Many employers are still cautious, but the signs are that the graduate recruitment market is improving and many employers are gaining more confidence.

Graduate rates of employment are higher than for non graduates and are more likely to receive offers for higher paid jobs. UK graduates are still highly valued by employer’s world wide, with their high skill levels. However with China predicted to outpace Europe and America in producing graduates by 2020 the UK will have to show that university and graduate job opportunities are worth the cost and time.

Source: Pareto.co.uk, Saturday 9th July 2011

How to secure your first job after school or university

When you first leave school or graduate from university, you'll undoubtedly want to find the right job as quickly as possible. But finding and securing that initial step on the career ladder isn't as easy as you'd hoped.

It's definitely tough out there for young people who are just starting out, particularly in today's current climate. So how do you ensure you put your qualifications to good use and get the job of your dreams?

Here's my top tips for school leavers and graduates keen to find work, including everything from how to succeed at job interviews to making the most of your CV. If you've got any tips you'd like to add, please comment below.

Get your CV right

Your CV is often your ticket to success, so make sure it's presenting the right first impression. Good CVs outline your skills, experience and qualifications whilst showing off a little of your personality. A top tip is to individually tailor your CV to every job vacancy you apply for. Is the company in question searching for someone with great communication skills? Make sure your CV demonstrates that you're capable. Do they want someone with a full, clean driving licence? Add it onto your 'extra skills'.

To get started, put together your own CV and you'll soon see where you need to make improvements. Not got enough experience? Get as much work experience as you can to show how determined you are to learn in a working environment. Got any gaps in your education timeline? Try to fill them with anything you were doing that will showcase your skills, even if you were travelling the world or working behind a bar. Remember, you can pretty much turn anything into something positive on your CV. If in doubt, ask a parent or guardian for a second opinion.

Gain some work experience

Work experience is essential in today's competitive job market. Employers love qualifications but they're often not that impressive if you've got no relevant experience to accompany them. If you've not yet had any work experience, start to call around some local firms to see if they can take you on for a week. Be prepared to be knocked back many times. Just don't give up because someone will have the time to help. And once you're on placement, make sure you make the most of the experience.

Don't - whatever you do - pass up the opportunity to take part in any experiences that come your way. For example, if a friend or family member have a work experience placement for you - make sure you do it! It's very hard to find people who will be prepared to invest the time in you.

Smarten up your act

With so many potential job interviews lined up, now's the time to grow out or tackle that rough haircut and remove those unusual piercings. Prepare yourself for meeting potential new employers by smartening up your act. First impressions really do count, more than ever before so make sure you're dressed for the part. And I'd always advise investing in a suit as you'll look very smart and presentable. Also, keep your nails clean (and stop biting them), brush your teeth and generally keep yourself nicely groomed.

Win at job interviews

Once you do secure a job interview, pat yourself on the back! You're halfway to securing a job. Before the big day, prepare and research like it's going out of fashion. Make sure you have some questions ready to ask during the interview - because you're interviewing them as well. And even get a family member or friend to test you on some common interview questions beforehand.

Now all you have to do is turn up 15 minutes early to any interview you attend; dress smart and ensure you're well groomed; smile and look people in the eye; and don't forget that firm handshake (because weak handshakes are so off-putting). If you're feeling nervous just keep telling yourself this 'It's not the end of the world if I don't get this job!' and take lots of deep breaths. It's quite natural to be nervous in job interviews and your interviewer will know that. So try to relax and just do your best.

Once the interview is over, thank the interviewer(s) and follow up with a thank you card, saying that you appreciate their time and look forward to hearing from them.

Don't give up

Everyone has to go through the process of facing rejection. And it's possible you'll miss out on several different jobs along the way. But don't be disheartened. Each and every job interview you go to isn't a waste of your time. It's a valuable learning experience. And you'll find that you get better and better at job interviews, eventually securing something that will get your career off to a flying start.

Source: Katy Cowan, Creativebloom.co.uk, Friday 8th July 2011