A university graduate won a top award for the dissertation which helped him clinch a job with one of Stamford’s biggest employers.
Michael Sisask, of St Leonard’s Street, Stamford, won the dissertation of the year award from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s Undergraduate Logistics.
He carried out his research at Cummins Generator Technologies, where he had worked as a placement student, before securing a permanent job with the firm last summer.
His university tutor was so impressed with the dissertation he encouraged Michael to go for the award, which was presented to him at a ceremony in Portsmouth last month.
Tutor Jonathan Owens said: “I have been assessing undergraduate dissertations for more than 10 years and I felt Michael’s work was exceptional which is why I recommended him for this award.
“His work has now been benchmarked against graduates from universities from across the UK and has been considered to be the best of the best. This is such a fabulous accomplishment for him in the infancy of his career.”
Michael, 23, was delighted with the award and the £250 prize.
He said: “I definitely think the dissertation helped me to get a job here as people had seen me doing the research and when I came for the interview I could explain more about what I had been doing.”
The dissertation looked at how Cummins buys its materials to identify ways to reduce costs.
He said: “My study reviewed trends within supply chains and the development of the purchasing function over recent years. It also highlighted areas of key importance and discussed potential issues that businesses, such as Cummins, may face in today’s global marketplace.”
Michael is now able to use his research in his role as a commodities management graduate where he is responsible for buying the company’s steel and copper supplies.
Source: Stamfordmercury.co.uk, Monday 31st October 2011
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Monday 31 October 2011
Sunday 30 October 2011
Students dodge dodgy jobs market
More than one in three University of Cambridge graduates chooses to continue their education rather than enter the job market, according to the most recent graduate destination statistics.
36 per cent of Cambridge graduates pursued further study, with only 55 per cent successfully gaining full-time employment. Five per cent were left completely unemployed.
Employment rates for University of Cambridge full-time, first-degree graduates were consequently nearly 10 per cent lower than the national average, which stood at 63 per cent, according to results from the Higher Education Statistics Committee (HESA).
However, this was due simply to the greater proportion of Cambridge students choosing further study – the national average stands only at 16 per cent, with seven per cent combining studying with part-time employment. Consequently the rate of unemployment was also lower than the national average of nine per cent.
Statistics for specific courses within the University showed that Law had the greatest number of students continuing their education, at 59 per cent, followed by Natural Sciences at 53 per cent and Theology at 47 per cent.
Classics, Philosophy and Mathematics were close behind, all with 39 per cent of finalists opting further study rather than pursuing full-time employment.
Architecture, Linguistics and Manufacturing Engineering had the lowest rates of further study, and correspondingly the highest rates of employment.
Meanwhile, History of Art and Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic had the highest rates of unemployment, at 14 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
The choice of so many University of Cambridge students to continue their education is perhaps unsurprising, as more and more statistics point to a continuing crisis in the job market.
A study at the beginning of the year by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that one in five recent graduates were unemployed, the highest rate for more than a decade.
Meanwhile, UK unemployment on the whole has now risen to a 17-year high of 2.57 million, the ONS also revealed last month, with an unemployment rate of 21.3% for the 16-24 age group.
President of the National Union of Students (NUS), Liam Burns said: “Times are tough for young people at the moment with rising unemployment no matter how well qualified they are.”
New statistics from HESA, meanwhile, show that more than one in four graduates from 2007 still does not have a full-time job, three and a half years after leaving university. However, 6.5 per cent were still continuing their studies, and 5.3 per cent were combining work and study.
A gender gap was also seen in the report: while 14% of men in full-time work who graduated in 2007 were now earning between £30,000 and £34,999, only 9.3% of women achieved this salary bracket. 29.4% of women were earning between £20,000 and £24,999, compared to 15.6% of men.
With such difficulties for graduating students, questions are being raised about the value of getting a degree, particularly with the tuition fee rise coming into effect in 2012.
Universities minister David Willetts said: “A degree remains a good investment and is one of the best pathways to achieving a good job and a rewarding career.”
Yet, the Office for National Statistics revealed this summer that one in five graduates earns less than a person who left school with as little as one A-level.
A poll commissioned by the bank Santander found that 60 per cent of the businesses it interviewed would hire a secondary-school leaver with two years of work experience rather than a graduate.
“The reality is that as a country we haven’t been very good at creating graduates who are specialised in areas that employers are demanding,” said Mike Fetters, Graduate Director at totaljobs.com. “The economic downturn exposed this brutally in the form of high graduate unemployment.
“The only benefit that we can see in the disappointing decision to, in effect, triple fees is that it may focus the minds of those wishing to go to university on which skills are most in demand in the jobs market, which degree will best enable them to pay off debts most swiftly and create more focus on their chosen career direction.”
The National Union of Students said the government risked “losing a generation to low skills and high unemployment” by failing to support young people sufficiently.
However, some evidence suggests that things could be looking up in the graduate job market.
A recent report by the Association of Graduate Recruiters showed a rise in the number of graduate vacancies for the first time since the beginning of the recession, although starting salaries remained at a median of around £25,000 per annum.
Meanwhile, a survey in May by High Fliers Research of 2011 graduates showed a renewed faith in the banking profession after a noticeable decline during recruiting seasons of the last two years.
High Fliers managing directory, Martin Birchall, said: “During 2008-2009, applications for investment banking fell by a third. When we spoke to people in March, more people had applied for banking than any other sector.
“At least three banks are rumoured to be paying £50,000 starting salaries, and that’s before any bonuses. All of the banks were back on campus with a vengeance in the last 12 months, promoting themselves very hard. Most of the best-known City names are recruiting at 2006-2007 levels.”
The survey also found that finalists began job hunting earlier than normal and made on average a third more applications than the previous year.
Earlier this year, the Guardian reported that several universities had proposals to award extra marks on some degree courses to students showing evidence of corporate skills or other experience in the job market.
Fetters, of totaljobs.com, said: “It isn’t just students that need to adapt their behaviour; there are also roles for universities and business. Universities must look to offer more courses aligned to the jobs market and incentivise them if necessary. In turn, businesses should engage with the education sector to ensure that the skills they need are incorporated into university courses.”
However, many critics, including academics, argue that such schemes, which aim to churn out “job-ready” graduates, are adding to the process of undermining the role of universities in society.
Source: Samantha Sharman, Varsity.co.uk, Friday 28th October 2011
36 per cent of Cambridge graduates pursued further study, with only 55 per cent successfully gaining full-time employment. Five per cent were left completely unemployed.
Employment rates for University of Cambridge full-time, first-degree graduates were consequently nearly 10 per cent lower than the national average, which stood at 63 per cent, according to results from the Higher Education Statistics Committee (HESA).
However, this was due simply to the greater proportion of Cambridge students choosing further study – the national average stands only at 16 per cent, with seven per cent combining studying with part-time employment. Consequently the rate of unemployment was also lower than the national average of nine per cent.
Statistics for specific courses within the University showed that Law had the greatest number of students continuing their education, at 59 per cent, followed by Natural Sciences at 53 per cent and Theology at 47 per cent.
Classics, Philosophy and Mathematics were close behind, all with 39 per cent of finalists opting further study rather than pursuing full-time employment.
Architecture, Linguistics and Manufacturing Engineering had the lowest rates of further study, and correspondingly the highest rates of employment.
Meanwhile, History of Art and Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic had the highest rates of unemployment, at 14 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
The choice of so many University of Cambridge students to continue their education is perhaps unsurprising, as more and more statistics point to a continuing crisis in the job market.
A study at the beginning of the year by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that one in five recent graduates were unemployed, the highest rate for more than a decade.
Meanwhile, UK unemployment on the whole has now risen to a 17-year high of 2.57 million, the ONS also revealed last month, with an unemployment rate of 21.3% for the 16-24 age group.
President of the National Union of Students (NUS), Liam Burns said: “Times are tough for young people at the moment with rising unemployment no matter how well qualified they are.”
New statistics from HESA, meanwhile, show that more than one in four graduates from 2007 still does not have a full-time job, three and a half years after leaving university. However, 6.5 per cent were still continuing their studies, and 5.3 per cent were combining work and study.
A gender gap was also seen in the report: while 14% of men in full-time work who graduated in 2007 were now earning between £30,000 and £34,999, only 9.3% of women achieved this salary bracket. 29.4% of women were earning between £20,000 and £24,999, compared to 15.6% of men.
With such difficulties for graduating students, questions are being raised about the value of getting a degree, particularly with the tuition fee rise coming into effect in 2012.
Universities minister David Willetts said: “A degree remains a good investment and is one of the best pathways to achieving a good job and a rewarding career.”
Yet, the Office for National Statistics revealed this summer that one in five graduates earns less than a person who left school with as little as one A-level.
A poll commissioned by the bank Santander found that 60 per cent of the businesses it interviewed would hire a secondary-school leaver with two years of work experience rather than a graduate.
“The reality is that as a country we haven’t been very good at creating graduates who are specialised in areas that employers are demanding,” said Mike Fetters, Graduate Director at totaljobs.com. “The economic downturn exposed this brutally in the form of high graduate unemployment.
“The only benefit that we can see in the disappointing decision to, in effect, triple fees is that it may focus the minds of those wishing to go to university on which skills are most in demand in the jobs market, which degree will best enable them to pay off debts most swiftly and create more focus on their chosen career direction.”
The National Union of Students said the government risked “losing a generation to low skills and high unemployment” by failing to support young people sufficiently.
However, some evidence suggests that things could be looking up in the graduate job market.
A recent report by the Association of Graduate Recruiters showed a rise in the number of graduate vacancies for the first time since the beginning of the recession, although starting salaries remained at a median of around £25,000 per annum.
Meanwhile, a survey in May by High Fliers Research of 2011 graduates showed a renewed faith in the banking profession after a noticeable decline during recruiting seasons of the last two years.
High Fliers managing directory, Martin Birchall, said: “During 2008-2009, applications for investment banking fell by a third. When we spoke to people in March, more people had applied for banking than any other sector.
“At least three banks are rumoured to be paying £50,000 starting salaries, and that’s before any bonuses. All of the banks were back on campus with a vengeance in the last 12 months, promoting themselves very hard. Most of the best-known City names are recruiting at 2006-2007 levels.”
The survey also found that finalists began job hunting earlier than normal and made on average a third more applications than the previous year.
Earlier this year, the Guardian reported that several universities had proposals to award extra marks on some degree courses to students showing evidence of corporate skills or other experience in the job market.
Fetters, of totaljobs.com, said: “It isn’t just students that need to adapt their behaviour; there are also roles for universities and business. Universities must look to offer more courses aligned to the jobs market and incentivise them if necessary. In turn, businesses should engage with the education sector to ensure that the skills they need are incorporated into university courses.”
However, many critics, including academics, argue that such schemes, which aim to churn out “job-ready” graduates, are adding to the process of undermining the role of universities in society.
Source: Samantha Sharman, Varsity.co.uk, Friday 28th October 2011
Saturday 29 October 2011
Selby Jobs Fair a great success
Glowing feedback from Selby Jobs Fair has prompted Nigel Adams MP to promise another one in the next six months.
The Selby and Ainsty MP has received thanks from new recruits, training organisations and employers who attended the event at Abbey Leisure Centre in September.
He has now vowed to continue linking up job seekers with employment opportunities by naming the date for the next jobs fair in the coming weeks.
“I had some really positive feedback from those who attended and many people are still in contact with companies and going through interview processes,” he said.
“One of the reasons behind organising the jobs fair was to shake up traditional ways of recruiting people and it proved a huge success.”
Just a week after going to Selby Jobs Fair, IT support analyst Donovan Shores, of Abbotts Road in Selby, was behind a desk at Leeds-based company Backup Technology.
He said: “The jobs fair was a lot busier and bigger than I was expecting. There were a couple of IT companies and I talked to all of them. When I spoke to Simon, we got on really well and I had a short interview on the day.
“I then had another interview two days later with one of the directors and I started the following Monday. I was really surprised that this all came out of the jobs fair as I hadn’t really expected that much from going along.
“Backup Technology is a great place to work. It’s been fantastic so far and I’ve already gone on several corporate events including snowboarding at Xscape.”
Company CEO Simon Chappell said: “The success and fruition of the jobs fair is still coming through. It went really well and the quality of candidates was incredibly strong, much more so than we had anticipated.
“We took away 20 CVs and recruited three people – one apprentice and two full-time staff. I can’t thank Nigel Adams enough for putting it all together. It was quite a gamble as it hadn’t really been done before but it really paid off.
“We’ve been to graduate job fairs previously but I think this was the first time we’ve been to one that covered all ages. We’d be more than happy to go along to Selby if the event is repeated next year.”
Source: Selbytimes.co.uk, Saturday 29th October 2011
The Selby and Ainsty MP has received thanks from new recruits, training organisations and employers who attended the event at Abbey Leisure Centre in September.
He has now vowed to continue linking up job seekers with employment opportunities by naming the date for the next jobs fair in the coming weeks.
“I had some really positive feedback from those who attended and many people are still in contact with companies and going through interview processes,” he said.
“One of the reasons behind organising the jobs fair was to shake up traditional ways of recruiting people and it proved a huge success.”
Just a week after going to Selby Jobs Fair, IT support analyst Donovan Shores, of Abbotts Road in Selby, was behind a desk at Leeds-based company Backup Technology.
He said: “The jobs fair was a lot busier and bigger than I was expecting. There were a couple of IT companies and I talked to all of them. When I spoke to Simon, we got on really well and I had a short interview on the day.
“I then had another interview two days later with one of the directors and I started the following Monday. I was really surprised that this all came out of the jobs fair as I hadn’t really expected that much from going along.
“Backup Technology is a great place to work. It’s been fantastic so far and I’ve already gone on several corporate events including snowboarding at Xscape.”
Company CEO Simon Chappell said: “The success and fruition of the jobs fair is still coming through. It went really well and the quality of candidates was incredibly strong, much more so than we had anticipated.
“We took away 20 CVs and recruited three people – one apprentice and two full-time staff. I can’t thank Nigel Adams enough for putting it all together. It was quite a gamble as it hadn’t really been done before but it really paid off.
“We’ve been to graduate job fairs previously but I think this was the first time we’ve been to one that covered all ages. We’d be more than happy to go along to Selby if the event is repeated next year.”
Source: Selbytimes.co.uk, Saturday 29th October 2011
Friday 28 October 2011
What are internships?
Internships are student and graduate placements, aimed at giving them some experience before they join the employment market full-on. They are usually only a few months in duration, and are like more involved versions of work experience and shadowing, which you might have done during secondary school and sixth form.
However, they differ in a number of crucial ways:
- You will probably be there for longer.
- You are more likely to be assigned ‘real’ work, and develop real skills as a result.
- You are more likely to get paid.
- It probably will ‘look good on your CV’.
Of course, this isn’t absolute. Internships are used in very different ways by different employers in different industries. Some internships with big graduate employers in sectors such as banking are well paid, and are essential stepping stones to a place on their graduate schemes. Other internships, particularly in fashion and the media, may be unpaid.
Why bother?
Internships take time and effort. That time and effort could be spent studying, sleeping, having fun, or earning hard currency. However, you can get much out of them that will make them worthwhile:
- Find out whether you like the career – A lot of career choices are made on childhood aspirations, or other, similar uninformed decisions. Internships give you the time and insight needed to figure out whether the industry is really for you.
- Build up your experience – Employers like to take people on who can slip into a role with the minimum amount of training and acclimatisation. Experience not only involves the skills you have gained on a job, but also your comfort in an environment. Both can be developed on internships.
- Skip the job interviews – A lot of employers recruit directly from their internships to their graduate programme. They will have got to know you during the internship and will not need to interview you. As such you may be able to avoid the grad scheme competition altogether.
- Build up your contacts – Even if you don’t get a job off the back of your internship, you will certainly be in a position to develop a network of industry insiders. You can then use them as referees, or as a way to maintain your commercial awareness.
How do graduate internships differ?
In the current tough jobs market, graduates have increasingly been taking up internships after finishing their studies. Graduate internships can obviously last longer than student internships, which are limited to the length of the summer holidays. Sometimes graduate internships are unpaid, fuelling concerns that graduates are vulnerable to exploitation because of the intense competition for jobs. This is also controversial because anyone who is a worker in legal terms is entitled to the national minimum wage.
How to find internships
The good news about internships is that there are plenty of them out there.
- Sector-specialist job boards and websites are also a good place to look.
- Some organisations, particularly the larger ones, also advertise places on their own websites.
Speculative applications are unlikely to get you a paid and structured internship. Many organisations do take candidates on work experience placements, but these tend to be relatively short-term, and almost always unpaid.
How to choose
Internship applications take time, and it’s a good idea to target employers carefully. Some of the big graduate employers in areas such as finance break down their internship schemes into a number of different streams, so you may have to choose your preferred option when you apply. Here are some points to think about when you’re deciding what internship you want.
- Keep an eye on internship deadlines – For example, some finance internships close as early as November, and there are many deadlines around the end of December and early January.
- Find out what you will be doing – Not all big employers give interns proper work to do. The best internships are those which actually equip you with some of the skills you will need when you are doing the job. For this reason it is worth finding out what kind of jobs you will be doing beforehand.
- Really think about career progression – If you intend to use the internships to fast-track into the subsequent grad scheme you will need to choose the first step carefully. After this point it will be harder to change your mind.
- Take time and distance into account – If you aren’t used to working 9-5 days, or commuting for hours at a time, then this may be something to bear in mind. How willing are you to compromise your time?
Source: Ross, Targetjobs.co.uk, Thursday 27th October 2011
Thursday 27 October 2011
GCHQ recruitment drive to create 'exciting partnership' with Cheltenham
A recruitment drive by GCHQ has been hailed as the start of an "exciting partnership" between the intelligence centre and Cheltenham.
Bosses are calling for highly-skilled and highly-qualified technical professionals to protect the country's security.
Gloucestershire County Council deputy leader, Councillor Paul McLain (C, Charlton Kings), said: "I'm confident this will be the start of a really exciting new partnership between Cheltenham and GCHQ.
"It bodes well for graduates from the university, who will have a better chance of getting jobs closer to home.
"This is fantastic because we have a great wealth of talent in Cheltenham and Gloucestershire and it's great that we can be working so closely with one of the major employers."
Mr McLain, who is also a borough councillor, said he was confident town chiefs were "knocking on an open door" when it came to increasing links with GCHQ.
He described the recruitment drive as a "statement of intent".
One of the job adverts, for a cyber security specialist and senior cyber security specialist, calls for pioneers that can push technical boundaries.
It states: "In a game where our adversaries operate with no rules and unknown boundary lines, you will be exploring the possibilities and inventing the seemingly impossible."
Other positions on offer include mathematicians, software engineers and researchers.
Salary
The top salary on offer among the current vacancies is £39,482 for a 'mathematics and crypt security professional', while a graduate software engineer can expect to earn £25,446.
Only highly-qualified applicants are being considered, but the number of openings is being kept under wraps by the organisation.
Mr McLain has previously called for the intelligence centre to be the hub of a drive towards Cheltenham's development as a home for hi-tech industry.
A GCHQ spokesman said: "This is the optimum time of year for graduate recruitment; to that end GCHQ is currently attending a number of fairs around the country marketing the roles that we are currently recruiting to.
"In parallel with that activity GCHQ is running generic marketing to attract the attention of those who would not be attending the fairs and directing them to the GCHQ careers website, where they will find a range of campaigns for graduates, non-graduates and sponsored students.
"We are particularly keen that we market in the local area and this was our decision for choosing the job supplement.
Source: Thisisgloucestershire.co.uk, Thursday 27th October 2011
Bosses are calling for highly-skilled and highly-qualified technical professionals to protect the country's security.
Gloucestershire County Council deputy leader, Councillor Paul McLain (C, Charlton Kings), said: "I'm confident this will be the start of a really exciting new partnership between Cheltenham and GCHQ.
"It bodes well for graduates from the university, who will have a better chance of getting jobs closer to home.
"This is fantastic because we have a great wealth of talent in Cheltenham and Gloucestershire and it's great that we can be working so closely with one of the major employers."
Mr McLain, who is also a borough councillor, said he was confident town chiefs were "knocking on an open door" when it came to increasing links with GCHQ.
He described the recruitment drive as a "statement of intent".
One of the job adverts, for a cyber security specialist and senior cyber security specialist, calls for pioneers that can push technical boundaries.
It states: "In a game where our adversaries operate with no rules and unknown boundary lines, you will be exploring the possibilities and inventing the seemingly impossible."
Other positions on offer include mathematicians, software engineers and researchers.
Salary
The top salary on offer among the current vacancies is £39,482 for a 'mathematics and crypt security professional', while a graduate software engineer can expect to earn £25,446.
Only highly-qualified applicants are being considered, but the number of openings is being kept under wraps by the organisation.
Mr McLain has previously called for the intelligence centre to be the hub of a drive towards Cheltenham's development as a home for hi-tech industry.
A GCHQ spokesman said: "This is the optimum time of year for graduate recruitment; to that end GCHQ is currently attending a number of fairs around the country marketing the roles that we are currently recruiting to.
"In parallel with that activity GCHQ is running generic marketing to attract the attention of those who would not be attending the fairs and directing them to the GCHQ careers website, where they will find a range of campaigns for graduates, non-graduates and sponsored students.
"We are particularly keen that we market in the local area and this was our decision for choosing the job supplement.
Source: Thisisgloucestershire.co.uk, Thursday 27th October 2011
Wednesday 26 October 2011
The future of graduate employability: looking forward to 2012
Paul Redmond, president elect of AGCAS, and head of careers and employability at the University of Liverpool, talks about embedding employability, graduate recruitment and helicopter parents.
The recent higher education white paper reinforces governmental concern for employability. How will this affect the provision of undergraduate degrees? Will some disciplines where employment rates are low become extinct?
I think the sector is going through a phase where it is asking itself big questions like, "what is higher education for?", and often answers to these are shaped by instrumentalist concerns, such as all university courses should contribute to the economy.
In some ways, this is fairly recent idea, but it has now become so mainstream as to be almost ubiquitous. This strikes me as being a pity. Not only does it challenge the idea of the university, even economically, it doesn't make sense.
We need the artistic skills of the arts and humanities to innovate and produce future technology. Think for example of the iPad: technology meets art and design. The only reason why early Apple computers offered different fonts was because Steve Jobs, prior to being thrown out of university, had been on a calligraphy course. To be employable, you need a range of skills and attitudes. Creative thinking is one of them.
I think one of the reasons we get so muddled about this is because words like "employability" are so easily confused with "employment". People tend to think the two words are interchangeable, when in fact, this isn't always the case. Employability is a highly dynamic concept. It denotes a progression and a certain amount of self-sufficiency.
Being in employment, on the other hand, is static; it's about being paid to do a certain job. For understandable reasons, the graduate job market is preoccupied by the rhetoric of "getting a job", but getting a job is only part of employability.
A few years ago, I did some presentations to managers at Lehman Brothers. When they went out of business I kept in contact with several of their senior investment bankers. What struck me was how quickly these people were back in employment – in some cases they had been offered jobs within hours of being made redundant.
Forget all the rhetoric about transferable skills. To me, that's employability: the ability to find employment at the same grade, in the same line of work, whenever and wherever you need it.
Decent higher education should produce employable graduates, regardless of subject of study or academic discipline. Employers know this, which is why when recruiting so few of them specify academic disciplines. What they want is bright, enthusiastic, motivated and sparky graduates – people who can get things done without causing mass walkouts or criminal lawsuits.
One senior banker told me recently: "You know, banking today isn't technical – you don't need a calculator. What you need is to be good with people, good at seeing things from other points of view."
Should employability be embedded in the undergraduate curriculum, and is certification a good thing?
At Liverpool, we think of employability as residing in three dimensions: curricular; co-curricular; and extracurricular. As such, different academic subjects can approach employability according to the constructs and conventions of their own curricula. For some, this might be employability modules; for others, visits to employer premises, or visiting speakers.
What matters is that students on enrolment are clear about what their employability entitlement is, how their degree subject will approach employability. Alongside this, it's essential that students have access to co-curricular employability opportunities, things they can do as part of their studies without necessarily receiving academic credit. For example, learning to give presentations or work in teams.
Finally, students need lots of opportunities for developing employability skills through extracurricular options. These can be offered by the careers service, the student union, or even arranged by the student herself.
What we are working towards in Liverpool is to embed an expectation that students should be constantly developing a certain set of employability skills all gained within the space of the three dimensions discussed earlier.
Whose responsibility is it to ensure that graduates are employable?
My view is that responsibility is shared or owned by students and universities. It's a joint effort, a joint commitment. Universities offer fabulous opportunities for students to develop their skills and experience; all they have to do is join in. As Woody Allen said: "Anything can happen when you turn up for work." The same goes for higher education.
Since the credit crunch, parents are becoming increasingly active in terms of taking responsibility for their son or daughter's employability. I've come across lots of stories of parents "trading" internships between themselves, organising work placements, turning up to job interviews, even liaising with employers in a bid to renegotiate their child's starting salary.
In articles I've written, I refer to such parents as "helicopter parents". These are parents who actively take on some (or a lot) of their offspring's responsibility so as to provide them with what they think is the best possible life chances in adulthood.
At university level we increasingly see them on their own at careers fairs for students. What I find fascinating is how comfortable Generation Y students are with this level of parental involvement. Other generations might have found the idea of parents getting involved in the career process horrifying; Generation Y seems to welcome it. In fact, some of them seem to be in the process of outsourcing the career search process to their folks.
From a sociological perspective, it's interesting to speculate about why this is happening, and why now. Primarily, these are baby-boomer parents, who have to some extent decoded the job market. They've figured out how employment markets work, how educational capital can be maximised through contacts and strategic alliances. Armed with this knowledge, they are in poll position to take it upon themselves to fast-track their offspring through the early qualifying rounds of the job market.
Of course this is often and largely a middle-class phenomenon, and as such raises questions of social mobility and equality. After all, what happens if your parents don't know people who can offer you internships? As competition for graduate credentials intensifies, the phenomenon seems to be on the rise.
There is currently fierce public debate about students becoming "consumers" of HE. Do you think their behaviour will really change?
I suspect that ultimately, students will always be students. Some things never change, even with an economic downturn. Throughout the last century, the UK higher education system underwent lots of changes, but, on the whole, students' attitudes to life have remained consistent.
The same students want to have fun, they want to enjoy themselves, they want to make the most of higher education. They're full of enthusiasm, full of excitement, and determined to have a good time. This of course is why it's so rewarding to work with them.
Every September I give a talk to first year students and every year they tell me how fantastic it is to be at university and how much they are looking forward to the whole experience. Even with the hike in tuition fees, I still expect student attitude and behaviours to remain the same.
That said, I think, or hope, that students will be more tuned in to what they're being offered. After all, going to university represents a significant long-term investment.
Do you think that graduate recruitment is going to change?
Yes, definitely. I think it will change for a number of reasons. First, since the recession, employers have had far less money to spend on recruitment, and across all sectors, budgets have been cut. But counter-balancing this is a greater savviness among recruiters for harnessing new tactics such as using social media and better targeted recruitment strategies to make better, more proactive use of careers services.
I also think we're beginning to see signs of organisations recruiting via internships – a development which has huge implications for both universities and students.
The impact of social media is only just becoming understood. In the future, employers, careers services and graduates will all use social media as an integral part of the recruitment process. The Facebook revolution could not possibly escape our sector – we will see social networking sites being increasingly used in graduate recruitment alongside more traditional methods.
You have recently done some work on unpaid internships. What did you find and what is your message to employers?
Actually this is part of the work I do with the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS). We have a very clear-cut position on internships: we do not support unpaid internships, and I believe many of the careers services are now following this line.
Can you tell us more about the work AGCAS has done on the impact of university careers services?
I am currently leading a group of heads of careers services looking at impact measurements – a very big and interesting issue. Traditionally, when trying to assess the impact of careers services, heads have looked to destination data.
The problem is, this is rarely a reliable measure (after all, job markets can go up or down). Our group has been trying to look at other measures: for example different levels of audits; different ways of working with management; different ways of working with students and so on.
We have now developed a series of indicators to help careers services measure impact. It is absolutely fascinating work, and raises very interesting issues about what it is that we do. From a management point of view is raises a number of questions. Why do you invest in resources? What has the highest rate of return? Who is the key stake holder of careers services?
This group has enabled us to rethink impact, and we have come up with some really interesting, challenging ideas. We have so far road-tested the new impact measures in Warwick, and we are giving a full presentation at the AGCAS biennial this autumn. We have developed a series of exercises to actually help practitioners measure the impact of their career services. For example, we think about the impact of group sessions. How do you cost a talk on CVs to a group of 50 students? How cost effective and meaningful are they?
These are the things we have been thinking about, and we have come up with different ways of measuring and evaluating them. There is a resource already up on the AGCAS website, but people will be able to find out more about it in our next biennial.
What are your priorities at AGCAS next year?
Higher education and careers services are both going through immense change at the moment, so I think our priority now is to help careers services respond to changes that are taking place at their universities. Our priorities are to lobby government as effectively as possible and to represent our members effectively while remaining at the cutting edge of careers information, advice and guidance We will keep developing and providing the best careers advice and information support to our members, and we will remain in effective communication with our partners, such as Prospects and AGR, to achieve all this.
The recent higher education white paper reinforces governmental concern for employability. How will this affect the provision of undergraduate degrees? Will some disciplines where employment rates are low become extinct?
I think the sector is going through a phase where it is asking itself big questions like, "what is higher education for?", and often answers to these are shaped by instrumentalist concerns, such as all university courses should contribute to the economy.
In some ways, this is fairly recent idea, but it has now become so mainstream as to be almost ubiquitous. This strikes me as being a pity. Not only does it challenge the idea of the university, even economically, it doesn't make sense.
We need the artistic skills of the arts and humanities to innovate and produce future technology. Think for example of the iPad: technology meets art and design. The only reason why early Apple computers offered different fonts was because Steve Jobs, prior to being thrown out of university, had been on a calligraphy course. To be employable, you need a range of skills and attitudes. Creative thinking is one of them.
I think one of the reasons we get so muddled about this is because words like "employability" are so easily confused with "employment". People tend to think the two words are interchangeable, when in fact, this isn't always the case. Employability is a highly dynamic concept. It denotes a progression and a certain amount of self-sufficiency.
Being in employment, on the other hand, is static; it's about being paid to do a certain job. For understandable reasons, the graduate job market is preoccupied by the rhetoric of "getting a job", but getting a job is only part of employability.
A few years ago, I did some presentations to managers at Lehman Brothers. When they went out of business I kept in contact with several of their senior investment bankers. What struck me was how quickly these people were back in employment – in some cases they had been offered jobs within hours of being made redundant.
Forget all the rhetoric about transferable skills. To me, that's employability: the ability to find employment at the same grade, in the same line of work, whenever and wherever you need it.
Decent higher education should produce employable graduates, regardless of subject of study or academic discipline. Employers know this, which is why when recruiting so few of them specify academic disciplines. What they want is bright, enthusiastic, motivated and sparky graduates – people who can get things done without causing mass walkouts or criminal lawsuits.
One senior banker told me recently: "You know, banking today isn't technical – you don't need a calculator. What you need is to be good with people, good at seeing things from other points of view."
Should employability be embedded in the undergraduate curriculum, and is certification a good thing?
At Liverpool, we think of employability as residing in three dimensions: curricular; co-curricular; and extracurricular. As such, different academic subjects can approach employability according to the constructs and conventions of their own curricula. For some, this might be employability modules; for others, visits to employer premises, or visiting speakers.
What matters is that students on enrolment are clear about what their employability entitlement is, how their degree subject will approach employability. Alongside this, it's essential that students have access to co-curricular employability opportunities, things they can do as part of their studies without necessarily receiving academic credit. For example, learning to give presentations or work in teams.
Finally, students need lots of opportunities for developing employability skills through extracurricular options. These can be offered by the careers service, the student union, or even arranged by the student herself.
What we are working towards in Liverpool is to embed an expectation that students should be constantly developing a certain set of employability skills all gained within the space of the three dimensions discussed earlier.
Whose responsibility is it to ensure that graduates are employable?
My view is that responsibility is shared or owned by students and universities. It's a joint effort, a joint commitment. Universities offer fabulous opportunities for students to develop their skills and experience; all they have to do is join in. As Woody Allen said: "Anything can happen when you turn up for work." The same goes for higher education.
Since the credit crunch, parents are becoming increasingly active in terms of taking responsibility for their son or daughter's employability. I've come across lots of stories of parents "trading" internships between themselves, organising work placements, turning up to job interviews, even liaising with employers in a bid to renegotiate their child's starting salary.
In articles I've written, I refer to such parents as "helicopter parents". These are parents who actively take on some (or a lot) of their offspring's responsibility so as to provide them with what they think is the best possible life chances in adulthood.
At university level we increasingly see them on their own at careers fairs for students. What I find fascinating is how comfortable Generation Y students are with this level of parental involvement. Other generations might have found the idea of parents getting involved in the career process horrifying; Generation Y seems to welcome it. In fact, some of them seem to be in the process of outsourcing the career search process to their folks.
From a sociological perspective, it's interesting to speculate about why this is happening, and why now. Primarily, these are baby-boomer parents, who have to some extent decoded the job market. They've figured out how employment markets work, how educational capital can be maximised through contacts and strategic alliances. Armed with this knowledge, they are in poll position to take it upon themselves to fast-track their offspring through the early qualifying rounds of the job market.
Of course this is often and largely a middle-class phenomenon, and as such raises questions of social mobility and equality. After all, what happens if your parents don't know people who can offer you internships? As competition for graduate credentials intensifies, the phenomenon seems to be on the rise.
There is currently fierce public debate about students becoming "consumers" of HE. Do you think their behaviour will really change?
I suspect that ultimately, students will always be students. Some things never change, even with an economic downturn. Throughout the last century, the UK higher education system underwent lots of changes, but, on the whole, students' attitudes to life have remained consistent.
The same students want to have fun, they want to enjoy themselves, they want to make the most of higher education. They're full of enthusiasm, full of excitement, and determined to have a good time. This of course is why it's so rewarding to work with them.
Every September I give a talk to first year students and every year they tell me how fantastic it is to be at university and how much they are looking forward to the whole experience. Even with the hike in tuition fees, I still expect student attitude and behaviours to remain the same.
That said, I think, or hope, that students will be more tuned in to what they're being offered. After all, going to university represents a significant long-term investment.
Do you think that graduate recruitment is going to change?
Yes, definitely. I think it will change for a number of reasons. First, since the recession, employers have had far less money to spend on recruitment, and across all sectors, budgets have been cut. But counter-balancing this is a greater savviness among recruiters for harnessing new tactics such as using social media and better targeted recruitment strategies to make better, more proactive use of careers services.
I also think we're beginning to see signs of organisations recruiting via internships – a development which has huge implications for both universities and students.
The impact of social media is only just becoming understood. In the future, employers, careers services and graduates will all use social media as an integral part of the recruitment process. The Facebook revolution could not possibly escape our sector – we will see social networking sites being increasingly used in graduate recruitment alongside more traditional methods.
You have recently done some work on unpaid internships. What did you find and what is your message to employers?
Actually this is part of the work I do with the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS). We have a very clear-cut position on internships: we do not support unpaid internships, and I believe many of the careers services are now following this line.
Can you tell us more about the work AGCAS has done on the impact of university careers services?
I am currently leading a group of heads of careers services looking at impact measurements – a very big and interesting issue. Traditionally, when trying to assess the impact of careers services, heads have looked to destination data.
The problem is, this is rarely a reliable measure (after all, job markets can go up or down). Our group has been trying to look at other measures: for example different levels of audits; different ways of working with management; different ways of working with students and so on.
We have now developed a series of indicators to help careers services measure impact. It is absolutely fascinating work, and raises very interesting issues about what it is that we do. From a management point of view is raises a number of questions. Why do you invest in resources? What has the highest rate of return? Who is the key stake holder of careers services?
This group has enabled us to rethink impact, and we have come up with some really interesting, challenging ideas. We have so far road-tested the new impact measures in Warwick, and we are giving a full presentation at the AGCAS biennial this autumn. We have developed a series of exercises to actually help practitioners measure the impact of their career services. For example, we think about the impact of group sessions. How do you cost a talk on CVs to a group of 50 students? How cost effective and meaningful are they?
These are the things we have been thinking about, and we have come up with different ways of measuring and evaluating them. There is a resource already up on the AGCAS website, but people will be able to find out more about it in our next biennial.
What are your priorities at AGCAS next year?
Higher education and careers services are both going through immense change at the moment, so I think our priority now is to help careers services respond to changes that are taking place at their universities. Our priorities are to lobby government as effectively as possible and to represent our members effectively while remaining at the cutting edge of careers information, advice and guidance We will keep developing and providing the best careers advice and information support to our members, and we will remain in effective communication with our partners, such as Prospects and AGR, to achieve all this.
Source: Aphrodite Papadatou, Guardian.co.uk, Monday 24th October 2011
Tuesday 25 October 2011
UK universities have been given 14 days to justify their fees
Students are been advised to postpone their University applications whilst Universities set their tuition fee prices for 2012.
Hundreds of thousands of students applying for university places in Britain for 2012 are facing weeks of uncertainty as the government tries to persuade universities to lower their tuition fees.
There are twenty eight universities in England who are considering lowering their fees to below £7,500 a year so they can make use of the 20,000 places which were held back by ministers. According to the Office for Fair Access, eight institutions have already submitted their proposals to lower their tuition fees from what they had previously submitted.
Students are angry that the hastily drawn up plans for the tuition fee rise has already thrown the application process into disarray as they still can’t decide where they want to go. With the increase in graduates who are looking for jobs not in line with the amount of graduate jobs available, students have to take longer deciding on what degree to take and what the best universities are to get ahead of the competition. Yet once the Universities submit their tuition fees proposals, students will only have 6 weeks to choose their universities they want to apply to and submit their application.
The confusion has come after the government announced major changes to its white paper which aimed at driving down the current average tuition fee cost of £8,393. At present only 29 out of 140 universities charge less than £7,500 a year.
Toni Pearce, NUS vice-president, said funding changes are continuing to wreak havoc. "To cover for its own, expensive mistakes, the Government is sledge-hammering into place an artificial market that treats students as pieces to be traded, gives them no power to demand the support they need and encourages the poorest students to seek out the least-funded courses," she said.
Offa commented that it couldn’t issue the new guidelines to universities or colleges until the Higher Education Funding Council publishes its details on how they can bid for the extra places.
Sir Martin Harris, the director for fair access at Offa, said he had sought to minimise the impact on applicants. "Our resulting guidance makes it clear applicants must continue to receive the same overall level of financial support – even if the balance changes between bursaries and fee waivers – and must receive sufficient warning of any revised package to enable them to change their university choices, if they so wish, without prejudice before the Ucas deadline of 15 January," he said.
Source: Pareto.co.uk, Monday 24th October 2011
Hundreds of thousands of students applying for university places in Britain for 2012 are facing weeks of uncertainty as the government tries to persuade universities to lower their tuition fees.
There are twenty eight universities in England who are considering lowering their fees to below £7,500 a year so they can make use of the 20,000 places which were held back by ministers. According to the Office for Fair Access, eight institutions have already submitted their proposals to lower their tuition fees from what they had previously submitted.
Students are angry that the hastily drawn up plans for the tuition fee rise has already thrown the application process into disarray as they still can’t decide where they want to go. With the increase in graduates who are looking for jobs not in line with the amount of graduate jobs available, students have to take longer deciding on what degree to take and what the best universities are to get ahead of the competition. Yet once the Universities submit their tuition fees proposals, students will only have 6 weeks to choose their universities they want to apply to and submit their application.
The confusion has come after the government announced major changes to its white paper which aimed at driving down the current average tuition fee cost of £8,393. At present only 29 out of 140 universities charge less than £7,500 a year.
Toni Pearce, NUS vice-president, said funding changes are continuing to wreak havoc. "To cover for its own, expensive mistakes, the Government is sledge-hammering into place an artificial market that treats students as pieces to be traded, gives them no power to demand the support they need and encourages the poorest students to seek out the least-funded courses," she said.
Offa commented that it couldn’t issue the new guidelines to universities or colleges until the Higher Education Funding Council publishes its details on how they can bid for the extra places.
Sir Martin Harris, the director for fair access at Offa, said he had sought to minimise the impact on applicants. "Our resulting guidance makes it clear applicants must continue to receive the same overall level of financial support – even if the balance changes between bursaries and fee waivers – and must receive sufficient warning of any revised package to enable them to change their university choices, if they so wish, without prejudice before the Ucas deadline of 15 January," he said.
Source: Pareto.co.uk, Monday 24th October 2011
Monday 24 October 2011
University graduates in job struggle
More than half of students who graduated from universities in the East in 2010 have struggled to find a graduate-level job, a BBC Inside Out East investigation has revealed.
According to university surveys which monitor what graduates are doing up to six months after they leave, 6,000 failed to find a graduate-level job.
Many decided to continue studying, but one in three were either unemployed or under-employed - doing a job for which they did not need a degree.
Of the universities across the region - Anglia Ruskin, Bedfordshire, Cambridge, Essex, Hertfordshire, Northampton, Suffolk and the University of East Anglia - 2010 graduates from the University of Hertfordshire were the most successful, with 46% finding graduate jobs.
Next was Bedfordshire with 44%, while graduates from the University of Essex were the least successful, with just 30% getting graduate jobs.
Cambridge was third, with 43%, but that is largely because graduates are most likely to stay in education, with more than a third choosing to continue their studies.
Prof Jules Pretty, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Essex University, said universities needed to do more to help students into work.
Three years ago, Ed Iles, from Essex, graduated with a 2:1 in plant science hoping for a career in scientific research.
He is currently working as a classroom assistant, and before that he worked at a local supermarket while he continued to look for graduate-level jobs, applying for 150 positions. Most employers said he lacked experience.
He said: "It is frustrating. It can get quite demoralising especially when you've applied for quite a lot of jobs."
Looking back Mr Iles does not regret getting his degree and said: "Even though I've struggled finding a job... the overall life skills and everything else you learn is thoroughly rewarding.
"Even though the fees are going up I still think it's an extremely good thing to do."
The investigation follows research commissioned by BBC Inside Out and carried out by ComRes to examine whether students have been put off university because of the increase in tuition fees.
ComRes interviewed 1,009 16 to 18 year olds currently studying for their A levels.
Source: Diana Hare, BBC.co.uk, Monday 24th October 2011
According to university surveys which monitor what graduates are doing up to six months after they leave, 6,000 failed to find a graduate-level job.
Many decided to continue studying, but one in three were either unemployed or under-employed - doing a job for which they did not need a degree.
Of the universities across the region - Anglia Ruskin, Bedfordshire, Cambridge, Essex, Hertfordshire, Northampton, Suffolk and the University of East Anglia - 2010 graduates from the University of Hertfordshire were the most successful, with 46% finding graduate jobs.
Next was Bedfordshire with 44%, while graduates from the University of Essex were the least successful, with just 30% getting graduate jobs.
Cambridge was third, with 43%, but that is largely because graduates are most likely to stay in education, with more than a third choosing to continue their studies.
Prof Jules Pretty, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Essex University, said universities needed to do more to help students into work.
Three years ago, Ed Iles, from Essex, graduated with a 2:1 in plant science hoping for a career in scientific research.
He is currently working as a classroom assistant, and before that he worked at a local supermarket while he continued to look for graduate-level jobs, applying for 150 positions. Most employers said he lacked experience.
He said: "It is frustrating. It can get quite demoralising especially when you've applied for quite a lot of jobs."
Looking back Mr Iles does not regret getting his degree and said: "Even though I've struggled finding a job... the overall life skills and everything else you learn is thoroughly rewarding.
"Even though the fees are going up I still think it's an extremely good thing to do."
The investigation follows research commissioned by BBC Inside Out and carried out by ComRes to examine whether students have been put off university because of the increase in tuition fees.
ComRes interviewed 1,009 16 to 18 year olds currently studying for their A levels.
Source: Diana Hare, BBC.co.uk, Monday 24th October 2011
Sunday 23 October 2011
Two thirds of graduates think their degree helped them get their first job
A recent survey has shown that two thirds of graduates feel their degree is responsible for the careers they now have.
Out of 649 participants in a survey by reed.co.uk, 66% of graduates thought their degrees helped them get their current jobs.
Only one third of graduates said that their degrees have not been helpful to their careers, whilst 32% said that their degrees were in part responsible for their first jobs and 34% said that their degrees were essential.
With tuition fees set to rise to £9000 for most UK universities including Exeter, this is a more hopeful prognosis than the media has recently given graduates, with a reported steady rise in graduate debt and unemployment.
James Eales, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Exeter University, said: "Graduates face an extremely competitive job market when looking for the first job. The rapid growth of graduates in comparison to graduate jobs has only accentuated this issue.
"What I can say with confidence is that students graduating from Exeter will be in a very advantageous position, both in graduating from a top 10 University as well as having a curriculum that is increasingly focusing on raising employability".
Exeter University has one of the highest league table rankings in the country, as well as some of the highest student satisfaction scores, according to the National Student Survey (NSS).
On average just over 60% of Exeter graduates are employed six months after graduation - higher than the average 59.2%.
Reed.co.uk is one of the UK's leading employment websites, with almost 10,000 employers using the site to advertise both graduate and non-graduate jobs.
Source: Ciara Long, xmedia.ex.ac.uk, Saturday 22nd October 2011
Out of 649 participants in a survey by reed.co.uk, 66% of graduates thought their degrees helped them get their current jobs.
Only one third of graduates said that their degrees have not been helpful to their careers, whilst 32% said that their degrees were in part responsible for their first jobs and 34% said that their degrees were essential.
With tuition fees set to rise to £9000 for most UK universities including Exeter, this is a more hopeful prognosis than the media has recently given graduates, with a reported steady rise in graduate debt and unemployment.
James Eales, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Exeter University, said: "Graduates face an extremely competitive job market when looking for the first job. The rapid growth of graduates in comparison to graduate jobs has only accentuated this issue.
"What I can say with confidence is that students graduating from Exeter will be in a very advantageous position, both in graduating from a top 10 University as well as having a curriculum that is increasingly focusing on raising employability".
Exeter University has one of the highest league table rankings in the country, as well as some of the highest student satisfaction scores, according to the National Student Survey (NSS).
On average just over 60% of Exeter graduates are employed six months after graduation - higher than the average 59.2%.
Reed.co.uk is one of the UK's leading employment websites, with almost 10,000 employers using the site to advertise both graduate and non-graduate jobs.
Source: Ciara Long, xmedia.ex.ac.uk, Saturday 22nd October 2011
Saturday 22 October 2011
Newcastle University hosting graduate jobs fair
Newcastle University is hosting one of the biggest graduate jobs fair in the North East next week.
Nearly 90 companies will be exhibiting and have representatives on hand to chat and discuss vacancies at Newcastle JobFest, organised by Newcastle University Careers Service.
Among them will be some of the biggest multi-national names, including PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Jaguar Land Rover, Abercrombie and Fitch, IBM, Apple Retail and others. Organisations with further study and professional training opportunities will also be there.
Nick Keeley, director of the careers service at Newcastle University, said: “This is a great event for all students from across the North East to attend and network and talk with people in business, who will be offering some tremendous opportunities for a great start in a fulfilling career.
“Times are tough in the jobs market so that makes events like these even more important. Employers will be promoting thousands of opportunities in a variety of sectors, including law, finance, engineering, retail, science and opportunities in the public sector, so there will be something for everyone.”
There is no need to pre-book to attend the event. Newcastle University students should bring their smartcard for easier and quicker access into the event. Students from other universities will be asked to sign in prior to entering.
This year Newcastle University has been ranked fifth among its peers in the UK for its employability rate, according to Government figures.
Modern languages graduate Rebecca Riddle, 22, got a job as a fresh produce industry management trainee through last year’s fair.
She said: “If I hadn’t gone to the fair I definitely wouldn’t have got the job I’m in now. It was just a great opportunity to network and get myself known to companies and to find out more about them as well.
“There were so many companies there from across the world. I got talking to a representative from MDS, it was a company I had heard of but I would never have thought of applying for a job with them if I hadn’t chatted with someone at the event. Then just a few weeks later I had a position with them.
“I would say to all graduates who are looking for work or will be in the next 12 months, get yourself to this event, it will be worth your time.”
JobFest takes place on Monday in the Bamburgh Suite of St James’ Park from 10.30am-3.00pm.
Source: Iain Laing, nebusiness.co.uk, Saturday 22nd October 2011
Nearly 90 companies will be exhibiting and have representatives on hand to chat and discuss vacancies at Newcastle JobFest, organised by Newcastle University Careers Service.
Among them will be some of the biggest multi-national names, including PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Jaguar Land Rover, Abercrombie and Fitch, IBM, Apple Retail and others. Organisations with further study and professional training opportunities will also be there.
Nick Keeley, director of the careers service at Newcastle University, said: “This is a great event for all students from across the North East to attend and network and talk with people in business, who will be offering some tremendous opportunities for a great start in a fulfilling career.
“Times are tough in the jobs market so that makes events like these even more important. Employers will be promoting thousands of opportunities in a variety of sectors, including law, finance, engineering, retail, science and opportunities in the public sector, so there will be something for everyone.”
There is no need to pre-book to attend the event. Newcastle University students should bring their smartcard for easier and quicker access into the event. Students from other universities will be asked to sign in prior to entering.
This year Newcastle University has been ranked fifth among its peers in the UK for its employability rate, according to Government figures.
Modern languages graduate Rebecca Riddle, 22, got a job as a fresh produce industry management trainee through last year’s fair.
She said: “If I hadn’t gone to the fair I definitely wouldn’t have got the job I’m in now. It was just a great opportunity to network and get myself known to companies and to find out more about them as well.
“There were so many companies there from across the world. I got talking to a representative from MDS, it was a company I had heard of but I would never have thought of applying for a job with them if I hadn’t chatted with someone at the event. Then just a few weeks later I had a position with them.
“I would say to all graduates who are looking for work or will be in the next 12 months, get yourself to this event, it will be worth your time.”
JobFest takes place on Monday in the Bamburgh Suite of St James’ Park from 10.30am-3.00pm.
Source: Iain Laing, nebusiness.co.uk, Saturday 22nd October 2011
Friday 21 October 2011
UK unemployment continues to rise throughout the recession
Despite the prediction that graduate jobs would rise by 2.6 per cent this year, there is still an increasing number of applicants for the jobs that are available. The average number of applicants this year currently stands at 83, while there were 69 in 2010 and only 49 in 2009. Universities have also recorded an influx of applications every year for the past few years, which not only means that those who were unsuccessful are thrust into the job market now, but also that the increasing number of graduates entering the job market will increase year on year.
Chief Economic Adviser of CIPD, John Philpott, commented: "These labour market figures are truly horrific, with the economy shedding almost 15,000 jobs each week between June and August. The quarterly rise in unemployment is reminiscent of an economy in recession rather than any kind of recovery and confirms that the private sector just isn’t creating enough jobs at present to offset public sector job cuts.
"With 5.6 unemployed people for every job vacancy the labour market is back to where it was in the depths of recession in 2009 and the underlying problem is getting even worse given that 1 in 3 unemployed people have now been without work for over a year. Many more months like this and we’re likely to see the re-emergence of the kind of ‘Gissa Job’ economy that scarred Britain in the 1980s and 1990s.
"As the CIPD expected, youth unemployment didn’t rise by the 85,000 figure required to take the total above 1 million by the end of August. However, given the background deterioration in the labour market we now expect that milestone to be reached next month."
The fact that the situation doesn’t appear likely to improve in the near future, more people are turning to freelancing to make a living. There are certain niches, like graphic design jobs and web design jobs, that are riding through the recession with almost the same level of demand, which means that there is still money in freelance work. Content writer jobs are also benefitting from the fact that communication is always a necessity in the business world, so there is hope yet for 8.1 per cent of us.
Source: Leaderlive.co.uk, Thursday 20th October 2011
Chief Economic Adviser of CIPD, John Philpott, commented: "These labour market figures are truly horrific, with the economy shedding almost 15,000 jobs each week between June and August. The quarterly rise in unemployment is reminiscent of an economy in recession rather than any kind of recovery and confirms that the private sector just isn’t creating enough jobs at present to offset public sector job cuts.
"With 5.6 unemployed people for every job vacancy the labour market is back to where it was in the depths of recession in 2009 and the underlying problem is getting even worse given that 1 in 3 unemployed people have now been without work for over a year. Many more months like this and we’re likely to see the re-emergence of the kind of ‘Gissa Job’ economy that scarred Britain in the 1980s and 1990s.
"As the CIPD expected, youth unemployment didn’t rise by the 85,000 figure required to take the total above 1 million by the end of August. However, given the background deterioration in the labour market we now expect that milestone to be reached next month."
The fact that the situation doesn’t appear likely to improve in the near future, more people are turning to freelancing to make a living. There are certain niches, like graphic design jobs and web design jobs, that are riding through the recession with almost the same level of demand, which means that there is still money in freelance work. Content writer jobs are also benefitting from the fact that communication is always a necessity in the business world, so there is hope yet for 8.1 per cent of us.
Source: Leaderlive.co.uk, Thursday 20th October 2011
Thursday 20 October 2011
Graduates sell daily face space
Two enterprising graduates are selling advertising space on their faces to pay off a combined student debt of almost £50,000.
Faced with a challenging job market, former Cambridge students Ed Moyse and Ross Harper are painting different company logos on to their faces.
Anyone can buy the advertising space, from businesses to individuals or groups, on a day-to-day basis. The logos - which can be viewed at www.buymyface.co.uk - are then seen by everyone they pass as they go about their daily business.
The graduates, who met on their first day at Selwyn College, Cambridge, started the business on October 1 and said they made £3,500 in the first 10 days.
The boys said they are "armed only with massive student debt and a firm grasp of the principles of viral advertising" as they attempt to survive for a year solely on income generated by transforming themselves into walking advertisements.
Mr Harper, 21, from Greenwich, south London, who studied neuroscience, said: "It's our unconventional way of paying off our student debt. The graduate job market is incredibly hostile, and so we thought we'd try and bypass it altogether.
"We've seen so many students unsuccessfully applying for jobs, only to eventually settle in a career that they never really wanted. It's just something a bit different and has taken off quite nicely."
Mr Moyse, 22, from Poole, Dorset, said: "It has exceeded expectations, but we always knew it had value and is novel and crazy."
So far, one of the main contributors has been online betting agency, Paddy Power, Mr Harper said.
Mr Moyse, who studied economics, and Mr Harper came up with the idea after graduating in the summer as a scheme which would not require much investment.
Source: Press Association from Google.com, Thursday 20th October 2011
Faced with a challenging job market, former Cambridge students Ed Moyse and Ross Harper are painting different company logos on to their faces.
Anyone can buy the advertising space, from businesses to individuals or groups, on a day-to-day basis. The logos - which can be viewed at www.buymyface.co.uk - are then seen by everyone they pass as they go about their daily business.
The graduates, who met on their first day at Selwyn College, Cambridge, started the business on October 1 and said they made £3,500 in the first 10 days.
The boys said they are "armed only with massive student debt and a firm grasp of the principles of viral advertising" as they attempt to survive for a year solely on income generated by transforming themselves into walking advertisements.
Mr Harper, 21, from Greenwich, south London, who studied neuroscience, said: "It's our unconventional way of paying off our student debt. The graduate job market is incredibly hostile, and so we thought we'd try and bypass it altogether.
"We've seen so many students unsuccessfully applying for jobs, only to eventually settle in a career that they never really wanted. It's just something a bit different and has taken off quite nicely."
Mr Moyse, 22, from Poole, Dorset, said: "It has exceeded expectations, but we always knew it had value and is novel and crazy."
So far, one of the main contributors has been online betting agency, Paddy Power, Mr Harper said.
Mr Moyse, who studied economics, and Mr Harper came up with the idea after graduating in the summer as a scheme which would not require much investment.
Source: Press Association from Google.com, Thursday 20th October 2011
Wednesday 19 October 2011
KPMG launches graduate recruitment system fit for the future
KPMG has launched a new graduate recruitment process fit for the digital age which uses an advanced software application to take students into a simulation of a real office environment complete with a series of real-time tasks.
The software uses 3-D animation and applicants are greeted and taken through the process by a virtual person. Students are given a variety of tasks to do which mimic the multi-tasking frequently required in a modern office job. While studying a spreadsheet to find certain information, for example, an email might also arrive that needs a response or the student might receive a voicemail notification that they need to listen to, or a video clip that they need to watch.
By creating an impression of real work situations, the students will gain a better understanding of what it would actually be like to work at KPMG, while KPMG can see how well-suited applicants might be to genuine working life.
The assessment process also uses real, specially trained actors to carry out one-on-one role plays with the students – to enable both parties to get a better insight into how they would actually be suited to a career at KPMG.
Michelle Quest, Head of People at KPMG, said: “We want to take recruitment firmly into the digital media age. Presenting tasks through an advanced technology platform means that young tech-savvy applicants will feel more attuned to the process. Our aim is to move recruitment beyond the traditional numerical and reasoning tests to provide an immersive and interactive experience that will tell us more about the applicant, and the applicant more about us.”
The new process sits alongside other traditional tests and interviews that applicants will also take. The software was designed in conjunction with the assessment consultancy and design firm Penna.
Source: Consultant-news.com, Wednesday 19th October 2011
The software uses 3-D animation and applicants are greeted and taken through the process by a virtual person. Students are given a variety of tasks to do which mimic the multi-tasking frequently required in a modern office job. While studying a spreadsheet to find certain information, for example, an email might also arrive that needs a response or the student might receive a voicemail notification that they need to listen to, or a video clip that they need to watch.
By creating an impression of real work situations, the students will gain a better understanding of what it would actually be like to work at KPMG, while KPMG can see how well-suited applicants might be to genuine working life.
The assessment process also uses real, specially trained actors to carry out one-on-one role plays with the students – to enable both parties to get a better insight into how they would actually be suited to a career at KPMG.
Michelle Quest, Head of People at KPMG, said: “We want to take recruitment firmly into the digital media age. Presenting tasks through an advanced technology platform means that young tech-savvy applicants will feel more attuned to the process. Our aim is to move recruitment beyond the traditional numerical and reasoning tests to provide an immersive and interactive experience that will tell us more about the applicant, and the applicant more about us.”
The new process sits alongside other traditional tests and interviews that applicants will also take. The software was designed in conjunction with the assessment consultancy and design firm Penna.
Source: Consultant-news.com, Wednesday 19th October 2011
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Universities must build more industry links to improve graduate employability
Opinion may vary as to how much is too much to pay for a university degree, and many in higher education welcome the extent to which tuition fee reform has put the spotlight on the employability record of degree programmes.
The increased questioning of late as to the "worth" of educational qualifications requires that institutions provide a quality, meaningful experience to students, but also prepare them for future work; to be a stepping stone in their career. Just how much spring is in the step from that stone will have as much, or more, to do with the institution's links and partnerships with industry as the student's own network.
Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate the clear value to be gained from completing a degree, with an analysis of salaries in the final quarter of 2010 showing graduate employees earn 85% more than those who left school after GCSEs. Even so, 15% of graduates earn less than the average for those who quit school at 16, suggesting there is much more work to be done to improve graduate employability.
More worrying perhaps is latest analysis in this area from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, which suggests that almost 28% of UK graduates who left university in 2007 were still not in full-time work three and a half years later. Figures like these underscore the need for universities to boost their careers advice offering as well as their links with industry. Indeed, these two key activities of any institution should go hand and hand, with one informing the other and vice versa.
We're seeing more focus in the HE marketplace on degrees sponsored by employers, formalised agreements for work placements and the like, but the pace and innovation of such activity must increase. In today's competitive student market, institutions have to offer more than just academic study.
At LSBF, we've recently launched the LSBF Trium UG degree which guarantees a graduate level, full-time job within six months of graduation or a refund of £2,500. This three-pronged programme leads to an undergraduate BA degree, the advanced stage of a professional qualification and completion of a graduate development programme to hone students' interpersonal and professional skills. Professional career coaching, soft skills training and encouragement to do a professional qualification alongside one's degree – these are the services today's students need and which employers are demanding; in other words, a commercial perspective that's highly attuned to the needs of employers and careers of our students
Universities have long provided careers advice, but only when this service is informed and updated through ongoing dialogue with corporate partners will it deliver results for students. I've no doubt most universities would claim to be doing just this, yet many remain saddled by bureaucratic operating models, working practices and infrastructure. Alternative providers have been and continue to be successful at challenging traditional working practices in HE to align with the needs of students and employers alike. That means new programmes of study designed according to what employers and potential students need – as well as internship and placement opportunities that provide real challenge for students, not to mention professional level career coaching and practical skills training to prepare them for the workplace.
Our corporate partners at LSBF indicate that approximately one-third of this year's entry positions are expected to go to graduates with experience of working for their organisation or in their chosen field, whether it's short term work experience or year-long internships. For individuals, the 'power of your network' has long been promoted as a key component of one's career portfolio. Now it's a phrase we're certain to hear increasingly applied to universities and business schools as students and their families are ever more mindful of the value for money of a given degree.
Source: James Kirkbride, Guardian.co.uk, Monday 17th October 2011
The increased questioning of late as to the "worth" of educational qualifications requires that institutions provide a quality, meaningful experience to students, but also prepare them for future work; to be a stepping stone in their career. Just how much spring is in the step from that stone will have as much, or more, to do with the institution's links and partnerships with industry as the student's own network.
Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate the clear value to be gained from completing a degree, with an analysis of salaries in the final quarter of 2010 showing graduate employees earn 85% more than those who left school after GCSEs. Even so, 15% of graduates earn less than the average for those who quit school at 16, suggesting there is much more work to be done to improve graduate employability.
More worrying perhaps is latest analysis in this area from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, which suggests that almost 28% of UK graduates who left university in 2007 were still not in full-time work three and a half years later. Figures like these underscore the need for universities to boost their careers advice offering as well as their links with industry. Indeed, these two key activities of any institution should go hand and hand, with one informing the other and vice versa.
We're seeing more focus in the HE marketplace on degrees sponsored by employers, formalised agreements for work placements and the like, but the pace and innovation of such activity must increase. In today's competitive student market, institutions have to offer more than just academic study.
At LSBF, we've recently launched the LSBF Trium UG degree which guarantees a graduate level, full-time job within six months of graduation or a refund of £2,500. This three-pronged programme leads to an undergraduate BA degree, the advanced stage of a professional qualification and completion of a graduate development programme to hone students' interpersonal and professional skills. Professional career coaching, soft skills training and encouragement to do a professional qualification alongside one's degree – these are the services today's students need and which employers are demanding; in other words, a commercial perspective that's highly attuned to the needs of employers and careers of our students
Universities have long provided careers advice, but only when this service is informed and updated through ongoing dialogue with corporate partners will it deliver results for students. I've no doubt most universities would claim to be doing just this, yet many remain saddled by bureaucratic operating models, working practices and infrastructure. Alternative providers have been and continue to be successful at challenging traditional working practices in HE to align with the needs of students and employers alike. That means new programmes of study designed according to what employers and potential students need – as well as internship and placement opportunities that provide real challenge for students, not to mention professional level career coaching and practical skills training to prepare them for the workplace.
Our corporate partners at LSBF indicate that approximately one-third of this year's entry positions are expected to go to graduates with experience of working for their organisation or in their chosen field, whether it's short term work experience or year-long internships. For individuals, the 'power of your network' has long been promoted as a key component of one's career portfolio. Now it's a phrase we're certain to hear increasingly applied to universities and business schools as students and their families are ever more mindful of the value for money of a given degree.
Source: James Kirkbride, Guardian.co.uk, Monday 17th October 2011
Monday 17 October 2011
Companies should not choose 'perfect' IT staff, says jobs guru
SMEs should be less picky when choosing IT candidates if the UK is to begin plugging the skills gap, according to Jeff Brooks, chair of the Recruitment and Employment Federation for technology, following the release of a skills report last week.
Brooks explained that too many SMEs are looking for a perfect candidate rather than a graduate with potential. He said that if they took a long-term, more forward-thinking approach, they would be "rewarded with a competent worker, who would cost an employer less and stay with the company longer".
The REC research paper, entitled Skills Shortages in the ICT Workplace, provides a number of reasons for the skills gap in ICT, and offers advice to recruiters and employers that will help address the issue.
The reasons for the shortage include: poor pay when compared with other sectors preventing people moving into the sector; the perception of IT workers as geeks; a reluctance to train for a vocational career such as IT; that technology is perceived as too fast-changing; and the fact that outsourcing has led to the belief that there are no entry-level IT jobs.
Brooks explained that in many ways the outlook is bright: "The number of vacancies within our sector has held up throughout the economic downturn because employers are investing more in IT to enhance productivity, reduce costs and drive their future growth. However, shortages currently being experienced give IT recruiters and their clients an ideal opportunity to influence the skills agenda, both in the short and long term.
"Educators, employers, recruiters and the government really need to get to grips with the whole issue to find practical solutions that will influence and inspire young people to consider a career in IT," Brooks said.
The paper recommends that recruitment agencies should work with schools, universities and employers to encourage young people to take ICT-related courses and qualifications. It also said that recruitment agencies should provide expertise to employers, such as telling them what the top universities for particular IT roles are.
"Two main things need to happen: first, the government has to step up and say that a career in IT is great, that candidates are necessary and that it is crucial for the UK. Second, the Department for Education has to invest in its sector as ICT teachers are currently only qualified to teach Word and Excel as opposed to things that an IT practitioner should know," said Brooks.
Brooks believes that students would benefit from being taught computer science as opposed to ICT in school, as it could give them invaluable skills as a developer and a real interest in advancing these with an apprenticeship or degree.
Brooks explained that too many SMEs are looking for a perfect candidate rather than a graduate with potential. He said that if they took a long-term, more forward-thinking approach, they would be "rewarded with a competent worker, who would cost an employer less and stay with the company longer".
The REC research paper, entitled Skills Shortages in the ICT Workplace, provides a number of reasons for the skills gap in ICT, and offers advice to recruiters and employers that will help address the issue.
The reasons for the shortage include: poor pay when compared with other sectors preventing people moving into the sector; the perception of IT workers as geeks; a reluctance to train for a vocational career such as IT; that technology is perceived as too fast-changing; and the fact that outsourcing has led to the belief that there are no entry-level IT jobs.
Brooks explained that in many ways the outlook is bright: "The number of vacancies within our sector has held up throughout the economic downturn because employers are investing more in IT to enhance productivity, reduce costs and drive their future growth. However, shortages currently being experienced give IT recruiters and their clients an ideal opportunity to influence the skills agenda, both in the short and long term.
"Educators, employers, recruiters and the government really need to get to grips with the whole issue to find practical solutions that will influence and inspire young people to consider a career in IT," Brooks said.
The paper recommends that recruitment agencies should work with schools, universities and employers to encourage young people to take ICT-related courses and qualifications. It also said that recruitment agencies should provide expertise to employers, such as telling them what the top universities for particular IT roles are.
"Two main things need to happen: first, the government has to step up and say that a career in IT is great, that candidates are necessary and that it is crucial for the UK. Second, the Department for Education has to invest in its sector as ICT teachers are currently only qualified to teach Word and Excel as opposed to things that an IT practitioner should know," said Brooks.
Brooks believes that students would benefit from being taught computer science as opposed to ICT in school, as it could give them invaluable skills as a developer and a real interest in advancing these with an apprenticeship or degree.
Source: Sooraj Shah, Computing.co.uk, Monday 17th October 2011
Sunday 16 October 2011
Unemployment: Graduates Struggling To Find Jobs In The Downturn
Unemployment figures released on Wednesday show nearly one million 16 to 24 year olds are currently out of work. The downturn has affected Britain's youth from across the economic spectrum.
Three graduates told the Huffington Post UK of their experiences in the job market.
Dan Phillips, a 24-year-old from Sheffield, graduated from the University of Hull with a BA in creative writing in 2008. Having returned home, he found it impossible to find full-time or temporary employment.
"I was looking for general work,” he said. “For more than a year I found it impossible to find employment. I signed on to Job Seekers allowance, which was pretty depressing. It is so difficult to get out of that cycle once you’re in it. Nothing was available. Every week I’d go along and they’d ask me what I’d done to find a job. After a while I just started lying. I told them that I was looking but I wasn't. "There was just no point."
After year of unemployment, Dan enrolled on a Masters course at the University of Sheffield, studying journalism. He graduated in 2010 but found the job market hadn’t changed.
"It’s still pretty bad,” he said. “Sheffield is a huge public sector city – the biggest employers are the two universities, the council and the NHS. With the new government coming in, and the whole Tory plan to replace the public with private, opportunities look likely to be even scarcer. I have had some temporary work in call centres for William Hill and M&S, and I now work eight hours a week in the media centre in Sheffield University Student Union, but it’s less than I would be earning on Job Seekers.”
Laurence Panter is also a 24-year-old graduate. He studied music at Cambridge. After graduating in 2008, he signed up with several temp agencies in Coventry. Struggling to find work, he moved to London at the end of 2008.
“There was little work in London either, so I started teaching piano,” he tells the Huffington Post UK. “I signed up with several teaching agencies and currently work about 10 hours piano tutoring a week. I also spend eight hours a week in a school as a teaching assistant.”
“Last year I went to Beijing to work in a primary school. Now I’m back, people are encouraging me to stay with the teaching, but I’m struggling financially.
“I live in Finsbury Park, North London, and a lot of my work is in Hampton Court and Putney. As such, I’m cycling as many places as possible. Overheads are a real problem.”
“Ideally, I would like to take a post-graduate course in music, but I just can’t afford it.”
Matt Lambert, a 21-year-old from Walthamstow, East London, has struggled to find a position in his chosen field of Journalism since graduating from the University of Nottingham earlier this year.
"I graduated in June and like most graduates I'm struggling with the debt," he told The Huffington Post UK.
For the last four weeks he has been working in a part-time role for 23 hours every week in a Waitrose supermarket until he is able to secure long-term employment.
"It's good work experience, but not ideal," he said.
Though he has completed work experience placement at a publishing house, the current state of the labour market has dramatically impinged on his employment prospects. Though he applies for numerous vacancies, he "never hears" from employers to whom he has applied.
Matt is critical of the reluctance by most employers to offer any suggestions or advice on how to improve his application, though he is maintaining a positive attitude for the future and plans to continue to apply for positions through the economic downturn.
Source: Paul Vale & Sam Hunter, Huffingtonpost.co.uk, Wednesday 12th October 2011
Three graduates told the Huffington Post UK of their experiences in the job market.
Dan Phillips, a 24-year-old from Sheffield, graduated from the University of Hull with a BA in creative writing in 2008. Having returned home, he found it impossible to find full-time or temporary employment.
"I was looking for general work,” he said. “For more than a year I found it impossible to find employment. I signed on to Job Seekers allowance, which was pretty depressing. It is so difficult to get out of that cycle once you’re in it. Nothing was available. Every week I’d go along and they’d ask me what I’d done to find a job. After a while I just started lying. I told them that I was looking but I wasn't. "There was just no point."
After year of unemployment, Dan enrolled on a Masters course at the University of Sheffield, studying journalism. He graduated in 2010 but found the job market hadn’t changed.
"It’s still pretty bad,” he said. “Sheffield is a huge public sector city – the biggest employers are the two universities, the council and the NHS. With the new government coming in, and the whole Tory plan to replace the public with private, opportunities look likely to be even scarcer. I have had some temporary work in call centres for William Hill and M&S, and I now work eight hours a week in the media centre in Sheffield University Student Union, but it’s less than I would be earning on Job Seekers.”
Laurence Panter is also a 24-year-old graduate. He studied music at Cambridge. After graduating in 2008, he signed up with several temp agencies in Coventry. Struggling to find work, he moved to London at the end of 2008.
“There was little work in London either, so I started teaching piano,” he tells the Huffington Post UK. “I signed up with several teaching agencies and currently work about 10 hours piano tutoring a week. I also spend eight hours a week in a school as a teaching assistant.”
“Last year I went to Beijing to work in a primary school. Now I’m back, people are encouraging me to stay with the teaching, but I’m struggling financially.
“I live in Finsbury Park, North London, and a lot of my work is in Hampton Court and Putney. As such, I’m cycling as many places as possible. Overheads are a real problem.”
“Ideally, I would like to take a post-graduate course in music, but I just can’t afford it.”
Matt Lambert, a 21-year-old from Walthamstow, East London, has struggled to find a position in his chosen field of Journalism since graduating from the University of Nottingham earlier this year.
"I graduated in June and like most graduates I'm struggling with the debt," he told The Huffington Post UK.
For the last four weeks he has been working in a part-time role for 23 hours every week in a Waitrose supermarket until he is able to secure long-term employment.
"It's good work experience, but not ideal," he said.
Though he has completed work experience placement at a publishing house, the current state of the labour market has dramatically impinged on his employment prospects. Though he applies for numerous vacancies, he "never hears" from employers to whom he has applied.
Matt is critical of the reluctance by most employers to offer any suggestions or advice on how to improve his application, though he is maintaining a positive attitude for the future and plans to continue to apply for positions through the economic downturn.
Source: Paul Vale & Sam Hunter, Huffingtonpost.co.uk, Wednesday 12th October 2011
Saturday 15 October 2011
KPMG to double school leaver intake in 2012
KPMG is to double its school leaver intake in 2012, the firm announces today, following the successful launch of its new School Leaver Programme. The first year’s intake of students has now joined the firm and will study for an accountancy degree at either Durham or Exeter Universities. The programme has attracted a wide variety of applicants, with two-thirds of school leavers from state schools or Further Education (FE) colleges compared to around half from the traditional graduate entry route. This initiative supports KPMG’s commitment to widening access into the accounting profession.
KPMG’s scheme is the only one in the accountancy sector that combines a job, a university degree with tuition fees paid, a professional accountancy qualification, and a salary.
KPMG opens its doors today to students who will be studying for their accountancy degree at the University of Exeter. They follow on from a first wave of students who will be studying at Durham University. Over 90 students have places on the scheme, which has received widespread interest from young people around the UK.
From September 2012, applicants will have the choice of doing their degree at the University of Birmingham in addition to Durham or Exeter.
Oliver Tant, Head of Audit at KPMG, said: “We are delighted to welcome the first intake of students onto our new School Leaver Programme. In its way, this represents a watershed in the development and history of KPMG. These students will get the best of both worlds – a company paid degree and a salary. We want to widen access into our profession for young people from all backgrounds. It is vital that we cast our net as wide as possible to seek out, and invest in, the very best people that are the future of our business. We also believe that employers have an important role to play in helping to meet the costs of higher education - as it is employers that benefit from the results of higher education, it seems only right that they should also contribute.
“At a time when many young people, graduates included, are finding it difficult to gain employment, this programme represents a credible alternative to mainstream university education and provides an attractive route into employment for talented students.
“We have been very encouraged by praise received from businesspeople, politicians and educationalists for the scheme. As a result, we encourage other businesses to pilot such schemes. Businesses need to help provide new models for the future.”
Rt Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, said: “This KPMG programme provides new opportunities to enter a rewarding profession for people from a wide range of backgrounds. It is a great example of industry investing in the talents of bright young Britons.
“KPMG will reap the rewards of investing in young people whose skills will drive innovation and growth. I want to see more employers take bold and creative steps in partnership with education providers to secure Britain’s future prosperity.”
Professor Robin Mason, Dean, University of Exeter Business School, said: “We have been very pleased by the deserved popularity of the KPMG programme and are looking forward to welcoming the first student cohort onto our highly-regarded accounting degree.
“The Business School has grown considerably over the last four years; this growth has been supported with significant investment by the University, resulting in world-class facilities for students in the Business School. The School is well known for its strong relationships with many leading graduate employers. I’m sure that the programme will continue to attract some of the most talented school leavers and other leading edge companies will follow in KPMG’s footsteps.”
Professor Chris Higgins, Vice-Chancellor and Warden, Durham University, said: “We are pleased to welcome students onto this highly innovative programme which will provide them with the opportunity to gain a rigorous academic degree from one of the world’s leading universities and business schools, whilst also gaining a professional qualification and employment with KPMG, one of the world’s foremost blue-chip employers.
“Durham is a World Top 100 University and is recognised as one of the world’s top 15 universities from which leading global employers wish to recruit graduates. This innovative programme with KPMG continues our long and distinguished history of partnering with leading employers and sets a benchmark for the future.”
Over the next four years the students will divide their time between university and work experience at a KPMG office. KPMG will pay all tuition and university accommodation fees, in addition to a starting salary of around £20,000 (depending on location). Following completion of their degree, they will spend two years obtaining a professional accountancy qualification with all exam fees paid by KPMG.
The students will be based at KPMG offices around the country – from the firm’s Canary Wharf headquarters in London, to offices throughout the regions including Birmingham and Manchester, and Scotland.
Source: Consultant-news.com, Tuesday 20th September 2011
KPMG’s scheme is the only one in the accountancy sector that combines a job, a university degree with tuition fees paid, a professional accountancy qualification, and a salary.
KPMG opens its doors today to students who will be studying for their accountancy degree at the University of Exeter. They follow on from a first wave of students who will be studying at Durham University. Over 90 students have places on the scheme, which has received widespread interest from young people around the UK.
From September 2012, applicants will have the choice of doing their degree at the University of Birmingham in addition to Durham or Exeter.
Oliver Tant, Head of Audit at KPMG, said: “We are delighted to welcome the first intake of students onto our new School Leaver Programme. In its way, this represents a watershed in the development and history of KPMG. These students will get the best of both worlds – a company paid degree and a salary. We want to widen access into our profession for young people from all backgrounds. It is vital that we cast our net as wide as possible to seek out, and invest in, the very best people that are the future of our business. We also believe that employers have an important role to play in helping to meet the costs of higher education - as it is employers that benefit from the results of higher education, it seems only right that they should also contribute.
“At a time when many young people, graduates included, are finding it difficult to gain employment, this programme represents a credible alternative to mainstream university education and provides an attractive route into employment for talented students.
“We have been very encouraged by praise received from businesspeople, politicians and educationalists for the scheme. As a result, we encourage other businesses to pilot such schemes. Businesses need to help provide new models for the future.”
Rt Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, said: “This KPMG programme provides new opportunities to enter a rewarding profession for people from a wide range of backgrounds. It is a great example of industry investing in the talents of bright young Britons.
“KPMG will reap the rewards of investing in young people whose skills will drive innovation and growth. I want to see more employers take bold and creative steps in partnership with education providers to secure Britain’s future prosperity.”
Professor Robin Mason, Dean, University of Exeter Business School, said: “We have been very pleased by the deserved popularity of the KPMG programme and are looking forward to welcoming the first student cohort onto our highly-regarded accounting degree.
“The Business School has grown considerably over the last four years; this growth has been supported with significant investment by the University, resulting in world-class facilities for students in the Business School. The School is well known for its strong relationships with many leading graduate employers. I’m sure that the programme will continue to attract some of the most talented school leavers and other leading edge companies will follow in KPMG’s footsteps.”
Professor Chris Higgins, Vice-Chancellor and Warden, Durham University, said: “We are pleased to welcome students onto this highly innovative programme which will provide them with the opportunity to gain a rigorous academic degree from one of the world’s leading universities and business schools, whilst also gaining a professional qualification and employment with KPMG, one of the world’s foremost blue-chip employers.
“Durham is a World Top 100 University and is recognised as one of the world’s top 15 universities from which leading global employers wish to recruit graduates. This innovative programme with KPMG continues our long and distinguished history of partnering with leading employers and sets a benchmark for the future.”
Over the next four years the students will divide their time between university and work experience at a KPMG office. KPMG will pay all tuition and university accommodation fees, in addition to a starting salary of around £20,000 (depending on location). Following completion of their degree, they will spend two years obtaining a professional accountancy qualification with all exam fees paid by KPMG.
The students will be based at KPMG offices around the country – from the firm’s Canary Wharf headquarters in London, to offices throughout the regions including Birmingham and Manchester, and Scotland.
Source: Consultant-news.com, Tuesday 20th September 2011
Friday 14 October 2011
Almost 14,000 people now claiming job seekers' allowance in Lincolnshire
The number of people stuck in the job queue in Lincolnshire has risen to nearly 14,000 in the past six months.
A total of 13,775 people were recorded as claiming job seekers' allowance last month.
It is up from 13,533 claiming in August and 12,877 this time last year.
But it is 800 people less than in 2009 when the recession was at its peak.
Now, more than a third of those claiming job seeker's allowance are aged 18 to 24 years old, a report from the Lincolnshire Research Observatory has revealed.
This figure – 35 per cent – is blamed on graduates entering the jobs market, but is higher in the county than the national average of 31 per cent.
Chief executive of the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce Simon Beardsley said if young people did not get out into the workplace, they could end up on a downward spiral.
He said: "It's the 18-to-24 figure that concerns me because some will be new to employment and so for them it will be about getting out of that pattern of not being able to find a job and understanding how work is a part of life."
The figure is the highest proportion of total unemployment made up of young people since records began in June 1985.
University of Lincoln spokesman Ian Richards said: "Each summer several thousand graduates will enter the regional labour market after completing their studies.
"Some of these will be from the University of Lincoln, and others will be students returning to Lincolnshire after studying elsewhere.
"To get a true picture of the condition of the graduate labour market, it's helpful to look at the broader context.
"The national graduate destinations survey looks at graduate employment rates six months after graduation.
"The latest survey shows that nationally nine out of ten graduates are in work or further study six months after finishing university. At the University of Lincoln, the figure is even higher at 93 per cent.
"So while the labour market is unquestionably tough, official figures show graduates still have strong employment prospects."
The number of women on the unemployment list has also risen and is put down to job cuts in the public sector where the majority of the workforce in female.
And they also make up 35 per cent of all those claiming unemployment benefit in Lincolnshire, compared to 34 per cent nationally.
In Lincoln, 4,263 people were signing on in September compared to 4,223 in August.
Last year in September, 3,949 people were claiming job seeker's allowance.
In England and Wales, 1,377,187 were claiming benefits in September compared to 1,366,328 in August and 1,251,142 last year.
Source: Thisislincolnshire.co.uk, Friday 14th October 2011
A total of 13,775 people were recorded as claiming job seekers' allowance last month.
It is up from 13,533 claiming in August and 12,877 this time last year.
But it is 800 people less than in 2009 when the recession was at its peak.
Now, more than a third of those claiming job seeker's allowance are aged 18 to 24 years old, a report from the Lincolnshire Research Observatory has revealed.
This figure – 35 per cent – is blamed on graduates entering the jobs market, but is higher in the county than the national average of 31 per cent.
Chief executive of the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce Simon Beardsley said if young people did not get out into the workplace, they could end up on a downward spiral.
He said: "It's the 18-to-24 figure that concerns me because some will be new to employment and so for them it will be about getting out of that pattern of not being able to find a job and understanding how work is a part of life."
The figure is the highest proportion of total unemployment made up of young people since records began in June 1985.
University of Lincoln spokesman Ian Richards said: "Each summer several thousand graduates will enter the regional labour market after completing their studies.
"Some of these will be from the University of Lincoln, and others will be students returning to Lincolnshire after studying elsewhere.
"To get a true picture of the condition of the graduate labour market, it's helpful to look at the broader context.
"The national graduate destinations survey looks at graduate employment rates six months after graduation.
"The latest survey shows that nationally nine out of ten graduates are in work or further study six months after finishing university. At the University of Lincoln, the figure is even higher at 93 per cent.
"So while the labour market is unquestionably tough, official figures show graduates still have strong employment prospects."
The number of women on the unemployment list has also risen and is put down to job cuts in the public sector where the majority of the workforce in female.
And they also make up 35 per cent of all those claiming unemployment benefit in Lincolnshire, compared to 34 per cent nationally.
In Lincoln, 4,263 people were signing on in September compared to 4,223 in August.
Last year in September, 3,949 people were claiming job seeker's allowance.
In England and Wales, 1,377,187 were claiming benefits in September compared to 1,366,328 in August and 1,251,142 last year.
Source: Thisislincolnshire.co.uk, Friday 14th October 2011
Thursday 13 October 2011
Ernst and Young to create 300 posts in Ireland
Business consultancy firm Ernst and Young will create 300 new jobs across Ireland over the next 12 months.
The company has announced plans to recruit 150 workers to its graduate programme from next year.
Another 150 highly skilled professionals will be hired to senior executive positions in consultancy and accountancy from today.
The job boosts come after the company filled another 300 jobs since last November at its offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Belfast.
Most of the new jobs will be based in the Republic, but 21 jobs will be located in Belfast.
The graduate recruits are guaranteed jobs for three-and-a-half years.
The jobs are open to graduates in IT, legal studies, business, accounting and finance. Ernst and Young said the jobs were the result of growing demand for its business consultancy and accountancy services.
The company has announced plans to recruit 150 workers to its graduate programme from next year.
Another 150 highly skilled professionals will be hired to senior executive positions in consultancy and accountancy from today.
The job boosts come after the company filled another 300 jobs since last November at its offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Belfast.
Most of the new jobs will be based in the Republic, but 21 jobs will be located in Belfast.
The graduate recruits are guaranteed jobs for three-and-a-half years.
The jobs are open to graduates in IT, legal studies, business, accounting and finance. Ernst and Young said the jobs were the result of growing demand for its business consultancy and accountancy services.
Source: Anne-Marie Walsh, Belfasttelegraph.co.uk, Thursday 13th October 2011
Wednesday 12 October 2011
Award scheme gives students a head start in the job market
A successful award scheme to help improve students’ chances in an increasingly competitive job market has been re-launched.
The Bristol PLuS Awards have already seen hundreds of students at Bristol University complete the scheme, which is a formal way to recognise the achievements of those who devote time to activities outside their studies.
It is seen as a valuable addition to a graduate’s CV and is endorsed by 17 top graduate employers, including the NHS, Airbus, Rolls Royce and Cancer Research UK.
Students who sign up for the award are expected to complete 50 hours of work experience, either as a volunteer, in a part-time job or an internship.
They must also attend four workshops on employability skills, including interview techniques, take part in an intensive skills-related activity and write a summary of the skills they have gained.
Exceptional efforts will gain a Bristol PLuS Outstanding Award, which involves a presentation to a panel of employers, academics and Careers Service staff. Students must be able to demonstrate high level skills including managing people and resources, project management and commercial awareness in order to achieve this.
Those who perform best on the sports field can take the Sporting PLuS Award which fosters employer-friendly sports accomplishments.
This year sees the addition of the Bristol PLuS Sustainability Award, which encourage participants to devote 25 of the required 50 hours to activities with a positive environmental, social or ethical impact.
Popular graduate recruiters Ernst and Young and Price Waterhouse Coopers have been involved in delivering Intensive Skills Days to give students guidance in leadership, communication and teamwork.
The scheme, launched two years ago, has seen students clock up their 50 hours through a variety of activities – work experience, charity fundraising, organising sporting events or voluntary work in the community.
Caring for a friend or relative is also recognised as a means of gaining valuable employability skills which ensures that part-time or mature students can also get recognition for their efforts outside of their academic commitments.
Last year, 812 students registered for the award – an increase of 75 per cent on the first year.
History student Laura Webster achieved the Bristol PLuS Award last year because she wanted her CV to stand out from the crowd.
She said: “For me, the PLuS Award provided motivation to look into some of the extra-curricular opportunities Bristol has to offer and it was as a result of this that I found an interest in coaching and leading sport. I would definitely recommend applying to anyone.”
Laura completed the Level 2 Sports Leader Award, which involved learning to run activities sessions for children aged between seven and nine-years-old, and complemented this by volunteering at events such as the Bristol Festival of Sport, a three-day event to encourage wider participation in sport among secondary school pupils.
She is currently setting up the University’s first rounders society and will be working towards her Bristol PLuS Outstanding Award this year.
Sarah Whittam, Careers Advisor at the University, said: “It’s been really encouraging to see the rise in the number of students taking part. They see it as a worthwhile scheme to complement their studies and help them to get on the career ladder.
“Employers are much more demanding than they used to be. They want more than a degree, they want evidence of life and work experience and the Bristol PLuS Awards are designed to formalise these extra-curricular achievements.”
Source: Bristol.ac.uk, Monday 10th October 2011
It is seen as a valuable addition to a graduate’s CV and is endorsed by 17 top graduate employers, including the NHS, Airbus, Rolls Royce and Cancer Research UK.
Students who sign up for the award are expected to complete 50 hours of work experience, either as a volunteer, in a part-time job or an internship.
They must also attend four workshops on employability skills, including interview techniques, take part in an intensive skills-related activity and write a summary of the skills they have gained.
Exceptional efforts will gain a Bristol PLuS Outstanding Award, which involves a presentation to a panel of employers, academics and Careers Service staff. Students must be able to demonstrate high level skills including managing people and resources, project management and commercial awareness in order to achieve this.
Those who perform best on the sports field can take the Sporting PLuS Award which fosters employer-friendly sports accomplishments.
This year sees the addition of the Bristol PLuS Sustainability Award, which encourage participants to devote 25 of the required 50 hours to activities with a positive environmental, social or ethical impact.
Popular graduate recruiters Ernst and Young and Price Waterhouse Coopers have been involved in delivering Intensive Skills Days to give students guidance in leadership, communication and teamwork.
The scheme, launched two years ago, has seen students clock up their 50 hours through a variety of activities – work experience, charity fundraising, organising sporting events or voluntary work in the community.
Caring for a friend or relative is also recognised as a means of gaining valuable employability skills which ensures that part-time or mature students can also get recognition for their efforts outside of their academic commitments.
Last year, 812 students registered for the award – an increase of 75 per cent on the first year.
History student Laura Webster achieved the Bristol PLuS Award last year because she wanted her CV to stand out from the crowd.
She said: “For me, the PLuS Award provided motivation to look into some of the extra-curricular opportunities Bristol has to offer and it was as a result of this that I found an interest in coaching and leading sport. I would definitely recommend applying to anyone.”
Laura completed the Level 2 Sports Leader Award, which involved learning to run activities sessions for children aged between seven and nine-years-old, and complemented this by volunteering at events such as the Bristol Festival of Sport, a three-day event to encourage wider participation in sport among secondary school pupils.
She is currently setting up the University’s first rounders society and will be working towards her Bristol PLuS Outstanding Award this year.
Sarah Whittam, Careers Advisor at the University, said: “It’s been really encouraging to see the rise in the number of students taking part. They see it as a worthwhile scheme to complement their studies and help them to get on the career ladder.
“Employers are much more demanding than they used to be. They want more than a degree, they want evidence of life and work experience and the Bristol PLuS Awards are designed to formalise these extra-curricular achievements.”
Source: Bristol.ac.uk, Monday 10th October 2011
Tuesday 11 October 2011
New B&Q Graduate Job Programme
B&Q are to roll out a new graduate job programme and will take in 20 graduates in the first year.
The scheme will put university leavers through graduate training jobs in just 2 to 3 years, by which time the graduates could become store managers of a B&Q outlet. The graduates will start out at B&Q on a salary of £25,000 but could be earning up to 40 per cent more by the time they complete the training programme.
The announcement of the new graduate scheme was made by Euan Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer of Kingfisher UK & Ireland (parent company of B&Q) yesterday at a meeting with MPs.
Mr Sutherland said that although competition in the graduate job market was tough at the moment, applicants who could prove themselves would receive fast track training so that they would be able to run their own store within a few short years of graduation.
“Here at B&Q people are at the heart of what we do and so we are looking for young talent with bags of enthusiasm and a great attitude to work in our team. We’re continuing to invest in youth talent and improving the skills of young people in a number of different ways including our first ever Youth Board, our Job Done! Schools programme, plus a number of new initiatives which will be launching from next year,” said Mr Sutherland.
B&Q has over 300 outlets in the UK and more than 60 in other countries. In the UK alone, the home improvement retailer provides jobs for over 30,000 people.
Source: E4s.co.uk, Tuesday 11th October 2011
The scheme will put university leavers through graduate training jobs in just 2 to 3 years, by which time the graduates could become store managers of a B&Q outlet. The graduates will start out at B&Q on a salary of £25,000 but could be earning up to 40 per cent more by the time they complete the training programme.
The announcement of the new graduate scheme was made by Euan Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer of Kingfisher UK & Ireland (parent company of B&Q) yesterday at a meeting with MPs.
Mr Sutherland said that although competition in the graduate job market was tough at the moment, applicants who could prove themselves would receive fast track training so that they would be able to run their own store within a few short years of graduation.
“Here at B&Q people are at the heart of what we do and so we are looking for young talent with bags of enthusiasm and a great attitude to work in our team. We’re continuing to invest in youth talent and improving the skills of young people in a number of different ways including our first ever Youth Board, our Job Done! Schools programme, plus a number of new initiatives which will be launching from next year,” said Mr Sutherland.
B&Q has over 300 outlets in the UK and more than 60 in other countries. In the UK alone, the home improvement retailer provides jobs for over 30,000 people.
Source: E4s.co.uk, Tuesday 11th October 2011
Monday 10 October 2011
Settle down in a university town
Increasing numbers of students are staying put after they graduate from university and swapping crash pads for permanent homes.
Graduates tend to be wary of returning to their old haunts. There are too many ghosts, too many reminders of their younger, more carefree selves. University is a staging-post, not a place to put down long-term roots.
Or are such attitudes out of date? More and more often, you come across people who have studied at Bristol University, say, and are still living and working in the area 10 years later. With the cost of living so much cheaper than in London, staying on in a vibrant, attractive city is a no-brainer. It is an interesting trend that has implications both for students and their parents.
When you are choosing a university, should you also consider that you might want to settle there permanently? And if you are a parent in a position to buy a flat for your children, should you also factor in the possibility that a temporary crash-pad could metamorphose into a permanent residence?
We have looked at Britain’s university towns and cities and come up with 10 that stand out. They are great places for students to stay on, maybe indefinitely, to discard their undergraduate jeans for the business attire of a young professional.
Cambridge
Why leave a beautiful city such as Cambridge if you don’t have to? The young-professional class has mushroomed there in recent years, with the medical and IT professions particularly well represented. Property buyers prepared to take the long view can put down roots in their twenties, knowing there will be great schools on the doorstep when the patter of tiny feet becomes audible. Funky one-bedroom studios in the sought after Liv development from £149,950 with Bradshaws Residential (01223 472011; www.bradshawsresidential.co.uk).
Bristol
“It is well documented that many ex-Bristol students remain in the city and make their working life here,” says Rupert Oliver of Knight Frank. With major employers ranging from Rolls-Royce to the accountants KPMG, it is not hard to embark on a career where, within a few years, you find yourself living in a property that makes your student digs look like a Dickensian slum. Contemporary one-bedroom apartments at Cabot Court in the city centre start at £110,000 with Knight Frank (0117 317 1999; www.knightfrank.com).
Bath
There’s so much more to Bath than Roman baths and Regency terraces, as any student who ventures off-campus and heads into town will discover. And while it still retains its conservative image of tea shops selling Jane Austen mugs, there’s enough culture and entertainment to keep students and young professionals alike entertained. House prices are steep, but fast trains to London compensate. A two-bedroom flat on Norfolk Crescent is £295,000 with Carter Jonas (01225 750900;www.carterjonas.co.uk).
Manchester
Manchester’s vast student population seems to sprawl right across the city and, although many are birds of passage, London-bound after their studies, thousands stay on, drawn by the flourishing culture of a city that just gets better and better. Popular enclaves for young professionals getting their first foot on the property ladder include Salford Quays, just across the canal from Old Trafford. A two-bedroom apartment at Salford Quays for £130,000 with JJT Residential (0161 877 2111;www.jjtresidential.co.uk).
Edinburgh
Students and young professionals alike are drawn to one of Europe’s most vibrant and cultured cities. As well as the perennially popular New Town, Marchmont and Bruntsfield both have a wide range of buy-to-let student properties that can be adapted for longer-term use. The esteemed Quartermile development, next to the university, is another good bet for those on a bigger budget, where a two-bedroom flat is £425,000 with Knight Frank (0131 222 9600; www.knightfrank.com).
Hull
Hull was pretty charmless in the days when Philip Larkin was the university librarian, but it has come on in leaps and bounds in the past 10 years. There is a substantial professional middle class, decent shops and other amenities and nightlife to appeal to perpetual students of all ages. Property prices seem spectacularly reasonable compared with more fashionable cities. A modern two-bedroom apartment in the city centre is £102,000 with Beercock, Wiles and Wick (01482 343399;www.beercockwiles.co.uk).
Oxford
Should the Dreaming Spires be rebranded the Working Spires? Students swilling champagne in punts are outnumbered by young professionals in every field. There are some interesting new developments, particularly along the canal, and although property prices are high, they compare so well with London that more and more Oxford graduates are finding it hard to leave their alma mater. A two-bedroom apartment at the Waterways development is £375,000 with James C Penny (01865 554422;www.jamescpenny.co.uk).
Newcastle
Conditions can be arctic in winter, but Newcastle has been transformed into a vibrant, cosmopolitan city. What’s more, property prices are reasonable and there is some great countryside on your doorstep. Graduates who still have the soul of students and love clubbing could well find both the job and the property they are looking for on the banks of the Tyne. A two-bedroom duplex apartment in the heart of the city is £225,000 with Pattinson (0800 242426; www.pattinson.co.uk).
Nottingham
A great all-round city, with a large student population supplemented by a thriving business and legal community. It is becoming common for students at Nottingham University to loiter for a year, or two, or three, and wake up to discover they are married with two children and a nice house in the Nottinghamshire countryside. A three-bedroom apartment in The Park, one of the best addresses in the city, is £250,000 with Frank Innes (0115 906 3290; www.frankinnes.co.uk)
Southampton
Only 75 minutes from London by train, Southampton is not just a busy port, but has a sophisticated choice of shops, restaurants and cafés. Students and young professionals enjoy a happy cheek-by-jowl existence. It is also a great place to raise a family, with the sea and the New Forest both in proximity. One-bedroom apartments at the Compass-SO14 development (020 8313 0660; www.thecompass-SO14.com) start from £120,000 or £30,000 for a 25 per cent share.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Monday 10th October 2011
Graduates tend to be wary of returning to their old haunts. There are too many ghosts, too many reminders of their younger, more carefree selves. University is a staging-post, not a place to put down long-term roots.
Or are such attitudes out of date? More and more often, you come across people who have studied at Bristol University, say, and are still living and working in the area 10 years later. With the cost of living so much cheaper than in London, staying on in a vibrant, attractive city is a no-brainer. It is an interesting trend that has implications both for students and their parents.
When you are choosing a university, should you also consider that you might want to settle there permanently? And if you are a parent in a position to buy a flat for your children, should you also factor in the possibility that a temporary crash-pad could metamorphose into a permanent residence?
We have looked at Britain’s university towns and cities and come up with 10 that stand out. They are great places for students to stay on, maybe indefinitely, to discard their undergraduate jeans for the business attire of a young professional.
Cambridge
Why leave a beautiful city such as Cambridge if you don’t have to? The young-professional class has mushroomed there in recent years, with the medical and IT professions particularly well represented. Property buyers prepared to take the long view can put down roots in their twenties, knowing there will be great schools on the doorstep when the patter of tiny feet becomes audible. Funky one-bedroom studios in the sought after Liv development from £149,950 with Bradshaws Residential (01223 472011; www.bradshawsresidential.co.uk).
Bristol
“It is well documented that many ex-Bristol students remain in the city and make their working life here,” says Rupert Oliver of Knight Frank. With major employers ranging from Rolls-Royce to the accountants KPMG, it is not hard to embark on a career where, within a few years, you find yourself living in a property that makes your student digs look like a Dickensian slum. Contemporary one-bedroom apartments at Cabot Court in the city centre start at £110,000 with Knight Frank (0117 317 1999; www.knightfrank.com).
Bath
There’s so much more to Bath than Roman baths and Regency terraces, as any student who ventures off-campus and heads into town will discover. And while it still retains its conservative image of tea shops selling Jane Austen mugs, there’s enough culture and entertainment to keep students and young professionals alike entertained. House prices are steep, but fast trains to London compensate. A two-bedroom flat on Norfolk Crescent is £295,000 with Carter Jonas (01225 750900;www.carterjonas.co.uk).
Manchester
Manchester’s vast student population seems to sprawl right across the city and, although many are birds of passage, London-bound after their studies, thousands stay on, drawn by the flourishing culture of a city that just gets better and better. Popular enclaves for young professionals getting their first foot on the property ladder include Salford Quays, just across the canal from Old Trafford. A two-bedroom apartment at Salford Quays for £130,000 with JJT Residential (0161 877 2111;www.jjtresidential.co.uk).
Edinburgh
Students and young professionals alike are drawn to one of Europe’s most vibrant and cultured cities. As well as the perennially popular New Town, Marchmont and Bruntsfield both have a wide range of buy-to-let student properties that can be adapted for longer-term use. The esteemed Quartermile development, next to the university, is another good bet for those on a bigger budget, where a two-bedroom flat is £425,000 with Knight Frank (0131 222 9600; www.knightfrank.com).
Hull
Hull was pretty charmless in the days when Philip Larkin was the university librarian, but it has come on in leaps and bounds in the past 10 years. There is a substantial professional middle class, decent shops and other amenities and nightlife to appeal to perpetual students of all ages. Property prices seem spectacularly reasonable compared with more fashionable cities. A modern two-bedroom apartment in the city centre is £102,000 with Beercock, Wiles and Wick (01482 343399;www.beercockwiles.co.uk).
Oxford
Should the Dreaming Spires be rebranded the Working Spires? Students swilling champagne in punts are outnumbered by young professionals in every field. There are some interesting new developments, particularly along the canal, and although property prices are high, they compare so well with London that more and more Oxford graduates are finding it hard to leave their alma mater. A two-bedroom apartment at the Waterways development is £375,000 with James C Penny (01865 554422;www.jamescpenny.co.uk).
Newcastle
Conditions can be arctic in winter, but Newcastle has been transformed into a vibrant, cosmopolitan city. What’s more, property prices are reasonable and there is some great countryside on your doorstep. Graduates who still have the soul of students and love clubbing could well find both the job and the property they are looking for on the banks of the Tyne. A two-bedroom duplex apartment in the heart of the city is £225,000 with Pattinson (0800 242426; www.pattinson.co.uk).
Nottingham
A great all-round city, with a large student population supplemented by a thriving business and legal community. It is becoming common for students at Nottingham University to loiter for a year, or two, or three, and wake up to discover they are married with two children and a nice house in the Nottinghamshire countryside. A three-bedroom apartment in The Park, one of the best addresses in the city, is £250,000 with Frank Innes (0115 906 3290; www.frankinnes.co.uk)
Southampton
Only 75 minutes from London by train, Southampton is not just a busy port, but has a sophisticated choice of shops, restaurants and cafés. Students and young professionals enjoy a happy cheek-by-jowl existence. It is also a great place to raise a family, with the sea and the New Forest both in proximity. One-bedroom apartments at the Compass-SO14 development (020 8313 0660; www.thecompass-SO14.com) start from £120,000 or £30,000 for a 25 per cent share.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Monday 10th October 2011
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