Fighting talk, as pay rises by 4% but vacancies fall

After another week of gloomy employment forecasts, those preparing to graduate this summer and test the icy waters of the jobs market might be forgiven for wanting to dive back into bed and pull their duvets safely over their heads.

With the economy suffering a worse than-expected contraction and amood of pessimism pervading the World Economic Forum in Davos, there was, at least, a modicum of good news from the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR). The employers' body anticipates starting salaries will increase by 4% this year which, if fulfilled, would represent the largest rise since 2005, when they went up by 7%.

"The predicted increase is significant and sizeable, particularly given the context of starting salaries remaining stagnant for the past three years," says Carl Gilleard, the AGR's chief executive. "This will, no doubt, be welcome news to the government and the higher education sector, but, moreover, to graduates themselves."

Yet even that rare morsel of optimism was tempered by the AGR's forecast that the overall number of graduate vacancies this year will fall by 1.2%. Given that a 1.7% rise in vacancies last year did little to meet demand in the febrile jobs market, it's clear that this year's university leavers can expect a tough scrap, even by the standards of recent years.

Many of last year's crop remain on the jobhunting scene. Research released earlier in the week by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit shows more than 80% of students who completed three-year degrees last summer, felt they had the skills employers sought, but 84% felt it was more difficult than ever to find work.

Professional services firm PwC, the UK's largest private sector graduate recruiter, is reporting record levels of interest in its 1,200 roles, as students appear to be starting the career process earlier and with more focus. "Applications are 33% ahead of this time last year and about half of all our full-time graduate roles for 2012 were secured before Christmas," says Gaenor Bagley, PwC's head of people. "We opened recruitment earlier this year, responding to students' interest and demand."

Around 380 of those roles will be filled by PwC's crop of student interns, of whom 85% go on to join the company full-time, and Bagley advises students to consider seriously the internship route. "[Interns] represent a great return on the investment," she says. "Students get a good look into our business, so they know what they're signing up to, and are better able to hit the ground running once they join full time. We think this is something that will only grow, and shows the need for students to be career-savvy at university, college or even school if they are to compete for the top jobs. They can't leave thinking about their career until university."

PwC's accountancy rival Ernst & Young has also witnessed a dramatic rise in competition for places. "We saw a 21% increase in applications for our graduate programme, and a staggering 43% for our undergraduate work experience programmes towards the end of last year," says Stephen Isherwood, Ernst & Young's head of graduate recruitment.

"To stand out from the crowd, graduates need to build up their work experience. It's a great way of showing potential employers that you have initiative, and are equipped with skills for the workplace. We're aiming to recruit over 50% of our graduate trainees from our various work experience and internship programmes, so it can also provide a real foot in the door."

The AGR survey also found that nearly all recruiters (96%) are actively exploiting online recruiting avenues such as social media, job boards and company websites to target students. But, despite this, a similarly high proportion still intend to visit universities and be on campuses. A signal, perhaps, that it may not be wise to cower under the duvet for too long.

Source: Graham Snowdon, Guardian.co.uk, Friday 27th January 2012