Is the 2:1 an effective gauge of a graduate's employability – and if not, why are employers increasingly using it as a filter? That was the question under discussion by graduate recruitment and higher education experts in London last week.
Delegates at the Graduate AnswerTime event, hosted by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), Bernard Hodes Group and Totaljobs.com, heard that around three-quarters of large graduate employers – a proportion that has risen significantly in the past two years – routinely use the 2:1 to sift out applications. But despite that, most employers say they have little faith in the integrity of the classification.
A poll earlier this week on the Guardian Careers site revealed that around 60% of readers thought employers should stop using the 2:1 to shortlist graduate applications. This year will see the national rolling out of the new Higher Education Achievement Report (Hear), following the recommendations of a steering group led by the Leicester University vice-chancellor Robert Burgess, which described traditional degree classifications as "a blunt instrument". Hear reports are intended to provide a more rounded measure of students' abilities, but initially will complement rather than replace traditional degree grades.
The Hear report is welcomed by the AGR, despite its chief executive, Carl Gilleard, admitting that 75% of its member organisations now use the 2:1 as their primary screening tool. He said this had risen from around 66% during the last two years, simply because it is a legal way of reducing the volume of applications. "Last year there was an average of 83 applications for each job," Gilleard said. "Employers have to find a way of getting them down to manageable numbers.
"If you include the 2:2, that takes you up to 98% of employers, so pity the poor graduate with a third. They don't stand a chance of getting a job with a large corporate organisation."
Abigail Morris, employment adviser for the British Chamber of Commerce, which represents many small- and medium-sized enterprises, said despite BCC members' mistrust of the qualification, many did not have the capacity to use other criteria. "SMEs often do not have the time or HR resource to go through all those CVs, so they use the 2:1 to sift. But what businesses tell us is that they don't trust qualifications as a whole. Of a survey of 6,000 businesses, only 45% said they were very or fairly confident of taking on a graduate."
Mark Fuller, communications director of the 1994 Group of universities, said many graduates with good degrees were still under the misapprehension that a 2:1 or above was "a Willy Wonka-style golden ticket" and that candidates needed use the university experience to sell themselves more. "It all adds up to what kind of potential employee you could be," he said.
This week saw a separate Ernst & Young survey of graduate employability skills. Devised by the Centre of Applied Positive Psychology, the survey of 1,000 graduates suggested that while the current crop tend to excel at problem solving and relationship building, they lack resilience, time optimisation and risk-taking skills.
Stephen Isherwood, head of graduate recruitment at Ernst & Young said: "A good degree from a respected university no longer guarantees a job. We interview over 3,000 bright graduates every year, but only about 25% have the all-round skill set we recruit for."
He added: "You don't need to have thrown yourself out of a plane to show that you have a sense of adventure or are resilient. Think about examples from your work experience placements or even your part-time job."
The survey showed 83% of graduates were optimistic about achieving their career aspirations. However, Isherwood warned against complacency. "To get that first step on the career ladder, students need to be building their CVs with experiences that will help to develop their skills. This process needs to start at secondary school, rather than the last year of university."
Source: Graham Snowdon, Guardian.co.uk, Friday 10th February 2012
Delegates at the Graduate AnswerTime event, hosted by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), Bernard Hodes Group and Totaljobs.com, heard that around three-quarters of large graduate employers – a proportion that has risen significantly in the past two years – routinely use the 2:1 to sift out applications. But despite that, most employers say they have little faith in the integrity of the classification.
A poll earlier this week on the Guardian Careers site revealed that around 60% of readers thought employers should stop using the 2:1 to shortlist graduate applications. This year will see the national rolling out of the new Higher Education Achievement Report (Hear), following the recommendations of a steering group led by the Leicester University vice-chancellor Robert Burgess, which described traditional degree classifications as "a blunt instrument". Hear reports are intended to provide a more rounded measure of students' abilities, but initially will complement rather than replace traditional degree grades.
The Hear report is welcomed by the AGR, despite its chief executive, Carl Gilleard, admitting that 75% of its member organisations now use the 2:1 as their primary screening tool. He said this had risen from around 66% during the last two years, simply because it is a legal way of reducing the volume of applications. "Last year there was an average of 83 applications for each job," Gilleard said. "Employers have to find a way of getting them down to manageable numbers.
"If you include the 2:2, that takes you up to 98% of employers, so pity the poor graduate with a third. They don't stand a chance of getting a job with a large corporate organisation."
Abigail Morris, employment adviser for the British Chamber of Commerce, which represents many small- and medium-sized enterprises, said despite BCC members' mistrust of the qualification, many did not have the capacity to use other criteria. "SMEs often do not have the time or HR resource to go through all those CVs, so they use the 2:1 to sift. But what businesses tell us is that they don't trust qualifications as a whole. Of a survey of 6,000 businesses, only 45% said they were very or fairly confident of taking on a graduate."
Mark Fuller, communications director of the 1994 Group of universities, said many graduates with good degrees were still under the misapprehension that a 2:1 or above was "a Willy Wonka-style golden ticket" and that candidates needed use the university experience to sell themselves more. "It all adds up to what kind of potential employee you could be," he said.
This week saw a separate Ernst & Young survey of graduate employability skills. Devised by the Centre of Applied Positive Psychology, the survey of 1,000 graduates suggested that while the current crop tend to excel at problem solving and relationship building, they lack resilience, time optimisation and risk-taking skills.
Stephen Isherwood, head of graduate recruitment at Ernst & Young said: "A good degree from a respected university no longer guarantees a job. We interview over 3,000 bright graduates every year, but only about 25% have the all-round skill set we recruit for."
He added: "You don't need to have thrown yourself out of a plane to show that you have a sense of adventure or are resilient. Think about examples from your work experience placements or even your part-time job."
The survey showed 83% of graduates were optimistic about achieving their career aspirations. However, Isherwood warned against complacency. "To get that first step on the career ladder, students need to be building their CVs with experiences that will help to develop their skills. This process needs to start at secondary school, rather than the last year of university."
Source: Graham Snowdon, Guardian.co.uk, Friday 10th February 2012
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