SMEs need infrastructure for bringing graduates on board

Over half of students at top UK universities cannot name a single SME (small or medium-sized enterprise), according to a survey from internship recruitment agency Instant Impact Interns.

However, 64% of the students surveyed also said that wanted to start their career at an SME and the Chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement highlighted the importance of such firms in stimulating economic recovery.

Rob Blythe, directors of Instant Impact Interns, says: “George Osborne has announced plans to stimulate economic recovery by getting credit flowing to Britain's small businesses. But to sustain their growth we also need to get talent flowing to Britain's small businesses.”

Co-director Felix Mitchell adds: “There is currently no infrastructure in place for students to find opportunities at these smaller firms.

“The graduate employment market is still dominated by the 'bulge bracket', the 'big four' and the 'magic circle'. It is extremely difficult for SMEs to compete in such a noisy market place – they need to develop a brand identity.”

12th December 2011
www.recruiter.co.uk  

'I’m a graduate, get me out of here!’

Jobless Cait Reilly is taking legal action against being forced to work for nothing in Poundland or lose her jobseeker's allowance. But how typical is her situation?

It’s been quite a week for 22-year-old Cait Reilly. After spending 18 months waiting in vain for her phone to ring with the offer of any one of the hundreds of jobs she has applied for since graduating in the summer of 2010 from Birmingham University, these past few days it hasn’t stopped. And all because of two weeks on a government unemployment programme in her local Poundland in King’s Heath, West Midlands.

A triumph for the scheme presented by ministers as giving 250,000 claimants on jobseekers’ allowance a helping hand back into the workforce? Not quite. For Reilly has made headlines because she is mounting a legal challenge to what she says was the “forced labour” of being made to stack shelves for free in the discount retailer, or lose her £53-a-week in dole. “I was told it was mandatory. There were five of us sent there. I was the only graduate. We were doing exactly the same work as the paid staff. It makes no sense. If the Government subsidises high street chains with free labour, they don’t have to recruit. It causes unemployment rather than solves it.”

What makes the mandatory placement more puzzling, adds Reilly, whose degree was geology, was that going to Poundland meant she had to give up a volunteer post she had at the local Pen Room Museum, part of her plan to gain the experience that would help her along her chosen career path as a curator.

“Right now, I would take any job. I have £18,000 in student debts to pay off and the interest is building all the time. That really worries me. But I have plenty of retail experience already on my CV. I didn’t need to go to Poundland. And I was never told I had a choice.”

Her adviser at the Job Centre has, she reports, been replaced. The Department of Work and Pensions, which oversees the scheme, has responded to her allegations by insisting that, within reason, such “sector-based work academy” schemes are optional. And Chris Grayling, the employment minister, has in the past robustly defended the programme, pointing out that “half of young people leave benefits after they have completed their placement”.

The problem in Reilly’s case seems to be that, as a graduate, her career expectations were different from many other claimants. But she is not, in reality, so unusual. Of those who graduated at the same time as her, in 2010, half were either jobless six months later, or in menial roles. Another survey reports that 38 per cent of graduates have been on the dole after leaving university. And longer-term data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency reveals that 28 per cent of 2006 graduates were not in full-time employment three years later, while, among those who were, only 16 per cent of the men were earning over £20,000, and 29 per cent of the women.

This last figure is particularly significant since, under new tuition fee arrangements, those embarking from this September on degree courses that will cost up to £9,000 a year will only have to start repaying their tuition fees once their income rises above £21,000. The Treasury, it seems, may be about to take a substantial hit.

Reilly remains phlegmatic about her joblessness. “Someone is getting the posts I am applying for, so I have to believe that one day that person will be me. That’s the logic.”

Does she regret not tackling something more vocational – law, medicine, engineering – rather than geology?

“I did think about that before I started, but I loved the subject and geology can provide a whole range of careers in civil engineering, mining, oil exploration and property. So it was a practical choice.” But of her cohort, she says, only one – “and he got a first” – has got a job that uses his degree.

Defending the hike in tuition fees, the Government argues that undergraduates are speculating to accumulate. By taking out loans to pay for a higher education, they are giving themselves the prospect of better-paid careers than school-leavers that will more than justify that investment. However, the Office of National Statistics reported last August that a quarter of graduates are earning less than contemporaries who joined the workforce after A-levels. And even with the other three quarters, the graduate pay premium is shrinking. One factor, it seems, is that the rapid expansion in higher education under Labour has seen the percentage of university-educated workers grow since 1993 from 12 to 25 per cent. And it continues to rise.

“I don’t regret going to university,” says Holly Jerreat, 22, who graduated last summer with a 2:1 in languages from Bath, “but with hindsight I might have done a more vocational course. I chose languages because it was a subject I loved and found intellectually challenging. But here I am, still looking for work.”

Jerreat, who has returned home to live with her parents in Kent, has filled in “endless application forms” for graduate posts in marketing, advertising and media, and has come very close several times to landing the job of her dreams, but the competition is stiff and openings few and far between. To pay her way in the interim, she has applied “for every job going in our local Bluewater shopping centre. I write off, send in CVs, go in and ask face-to-face, and then get told I am over-qualified.” Currently she is doing a part-time administrative post she got through a family connection. “Basically I do the shredding.”

In these hard times for recent graduates, such family connections – much decried by the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, as “the exclusive preserve of the sharp-elbowed and the well-connected” – are one way to gain an advantage.

“I spent a year and a half doing various temping jobs,” says 25-year-old Howard de Podesta, who graduated in aerospace engineering from Bath, “before getting a job in product design in financial IT off the back of an internship. That is the route many graduates go down now.”

People like 24-year-old Kate Ross, who graduated in combined social sciences from Durham in 2009, and then landed a three-month paid internship with a hotel management company with the help of her sister who worked in recruitment. “Having that experience helped me impress my current employer, a property company. Without experience, no one will touch you, however good your degree or your university. You have somehow to find a way to get that experience.”

Unpaid internships, though, especially in London and big cities, depend on being able to rely on family for free accommodation and pocket money. Ross squared the circle by taking a part-time post as a live-in au pair, even though she had no formal training in caring for children. “I was actually better off when I was living for nothing there than when I started work properly and had to pay rent on a flat.”

And therein is another problem. Even when graduates find jobs, starting salaries are so low that it makes it very hard to stand on your own.

“It seems to take friends from university around a year to find a 'proper’ job,” recounts Jerreat, “but they rarely pay more than £18,000. Once you have stated paying back your student loans, which kicks in at £15,000 for my age group, and then pay rent, it really doesn’t leave anything to live on.”

The unpaid internship industry is, says Cait Reilly, pretty much a closed book for her. “I think it probably does skew the market against people like me. I live at home, but my parents can’t afford to support me. I have to make a contribution to my living costs. If I had the option of not signing on, I’d take it like a shot. It tars me with the same brush in the eyes of those who see anyone claiming benefits as lazy or scroungers. And yes, I would be prepared to travel and live somewhere else for work, but it would have to be paid for me to afford to be able to do it.”

So has her week of making headlines and taking calls helped her job search? “No,” she reports flatly. “Or not yet. Some of my friends think I am mad to go to court, that the legal action will mean that no employer will want anything to do with me, but for me it is an abuse that needs highlighting. The idea that any work experience, however irrelevant and menial, will be beneficial just doesn’t add up.”

Source: Peter Stanford, Telegraph.co.uk, Friday 13th January 2012

Graduate recruitment set to increase but only for those with work experience

Employers expect to hire 6.4% more graduates in 2012 than they did in 2011 but graduates who have no work experience at all whilst at university stand little or no chance of getting a job offer from the country’s most prestigious graduate employers.

The Graduate Market in 2012 - a study of graduate vacancies and starting salaries at Britain's one hundred leading employers conducted by High Fliers Research in December 2011, found a record 36% of this year's graduate vacancies are expected to be filled by applicants who have already worked for the organisation during their studies.

Half the employers included in the research have increased their graduate recruitment targets for 2012 and there are additional roles on offer in nine of the 14 industries and employment areas featured in the report. Despite the recruitment freeze at many Government departments and agencies, graduate vacancies in the public sector are expected to increase by a fifth this year - in part because of the expansion of the Teach First scheme which is set to hire 1,000 graduates for the first time in 2012. There are also more opportunities at engineering & industrial companies, IT & telecommunication firms, high street banks, investment banks and retailers.

On average, employers have received 19% more applications for their graduate programmes this year, with some recruiters reporting double the usual volume of applicants in the early part of their 2011-2012 recruitment campaign. A number of well-known organisations have already closed
off the application process for their 2012 positions. In 2011, recruiters received an average of 48 applications per graduate vacancy.

The majority of employers are not planning to increase their graduate remuneration in 2012 - the average graduate starting salary remains at £29,000 for the third year running.

Despite the widespread recruitment freeze at Government departments & agencies, public sector employers are planning to expand their graduate intake by 21.9% in 2012, an increase of almost 500 additional roles year-on-year.

There will also be a substantial rise in the number of graduate jobs available at engineering & industrial companies (up 22.4% compared to 2011), IT & telecommunications firms (up 31.6%), high street banks (up 16.0%) & retailers (up 11.5%).

Although these recruitment targets for 2012 are encouraging and build on the increases in vacancies seen in 2011 and 2010, graduate recruitment at the UK's leading employers remains below pre-recession levels. Across all the organisations featured within the research, graduate recruitment in 2012 is still 6% below that recorded in 2007. By contrast, an extra 50,000 new graduates are expected to leave university in the summer of 2012, compared

The five universities most-often targeted by Britain's top graduate employers in 2011-2012 are Manchester, London (including Imperial College, University College and the London School of Economics) Cambridge, Nottingham and Oxford.

Virtually all of the UK's leading graduate employers are offering paid work experience programmes for students and recent graduates during the 2011-2012 academic year - a total of 11,296 places are available.

Managing director of High Fliers Research, Martin Birchall said: 
"With a record number of students due to finish university in 2012, it's very welcome news that Britain's best-known and most sought-after employers are offering more graduate vacancies this year, especially considering the continuing uncertainty about the wider economic outlook. 
But today's report includes the stark warning to the 'Class of 2012' that in a highly competitive graduate job market, new graduates who've not had any work experience at all during their time at university have little hope of landing a well-paid job with a leading employer, irrespective of the academic results they achieve or the university they've attended."

Source: David Woods, HRmagazine, Friday 13th January 2012

Graduate recruitment returns to “pre-2007 levels"

Graduate recruitment in 2012 is set to be up by 6.4% on last year, indicating a return to pre-recession levels.

The Graduate Market in 2012 survey showed that 10 out of the 15 industries represented in The Times top 100 employers are planning to hire, while the median starting salary remained at £29,000 across all sectors.

This news has been welcomed by PwC, who are already heavily committed to graduate recruitment. Out of 1,200 PwC trainee vacancies, 25% go to former interns, a figure which Mark Menton, director at PwC North East, believes is indicative of the firms’ commitment to nurturing young talent.

He commented: “Graduate recruitment is the lifeblood of our business. That’s why we continue to invest heavily in offering outstanding opportunities to students.

“The biggest shift over the past few years is that competition for talented students no longer starts in the run up to graduation, employers start competing for the attention of talented students from their first day on campus, or before they even leave schools and colleges.”

Early paid work experience can be key for both employers and students as it gives both parties the opportunity to asses first hand potential career opportunities. Likewise the return investment which both receive from the arrangement is becoming increasingly attractive.

Lat year PwC expanded its intern programme by 50% after attracting record numbers of applications

Mr Menton continued: “We think early identification of talent, whether in schools, colleges or on campus will only become more important as the fight for the best jobs becomes more pronounced. The survey results reinforce this trend.

Source: Bdaily.co.uk, Wednesday 11th January 2012

Graduate job competition hots up

More than a third of new graduate jobs this year will go to students who have already worked for the employer – a record high – as competition for positions ratchets up, an analysis has shown.

The class of 2012 is set for further misery as a third of applications for graduate posts have come already from those who left university last summer or earlier, the study from High Fliers Research showed.

A fifth of employers said application levels had soared by at least 25pc, the research revealed.

However, the number of graduate vacancies is expected to rise by 6.4pc this year, up from the 16,408 university leavers recruited in 2011, the analysis of 100 graduate employers showed.

The forecast is much higher than last year's 2.8pc increase, although it is subject to change as companies revise recruitment targets throughout the year, and still remains 6pc below pre-recession levels.

An extra 50,000 graduates are set to leave university this summer compared with five years ago, suggesting the scramble for placements will intensify.

Employers have already received 19pc more graduate applications for roles compared with last year, meaning opportunities are dwindling for those who have not yet applied.

More than half of the recruiters warned graduates with no previous work experience had "little or no chance" of landing a job this year.

Worryingly, separate research today shows one in four recent graduates has turned down a job offer because they felt they were over-qualified or the role wasn't suitable. The poll of 450 graduates, carried out by Network Rail, comes as the rail operator launches an 18-month placement scheme.

Investment banking applications have grown by 9pc year-on-year, High Fliers said, suggesting the sector is shaking off the impact of "banker bashing" in the UK. But the report showed three quarters of investment bank graduate jobs will be taken by candidates who have completed industry placements.

In a move which appears to contradict the Government's recruitment freeze, the public sector is planning to expand its graduate intake by 21.9pc this year, an increase of 500 roles year-on-year.

The engineering, IT, high street banking and retail sectors are also expecting substantial rises in graduate jobs compared to last year, with the "Big Four" accounting firms among the largest graduate employers, taking on almost 4,000 roles between them.

But in a further sign the labour market remains flat, graduate starting salaries will stay at about £29,000 for the third consecutive year.

Elsewhere, a report showed the labour market has been "contracting". The number of permanent vacancies declined for the third consecutive month in December, a survey from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG showed.

In brighter news, a report from Monster, the jobs website, showed a 6pc rise in roles advertised online over the past year, with skilled workers in more demand.

Source: Louisa Peacock, Telegraph.co.uk, Wednesday 11th January 2012

The UK is under threat of a brain drain as students look abroad for jobs

High achieving graduates are looking abroad for their first graduate job.

Half of UK students are considering leaving the country as the job outlook is set to worsen. Figures taken from the Trendence Graduate Barometer UK edition have found that of the 15,000 students surveyed, the top five countries that they would relocate to are the US (63%), Australia (47%), Canada (38%), France (35%), and New Zealand (33%).

Among the students surveyed was a category of high achieving students which 32% of this group said they would leave the country to find a graduate position abroad. Only 9% of the respondents said they would not relocate to anywhere.

Trendence UK accounts director Kathryn Callow said: "We're at high risk of losing some of our most talented and hard working students to other countries. Our data shows many of these students are willing to work more than 55 hours per week and want to perform highly in their jobs, yet they feel they want to go abroad because they can't find opportunities to further their ability in the UK.

"We're at risk of a 'talent drain' because of the current job market and the impact of constant bad news which tells students and graduates there are no jobs available and that future prospects are bleak."

A survey by SHL has found that many graduates would be prepared to work unpaid to be able to gain experience in their chosen field in order to get their preferred graduate job.

Sean Howard VP Business Solutions, SHL, comments, “The UK is failing its graduates. School leavers are faced with difficult decisions, not only has the cost of going to university risen, but UK employment options are bleak. Graduates are also under pressure to undertake unpaid internships in order to gain a foothold on the career ladder. It’s not just university that carries a high price, but gaining work experience too. This could mean a future where the best jobs are reserved for those that can afford to attend university and clock up the most unpaid experience. Understandably our graduates are open to the idea of seeking their career abroad, and the UK industry is faced with a potential brain drain.”

He continues, “What also really strikes me about these results is that graduates are missing a trick when it comes to social media, yet they are the generation that uses this communication channel so much in their personal lives. It appears the potential for social media to aid job hunting has not yet been realised by graduates.”

Source: Pareto.co.uk, Monday 9th January 2012

Graduates value training and development over pay and benefits

Ernst and Young has found that graduates value training and development over pay.

Graduates are more focused on developing their skills thought training rather than a high pay package. Graduates name training and development as their most important consideration when applying for their first graduate job.

Salary benefits were the second most important factor which was followed by business reputation. People and culture and work/life balance came in third and fourth respectively. These findings are almost identical in comparison to the survey conducted in 2007.

Stephen Isherwood, Head of Graduate Recruitment, Ernst & Young, says: “The poll raises interesting questions around the expectations of the post-recession class of 2011 versus those of 2007, who were graduating into an uncertain future.

“Despite the burden of university debts, today’s graduates still see their first job as a prime opportunity to gain qualifications and skills which can benefit them long into the future.”

Source: Pareto.co.uk, Friday 6th January 2012

12 tips that’ll get you a graduate job in 2012

Whether you’re a first year or a finalist, there’s no time like the New Year to power up your graduate career planning. January has long been a favourite month for jobhunters, and there’s no time like the present to get started on changing your life. So if you’ve been suffering from a spot of post-Christmas lethargy, or need some inspiration for your New Year career resolutions, our 12 tips for 2012 should help to spur you into action.

1. Don’t expect too much of yourself. Set yourself realistic, regular goals for jobhunting success.
2. Do you know what your strengths are? Are you aware of the full range of different careers that match your unique skills and interests? If you haven’t already, make use of our targetjobs.co.uk career planner.
3. Still short on ideas? Find out the key skills you gain from different degrees and check career options for graduates who have studied subjects ranging from modern languages to psychology.
4. Audit and manage your online profile. Check out what employers can find out about you, then make sure it’s what you want them to see.
5. Create a LinkedIn profile – but read our quick guide first to make sure you make the most of it.
6. Check your deadlines. This is a very busy time for graduate scheme and internship deadlines, with dozens of opportunities closing this week alone on targetjobs.co.uk, and many more to come before the end of January. Search all our graduate job vacancies, or browse a selection ofgraduate schemes in different key career areas. Even if you’re not applying for jobs yet, take a look at what’s out there.
7. Check out our model CVs to help you on your way with putting yours together (remember, adapt it for each graduate job application).
8. Here’s why you don’t need to worry about including a personal statement in your CV.
9. When you submit online application forms for graduate jobs, make sure you tailor each one for the employer, and, if possible, print it off and proofread it carefully. That way you’ll avoid employers’ top two turn-offs: blanket applications and sloppy text that is full of grammar and spelling mistakes. Do keep copies for future reference. Check out our online applications advice for more useful tips.
10. Wouldn’t it be great if you could find out what individual employers look for in job applications? Well, you can! Find out whether the employers you are interested in are covered in our in-depth Employer Insights, and if they are, make sure you follow them for updates.
11. Take the fear out of graduate job interviews by familiarising yourself with the tricky interview questions that are likely to come up, such as ‘What is your biggest weakness?’ The key is to frame your answer so as to give it a positive spin.
12. Remember… you are not alone. Stay in touch! There are lots of ways you can use targetjobs.co.uk to access advice and network.

Source: Targetjobs.co.uk, Wednesday 4th January 2012