Less than a fifth of students had a graduate career in mind before choosing their course.
A new study from Milkround has indicated that only 19% of students had considered their graduate career before choosing their university course. The Milkround study looked at 1,730 students indicates that the majority of students do not consider their future graduate careers when initially choosing their courses.
The study also indicated that graduates were not confident in finding graduate jobs after graduating with 42% indicating that the media had lead them to believe it was difficult. The current state of the economic environment with only 4% feeling optimistic about it and a further 11% think they will feel better about it in the next six months.
Students were also asked what worried them the most about finding a graduate job, 69% felt that there was too much competition, with 55% feeling that there was not enough graduates. Graduates also felt that the job requirements for graduate roles were too high despite feeling that they could succeed in the roles.
Milkround Spokesperson Mike Bernard has called for students to be “given the information needed to make informed career decisions”, including information about potential industries, how to get work experience whilst studying and encouraging students to use their careers services earlier, planning in advance for their graduate career.
Source: Pareto.co.uk, Friday 1st June 2012
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Friday, 1 June 2012
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Less than 1 in 5 graduates considered the graduate job they wanted before starting university
Just 19 percent of graduates thought about their career before starting their university course.
The Milkround Student and Graduate Career Confidence Report, a study of 1,730 students by the graduate recruitment website, found that although the majority of students didn’t consider future job roles before starting their course, once they entered first year this changed dramatically.
Four out of five (79 percent) first year students had considered the job they might want after university, having developed a greater understanding of the options available to them with their prospective qualifications.
Milkround spokesperson Mike Barnard said: “The Milkround Student & Graduate Career Confidence Report was produced to act as a barometer of current thought for how university students and graduates viewed their opportunities in the job market. We’re committed to giving students and graduates career confidence, and this report is a fascinating insight into their current confidence levels and how they view their opportunities to find work.”
The report found that 42 percent of respondents thought that the media had made them believe they wouldn’t be able to find a job after graduating.
Yet the respondents were divided as to how the media had influenced their motivation to get a job: 18 percent stating it had had a negative effect on motivation, 17 percent a positive one.
When asked about their biggest concerns when looking for graduate job roles, 69 percent said that too much competition worried them most, with ‘not enough jobs’ being the second most popular response (55 percent).
However, a quarter of students and graduates believe that the criteria for jobs is too high, suggesting many feel they do have all the skills and talent necessary to succeed in graduate roles, but are finding it difficult to get themselves noticed.
The current economic climate is having a huge effect on student career confidence, with just four percent of final year students feeling optimistic about the economy as a whole and 11 percent predicting they will feel better about it in six months’ time.
Graduates generally look negatively on the current salaries available for those fortunate enough to find jobs: 54 percent are pessimistic about potential earnings compared to 41 percent being optimistic.
Mike Barnard added: “Students must be given the information they need to make informed career decisions to enable them to take their first strides into employment after university. The perception that there are too few jobs, that other students have better experience or recruiters will overlook them because of their university choice can be tackled by clear guidance on where the jobs in their preferred industry are, how to get relevant experience while studying and encouragement to get career advice in their first year of university.”
Source: Onrec.com, Wednesday 30th May 2012
The Milkround Student and Graduate Career Confidence Report, a study of 1,730 students by the graduate recruitment website, found that although the majority of students didn’t consider future job roles before starting their course, once they entered first year this changed dramatically.
Four out of five (79 percent) first year students had considered the job they might want after university, having developed a greater understanding of the options available to them with their prospective qualifications.
Milkround spokesperson Mike Barnard said: “The Milkround Student & Graduate Career Confidence Report was produced to act as a barometer of current thought for how university students and graduates viewed their opportunities in the job market. We’re committed to giving students and graduates career confidence, and this report is a fascinating insight into their current confidence levels and how they view their opportunities to find work.”
The report found that 42 percent of respondents thought that the media had made them believe they wouldn’t be able to find a job after graduating.
Yet the respondents were divided as to how the media had influenced their motivation to get a job: 18 percent stating it had had a negative effect on motivation, 17 percent a positive one.
When asked about their biggest concerns when looking for graduate job roles, 69 percent said that too much competition worried them most, with ‘not enough jobs’ being the second most popular response (55 percent).
However, a quarter of students and graduates believe that the criteria for jobs is too high, suggesting many feel they do have all the skills and talent necessary to succeed in graduate roles, but are finding it difficult to get themselves noticed.
The current economic climate is having a huge effect on student career confidence, with just four percent of final year students feeling optimistic about the economy as a whole and 11 percent predicting they will feel better about it in six months’ time.
Graduates generally look negatively on the current salaries available for those fortunate enough to find jobs: 54 percent are pessimistic about potential earnings compared to 41 percent being optimistic.
Mike Barnard added: “Students must be given the information they need to make informed career decisions to enable them to take their first strides into employment after university. The perception that there are too few jobs, that other students have better experience or recruiters will overlook them because of their university choice can be tackled by clear guidance on where the jobs in their preferred industry are, how to get relevant experience while studying and encouragement to get career advice in their first year of university.”
Source: Onrec.com, Wednesday 30th May 2012
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Barclays bids to fill the postgraduate student loans gap
The scheme, which has been suggested by Barclays, would aim to counter the gap in public funding for taught postgraduates, a situation previously described in a government report as a barrier to social mobility.
However, the details being put forward indicate that lending may depend on the "earnings track record" of graduates, potentially limiting it to certain students, according to one critic.
To the dismay of many in the sector, the lack of a funding system for postgraduates - who are not eligible for the publicly subsidised loans offered to undergraduates - was not addressed in either the Browne Review or last year's higher education White Paper.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England has been asked by the government to "examine the effect of the HE reforms on the postgraduate sector, both taught and research".
In the meantime, Hefce has announced an interim system of funding for subsidising taught postgraduate study - but the future of that funding is not certain.
David Willetts, the universities and science minister, said last week in response to a written parliamentary question that officials from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills "held discussions with Barclays Bank in February 2012 about postgraduate finance".
Chris Hearn, head of education at Barclays Corporate, told THE that the bank had been speaking to BIS and universities about how to help the first cohort of graduates to leave university under the higher undergraduate fee regime in 2015.
"What is their appetite going to be to then go into postgraduate study, especially taught postgraduate study?" he said.
Mr Hearn said Barclays was looking at ways of developing its existing professional and career development loans, available for those undertaking further vocational study, to help taught postgraduates.
"One of the other alternatives is that instead of a risk-share with BIS, perhaps a bank lends to students on a risk-share with universities," he said.
Asked about the details of such a scheme, Mr Hearn said: "The cost of [loan] facilities reflects the risk. If we've got graduates who don't have an earnings track record, or a strong earnings track record, it is going to be difficult to find the right price to lend into that client group if they go into postgraduate study."
He added that the sector did need to "consider different models" because "it may be difficult to justify adding postgraduate finance" on top of the existing public subsidy for undergraduates.
However, Tim Leunig, chief economist at the thinktank CentreForum, who last year called for a government-run postgraduate finance scheme, said a bank-based system could lead to wealthier students becoming more favoured by universities and banks because they would be judged to be most likely to meet repayments.
"If you want a socially equitable outcome, a bank is not the obvious place to go. That is what governments are for," said Dr Leunig, a reader in economic history at the London School of Economics.
The Treasury is "very unkeen on a publicly financed scheme", he added. But Dr Leunig said the government was able to borrow at zero per cent real interest rates at present, making such a scheme affordable.
A Universities UK spokesman said it would be "broadly supportive" of exploring funding solutions for postgraduate students "particularly in relation" to career development loans and also accepted that any long-term solutions would need to consider "the distribution of risk".
In July 2009, a Cabinet Office report from the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions, headed by former Labour Cabinet minister Alan Milburn, noted that postgraduate degrees "have increasingly become an important route into many professional careers".
But there is "no student support framework equivalent to the framework for undergraduates" available for the courses, which are often expensive, it added.
"If fair access is to be possible, this issue will need to be addressed."
Source: John Morgan, TimesHigherEducation.co.uk, Thursday 24th May 2012
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Rush For Graduate Jobs Means Decline In Gap Years
A new report by High Fliers Research shows that students are hunting for graduate jobs much earlier. The trend is likely to lead to a decline in the number of gap years being taken by students.
With competition for places increasing, over 40 per cent of final year students had already applied for graduate job positions last September or October. Only 1 in 8 of the students said they would be taking a gap year before looking for a graduate job, a figure that will have declined by over 60 per cent in the last ten years.
The research took into account the career plans of almost 18,000 students and highlights the level of competition for graduate jobs in the current climate.
Managing Director of High Fliers Research, Martin Birchall, said of the report’s findings: “Three years ago, when the recession first took hold, many students felt there was little point in looking for a graduate job in such a tough employment market and instead opted to take time off, go travelling or enrol for further study at university.
“Today's students aren't necessarily much more confident about the graduate job market but have been fighting really hard to secure the jobs that are on offer from employers,” added Mr Birchall.
The survey also revealed that the typical final year student of 2012 will have applied for an average of seven graduate jobs before completing their degree and will leave university with debts of around £20,000.
Source: Liz Savage, Studenttimes.org, Monday 28th May 2012
With competition for places increasing, over 40 per cent of final year students had already applied for graduate job positions last September or October. Only 1 in 8 of the students said they would be taking a gap year before looking for a graduate job, a figure that will have declined by over 60 per cent in the last ten years.
The research took into account the career plans of almost 18,000 students and highlights the level of competition for graduate jobs in the current climate.
Managing Director of High Fliers Research, Martin Birchall, said of the report’s findings: “Three years ago, when the recession first took hold, many students felt there was little point in looking for a graduate job in such a tough employment market and instead opted to take time off, go travelling or enrol for further study at university.
“Today's students aren't necessarily much more confident about the graduate job market but have been fighting really hard to secure the jobs that are on offer from employers,” added Mr Birchall.
The survey also revealed that the typical final year student of 2012 will have applied for an average of seven graduate jobs before completing their degree and will leave university with debts of around £20,000.
Source: Liz Savage, Studenttimes.org, Monday 28th May 2012
Monday, 28 May 2012
New provider for KPMG’s ACA training programme
KPMG has announced that from September 2013, its professional qualifications training programme, which awards students the ACA designation, will be delivered by BPP Professional Education. The provider won the contract after a tender process, taking over from the current provider, Kaplan Financial.
Michael Walby, director of professional qualification training at KPMG, commented on the firm’s new choice of training partner: ‘The launch of our ground breaking School Leaver Programme in 2011 demonstrated KPMG’s ability to change the landscape of accountancy training in the UK. BPP demonstrated a similar forward thinking approach.’
Qualifying with a professional body usually takes about three years and comprises a number of exams and practical work experience. Most accountancy employers will pay for your exam fees and give you time off to study.
No one qualification is easier than another: standards are monitored by an overseeing body to ensure parity. The differences lie in the focus of the syllabus, the sector of employment in which you train and how you obtain the training. More often than not your choice of employer will determine which professional qualification you work towards.
In 2010 BPP, which provides exam and non-exam based training for a range of professions, became the first UK private sector organisation in over thirty years to be recognised as a university college by the UK Government.
KPMG’s pass rates for the ACA professional examinations are repeatedly over 90%, which is well above the industry average.
Source: Targetjobs.co.uk, Wednesday 23rd May 2012
Michael Walby, director of professional qualification training at KPMG, commented on the firm’s new choice of training partner: ‘The launch of our ground breaking School Leaver Programme in 2011 demonstrated KPMG’s ability to change the landscape of accountancy training in the UK. BPP demonstrated a similar forward thinking approach.’
Qualifying with a professional body usually takes about three years and comprises a number of exams and practical work experience. Most accountancy employers will pay for your exam fees and give you time off to study.
No one qualification is easier than another: standards are monitored by an overseeing body to ensure parity. The differences lie in the focus of the syllabus, the sector of employment in which you train and how you obtain the training. More often than not your choice of employer will determine which professional qualification you work towards.
In 2010 BPP, which provides exam and non-exam based training for a range of professions, became the first UK private sector organisation in over thirty years to be recognised as a university college by the UK Government.
KPMG’s pass rates for the ACA professional examinations are repeatedly over 90%, which is well above the industry average.
Source: Targetjobs.co.uk, Wednesday 23rd May 2012
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Graduate tech jobs showcased in London
The Silicon Milkroundabout Job Fair is set to return to East London this weekend, showcasing tech careers for graduates.
Hundreds of the UK’s top start-ups will be in attendance at the Truman Brewery, offering more than 800 jobs to the UK’s brightest graduates.
Big names such as Twitter, Songkick, Moo, Wonga, Mozilla and Moshi Monsters will be there to promote careers.
Job search engine Adzuna.co.uk, published some graduate recruitment stats ahead of the event, showing there are over 4,000 graduate technical jobs currently available in the UK; up 33% since the last Silicon Milkroundabout, 6 months ago.
In addition to this, it is estimated that 7,000 computer scientists will graduate this summer from University in the UK, meaning just under 2 applicants for every graduate tech vacancy.
Mobile developers were shown to be particularly in demand, as job vacancies were up 65% year-on-year for Android developers and up over 100% for iPhone and iPad developers.
Despite what appears to be a healthy level of tech jobs in the UK, 1 in 10 Computer Science graduates remain unemployed, according to the Higher Education Statistics Authority.
Andrew Hunter, Co-Founder of UK job search engine Adzuna said: “It’s amazing to see the start up scene in the UK really starting to boom and it’s even better to see the brightest minds in the UK picking jobs in startups over banks.
“Events like the Silicon Milkroundabout are fuelling this new, entrepreneurial wave in Britain.”
The event takes place following this week’s announcement from Hewlett Packard that it is to cut around 27,000 jobs, some of which will be from its six sites across the UK.
Source: Bdaily.co.uk, Friday 25th May 2012
Hundreds of the UK’s top start-ups will be in attendance at the Truman Brewery, offering more than 800 jobs to the UK’s brightest graduates.
Big names such as Twitter, Songkick, Moo, Wonga, Mozilla and Moshi Monsters will be there to promote careers.
Job search engine Adzuna.co.uk, published some graduate recruitment stats ahead of the event, showing there are over 4,000 graduate technical jobs currently available in the UK; up 33% since the last Silicon Milkroundabout, 6 months ago.
In addition to this, it is estimated that 7,000 computer scientists will graduate this summer from University in the UK, meaning just under 2 applicants for every graduate tech vacancy.
Mobile developers were shown to be particularly in demand, as job vacancies were up 65% year-on-year for Android developers and up over 100% for iPhone and iPad developers.
Despite what appears to be a healthy level of tech jobs in the UK, 1 in 10 Computer Science graduates remain unemployed, according to the Higher Education Statistics Authority.
Andrew Hunter, Co-Founder of UK job search engine Adzuna said: “It’s amazing to see the start up scene in the UK really starting to boom and it’s even better to see the brightest minds in the UK picking jobs in startups over banks.
“Events like the Silicon Milkroundabout are fuelling this new, entrepreneurial wave in Britain.”
The event takes place following this week’s announcement from Hewlett Packard that it is to cut around 27,000 jobs, some of which will be from its six sites across the UK.
Source: Bdaily.co.uk, Friday 25th May 2012
Saturday, 26 May 2012
Is a double-dip recession that bad for students?
For most of us, it isn't really news that the economy is struggling: new figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have recently confirmed that Britain went back into recession at the end of last year and we're still in a double dip. But should students and graduates be worried?
No. Even if the economic data signals a return to recession, exacerbated by the ongoing eurozone crisis, any bad news on the economic front does not necessarily mean certain career disaster for today's young and prospective workers.
Historically, even during the very worst UK graduate jobs market (which, facts fans, was in 1982, when 13.2% were out of work six months after graduation) most university graduates got jobs. In the last recession, when we saw the first run on a bank for 150 years and the deepest economic downturn since the 1930s, the unemployment rate for graduates after six months didn't get above 9% – too high, yes, but most graduates still got jobs.
It is the people with lower qualifications who suffer the most during recession. At present, about a third of the UK working population have some form of higher education qualification – when surrounded by other people in education, it's sometimes hard to recognise that most people in the UK have not been and never will go to university.
A recent ONS survey showed that youth unemployment is at its highest since the 1980s, rising in each of the last three recessions. But the most common jobs sought by young jobseekers in 2011 were in customer service and elementary occupations. While some graduates do start their careers in these roles, they're mostly occupied by people without degrees.
Simply saying "we're in recession" doesn't really affect how employers approach the jobs market, in the same way as the actual business conditions in their marketplace do.
Employers know what their market conditions are and have been dealing with the actual consequences of the current economic state daily. The Winter AGR Survey of graduate employers was conducted when Britain was already in recession. It showed that employers were largely cautious and concerned about the economy, but that hiring intentions were not much different to last year's.
Essentially, many graduate employers have already priced in a weak economy into this year's recruitment plans, and whether or not that outlook manifests as anaemic growth or technical recession is not especially important once those decisions have been made.
As a result, we can probably expect hiring to be as good as or better than last year in IT, engineering, energy and utilities; but in some sectors, especially investment banking, it is likely to be well down on last year.
A degree doesn't guarantee you a job – it never has at any point in UK history. Graduates will still have to work hard to get employment, and may not get the position they want straight away.
But student and graduate jobseekers should not get too perturbed by the news of recession. They will need to get all the help and support they can, visit university careers services, use advice sites, don't get disheartened, and above all, continue to apply for jobs.
In the end, students will probably get a job in time, but the more resources they draw on, the quicker and easier that will be. Oh, and keep an eye on the eurozone, of course.
Source: Charlie Ball, Guardian.co.uk, Friday 25th May 2012
No. Even if the economic data signals a return to recession, exacerbated by the ongoing eurozone crisis, any bad news on the economic front does not necessarily mean certain career disaster for today's young and prospective workers.
Historically, even during the very worst UK graduate jobs market (which, facts fans, was in 1982, when 13.2% were out of work six months after graduation) most university graduates got jobs. In the last recession, when we saw the first run on a bank for 150 years and the deepest economic downturn since the 1930s, the unemployment rate for graduates after six months didn't get above 9% – too high, yes, but most graduates still got jobs.
It is the people with lower qualifications who suffer the most during recession. At present, about a third of the UK working population have some form of higher education qualification – when surrounded by other people in education, it's sometimes hard to recognise that most people in the UK have not been and never will go to university.
A recent ONS survey showed that youth unemployment is at its highest since the 1980s, rising in each of the last three recessions. But the most common jobs sought by young jobseekers in 2011 were in customer service and elementary occupations. While some graduates do start their careers in these roles, they're mostly occupied by people without degrees.
Simply saying "we're in recession" doesn't really affect how employers approach the jobs market, in the same way as the actual business conditions in their marketplace do.
Employers know what their market conditions are and have been dealing with the actual consequences of the current economic state daily. The Winter AGR Survey of graduate employers was conducted when Britain was already in recession. It showed that employers were largely cautious and concerned about the economy, but that hiring intentions were not much different to last year's.
Essentially, many graduate employers have already priced in a weak economy into this year's recruitment plans, and whether or not that outlook manifests as anaemic growth or technical recession is not especially important once those decisions have been made.
As a result, we can probably expect hiring to be as good as or better than last year in IT, engineering, energy and utilities; but in some sectors, especially investment banking, it is likely to be well down on last year.
A degree doesn't guarantee you a job – it never has at any point in UK history. Graduates will still have to work hard to get employment, and may not get the position they want straight away.
But student and graduate jobseekers should not get too perturbed by the news of recession. They will need to get all the help and support they can, visit university careers services, use advice sites, don't get disheartened, and above all, continue to apply for jobs.
In the end, students will probably get a job in time, but the more resources they draw on, the quicker and easier that will be. Oh, and keep an eye on the eurozone, of course.
Source: Charlie Ball, Guardian.co.uk, Friday 25th May 2012
Friday, 25 May 2012
Rush For Graduate Jobs Means Decline In Gap Years
A new report by High Fliers Research shows that students are hunting for graduate jobs much earlier. The trend is likely to lead to a decline in the number of gap years being taken by students.
With competition for places increasing, over 40 per cent of final year students had already applied for graduate job positions last September or October. Only 1 in 8 of the students said they would be taking a gap year before looking for a graduate job, a figure that will have declined by over 60 per cent in the last ten years.
The research took into account the career plans of almost 18,000 students and highlights the level of competition for graduate jobs in the current climate.
Managing Director of High Fliers Research, Martin Birchall, said of the report’s findings: “Three years ago, when the recession first took hold, many students felt there was little point in looking for a graduate job in such a tough employment market and instead opted to take time off, go travelling or enrol for further study at university.
“Today's students aren't necessarily much more confident about the graduate job market but have been fighting really hard to secure the jobs that are on offer from employers,” added Mr Birchall.
The survey also revealed that the typical final year student of 2012 will have applied for an average of seven graduate jobs before completing their degree and will leave university with debts of around £20,000.
With competition for places increasing, over 40 per cent of final year students had already applied for graduate job positions last September or October. Only 1 in 8 of the students said they would be taking a gap year before looking for a graduate job, a figure that will have declined by over 60 per cent in the last ten years.
The research took into account the career plans of almost 18,000 students and highlights the level of competition for graduate jobs in the current climate.
Managing Director of High Fliers Research, Martin Birchall, said of the report’s findings: “Three years ago, when the recession first took hold, many students felt there was little point in looking for a graduate job in such a tough employment market and instead opted to take time off, go travelling or enrol for further study at university.
“Today's students aren't necessarily much more confident about the graduate job market but have been fighting really hard to secure the jobs that are on offer from employers,” added Mr Birchall.
The survey also revealed that the typical final year student of 2012 will have applied for an average of seven graduate jobs before completing their degree and will leave university with debts of around £20,000.
Source: E4s.co.uk, Thursday 24th May 2012
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