Your at-a-glance guide to what’s happening in the graduate recruitment industry…


UP FRONT • numbers


Two thirds of graduates were most concerned about being unable 61%


to get a job in the industry or company they want. (Wikijob)


working students are now claiming that their prime reason for working is to gain work experience that will


1 in 4


make them more employable when they graduate. (National Student Jobs survey)


of white students are going on to higher education, compared with 51-65% of students from ethnic


45%


minorities. (Equality and Human Rights Commission report)


people were employed as apprentices in 2014/15, up from 872,000


851,000 in the previous year. (BIS)


men were more likely to have a degree than women (22.3% of men compared with 20.5% of women). By 2013, women had overtaken men, with 27.7% of men holding a


In 2008


degree compared with 28.4% of women. (Equality and Human Rights Commission report)


06 Graduate Recruiter | www.agr.org.uk Title: More than 12 million people fall into UK digital skills gap


Publisher: Go.ON UK Top findings: • 5 key digital skills defined as: manage information, communicate, make payments, solve problems, and create stuff online


• Regional map shows Welsh population least likely to have these skills • Gender gap: 80% of men have skills compared to 74% of women Summary: Defining key IT skills is helpful for employer conversations around skills gaps, even though skills are hard to quantify. The heat map is an innovative approach. These findings further highlight the need for a more regional approach to recruiting IT talent.


Title: What do Graduates Do?


Publisher: HESA Top findings: • This year more graduates found work than ever before (71.2%), more of that work was professional level and unemployment rates were down to pre-recession level.


• Average salaries of graduates employed full-time in the UK was £20,637 Summary: An invaluable source of data and further evidence that the market for talent is getting more competitive. The findings also suggest salary inflation at the structured end of the graduate recruitment market.


Title: Higher apprenticeships lead to “greater earnings than most degrees”


Publisher: Sutton Trust/Boston Consulting Group Top findings: • Level 5 apprentice can expect to earn £52k more than non-Russell Group graduates over a lifetime


• Average salaries are £34,420 compared to £35,520 • Poll shows 80% of students see degree as better for long-term prospects than apprenticeship


Summary: The headline findings are useful for employers and careers services trying to convince students of the value of apprenticeships. This report would be even more useful if it estimated the value apprentices bring to businesses, and how this varies over the course of a lifetime.


of managers said they would be less likely to give someone a job if there was something they didn’t like


about their appearance during the interview. (Custard survey)


UP FRONT • READING CORNER


Keep your finger on the pulse by checking out these current reports and surveys:


Title: Study highlights Gen Z career optimism


Publisher: HESA Top findings: • 65% are hopeful about the future • 55% interested in starting their own company • 58% dislike overt advertising of brands Summary: Useful insight from a marketing point of view. With entrepreneurship and smaller firms becoming a more attractive option to students, larger firms may have to work harder to convince Gen Z of the value of graduate opportunities in big businesses.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32