Graduate employment exclusive!

Hi!

Read on for my exclusive story on graduate employment- which predicted figures will show is down for the third year running.

Mark A.


Graduate employment falls again

Graduates are finding it harder to get into employment after new figures expected this week show around 87% of University students are finding jobs- a decrease for the third year in a row.
The economic crisis has seen many companies cutting costs and workers laid off, making students who left in the summer the first year to tackle the credit crunch- but despite the decline experts say the numbers are still positive.
The latest figures from Bournemouth University show a predicted 87% of students are finding employment, with 67% getting into the sectors their degree dictated.
It is a drop of four percent on last year’s figures and eight percent on 2007, but Jackie Gush, head of the Graduate Employment Service at the institution, said this year’s figures were predicted to drop a little.
She said: “The most recent figures will be out in a few weeks time and we are relatively pleased they weren’t lower.”
“We are in line with national average percentages and as this is the first year to deal with the credit crunch we expected a similar drop from last year,” she continued.
Gush said jobs in teaching, building and general public sector jobs are becoming more popular, with graduates needing to be more flexible about their career paths.
“We’re hoping that they go away over the summer and work hard on getting themselves ready for work, they need to be flexible,” she said.
More and more companies are now said to be looking for degrees at 2:1 level or above in response to the increased demand for jobs, a previous standard only prestige jobs required.
And Gush says this can only be disruptive to students, stating: “Even if they aren’t going for their first choices the requirements are high but the numbers are positive.”
Government Minister of State for Higher Education David Lammy visited the Graduate Prospects head quarters in June to discuss how to combat unemployment in graduates during the downturn.
He said: “Graduating from university is an exciting time but it can also be daunting as people consider their next steps in life after their degree.”
He went on: “In the current economic climate it’s natural that students are considering their options even more closely and that’s why we want to provide as much information as possible about the opportunities available to students including work, internships, further study or volunteering.”

Mark Allaway
November 2009