Mon, 16 Sep 2013Demand for Britain’s graduates is improving as the economy recovers, according to research by graduate careers company Brightwork.

The annual Bright Festival, an event connecting over 1,500 graduates with leading employers, including Google, Accenture and PwC, has experienced a 26% increase in the number of firms attending the event to hire students for their graduate programmes.
 
However, ‘Graduate Snapshot – 2013’, the annual report released by the careers company Bright Network in partnership with Universum, suggests that while the demand for graduates is recovering, graduates need to be more realistic about the state of the market.

Key findings of the report include:
 

• Following the economic downturn, graduates are prioritising work/life balance, job stability and being challenged as their top three career goals, independence, becoming a leader and developing technical skills are bottom of the list

• Despite the financial crisis, banking remains the most sought after career sector, after consulting and media

• A creative work environment, leaders who can support career development and a friendly place to work are top of the list for dream employers to work for

• Graduates are finally realising the importance of internships in securing full-time employment, with the main driver to doing an internship now the potential to secure work experience

• They are less focused on wanting responsibility – more on training and development opportunities

• The best graduates expect a starting salary of £30,215 – nearly 5% higher than the average UK graduate starting salary of £29,000

• High future earnings matters to graduates

James Uffindell, chief executive officer of Bright Network, says: “This is overall great news for the employment prospects of graduates. More firms are wanting to meet graduates than a year ago and the UK economy is now in a state of steady recovery. However, graduates still need to work hard, secure internships and be realistic around salary expectations.”