Graduate positions at seven-year high, but work experience counts
13 January 2014
Employers are upping their graduate intake by 8.7% this year, the biggest recruitment rise in four years, according to High Fliers Research.
Mon, 13 Jan 2014Employers are upping their graduate intake by 8.7% this year, the biggest recruitment rise in four years, according to High Fliers Research.
In a survey conducted in December 2013 with the UK’s 100 leading companies, employers in 11 out of 13 major employment areas are set to take on more graduates in 2014.
The largest increases will be in the public sector, accounting & professional services firms, City investment banks, retailers and engineering & industrial companies, which together expect to recruit nearly 1,200 extra graduates this year.
Graduate vacancies were cut at the start of the recession by 6.7% in 2008 and 17.8% in 2009, but increased by 12.6% in 2010 and 2.8% in 2011. Graduate recruitment dipped again by 0.8% in 2012 before recovering by 2.5% in 2013.
However, although the total number of graduate vacancies is set to increase sharply this year, graduates who think they can just walk in to a role at a top firm may need to think again. Recruiters have confirmed that 37% of this year’s entry-level positions will be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations – either through paid internships, vacation work or industrial placements – and therefore are not open to other students from the ‘Class of 2014’.
For example, three-quarters of the graduate vacancies advertised this year by City investment banks and half the training contracts offered by the leading law firms are likely to be filled by graduates who have already completed work experience with the employer.
In a survey conducted in December 2013 with the UK’s 100 leading companies, employers in 11 out of 13 major employment areas are set to take on more graduates in 2014.
The largest increases will be in the public sector, accounting & professional services firms, City investment banks, retailers and engineering & industrial companies, which together expect to recruit nearly 1,200 extra graduates this year.
Graduate vacancies were cut at the start of the recession by 6.7% in 2008 and 17.8% in 2009, but increased by 12.6% in 2010 and 2.8% in 2011. Graduate recruitment dipped again by 0.8% in 2012 before recovering by 2.5% in 2013.
However, although the total number of graduate vacancies is set to increase sharply this year, graduates who think they can just walk in to a role at a top firm may need to think again. Recruiters have confirmed that 37% of this year’s entry-level positions will be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations – either through paid internships, vacation work or industrial placements – and therefore are not open to other students from the ‘Class of 2014’.
For example, three-quarters of the graduate vacancies advertised this year by City investment banks and half the training contracts offered by the leading law firms are likely to be filled by graduates who have already completed work experience with the employer.
