Brighter prospects for graduates
Brighter prospects for graduates
A survey of some of Britain’s leading employers reveals that, after two consecutive years of reduced vacancies for graduates, graduate positions are set to increase by 11.9 per cent this year.
The AGR (Association of Graduate Recruiters) Graduate Recruitment Survey2004 shows that graduate salaries are also increasing. AGR employers are expecting to pay new graduates a median starting salary of £21,100 in 2004– an increase of 3.9 per cent on last year, outstripping salaries in almost all other routes into employment.
The survey, carried out by High Fliers Research, is based on the responses of AGR members – many of the UK’s largest graduate recruiters in both public and private sectors. Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the AGR,commented: “I am pleased that the graduate job market is picking up after two lean years. It is good news for those seeking graduate-level jobs, but there is no room for complacency. Competition for the best jobs will remain high and graduates need to be sure about what it is they have to offer employers and market themselves effectively. The Government, too, will be encouraged by these results, as it endeavours to win the argument on the value of investing in higher education. Starting salaries for graduate-level jobs are increasing year on year, suggesting that employers remain convinced of the added value that graduates bring to businesses, both public and private.”
For the first time in three years, employers are reporting an increase in graduate vacancies. This follows two years of reduced vacancies in 2002 and 2003, when employers cut their recruitment by 6.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively. The smallest number of vacancies in 2004 is for graduate positions in marketing and human resources – both traditionally areas that are extremely popular with student applicants. Accountancy, professional-services firms, engineering or industrial companies, retailers, investment banks and the public sector report the largest number of vacancies for 2004.
AGR employers have increased their starting salaries by 3.9 per cent, to a median of £21,100. This is slightly lower than the annual rise reported in the AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey 2003, but reflects the generally stable annual rises of the last six recruitment rounds. Some 41 per cent of AGR employers, however, are not changing their graduate starting salaries this year. Three sectors – consulting firms, investment banks or fund managers and law firms – have now left their starting salaries unchanged for three consecutive recruitment seasons. The salaries in these sectors remain very generous, but the salary freeze has reduced their differential from other recruiters.
The biggest increases are reported by commercial or retail banks, accountancy firms, retailers, the public sector and engineering or industrial companies. These sectors are among the biggest recruiters of graduates and so rises in their salary levels can be very significant. The number of AGR employers planning to pay initial bonuses to graduate recruits in 2004 has dropped from 32 per cent in 2003 to 25 per cent in 2004. The median bonus paid, however, has risen from £1,500 in 2003 to £2,000 in 2004.
