Penna Barkers Graduate Forum, London, UK, 24 November 2009
Article Type: Resources From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 9, Issue 2
Penna Barkers welcomed an audience of graduate recruiters to The Guardian’s offices for the inaugural Graduate Forum to debate the impact of the economic downturn on recruitment and the prevailing trends across the UK market.
In light of the Higher Education Careers Service Unit’s recently reported 12 year high in graduate unemployment and the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) own figures of a 24.9 percent reduction in vacancies, the resilience of “Generation Y Bother” and continued attractiveness of blue-chip employers was debated. Graduate recruiters discussed why in the current market it’s difficult for candidates to differentiate themselves and difficult for employers to identify quality candidates.
The discussion, chaired by managing director of Penna Barkers, Anne Riley,revealed several key themes.
1. Educational attainment does not differentiate
The debate toed and froed over the impact that businesses could see from an upturn in the number of students staying at university to complete masters degrees. On the one hand it was argued that a more qualified workforce would not necessarily be a more competent one and employers on the panel and in the audience alike urged graduates to seek out work experience alongside any further study undertaken.
What is clear is that a good education is now a given – there are lots of people who go to good universities and get a 2:1 – and education is now no longer seen as a differentiator. Therefore students wanting to impress must undertake work experience or travel to provide evidence of employability.
Martin Thomas, BT’s head of recruitment, sided firmly with applicants who could demonstrate skills and experience over and above academic prowess suggesting that, all other things being equal, a year traveling would stand candidates in better stead than a further year in education.
2. Organizations need entry-level strategies for a range of entry points
Organizations also need to understand how graduate schemes fit within their overall organization structure and talent plan. A reduction in graduates coming onto official programs can be balanced if businesses have a range of entry points and understand fully what is required of apprentices, school leavers and MBAs – without expecting official graduate programs to fulfill a disproportionately high proportion of future leadership positions.
3. Development opportunities will retain top talent
Developing talent during a recession is every bit as important as attracting that talent in the first place and frustrations caused by a stagnant internal job market are likely to see high potentials look for opportunities elsewhere.
Because of this, as organizations prepare for the end of the recession the challenges in retaining and developing existing talent will become every bit as acute as those faced in recent years in finding and attracting that talent to begin with.
The businesses that succeed will not necessarily be the ones that return to a“business as usual” recruitment model that was in place before this latest downturn but those that are most adaptable to the new market conditions,flexible and sensitive to the needs of their employment communities and able to both communicate and deliver the opportunities on offer to those best placed to take advantage of them.
Phillip Laneis a Consultant at Penna Barkers.
