Graduate Recruitment/Employment

[Frazzled6]

Interesting read... <a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.highfliers.co.uk/download/2021/graduate_market/GM21-Report.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjRsqTckorvAhUNURUIHR8GCoIQFjAAegQIAxAD&usg=AOvVaw3ui0BhjJW_r3WRQ0klRcsg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.highfliers.co.uk/download/2021/graduate_market/GM21-Report.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjRsqTckorvAhUNURUIHR8GCoIQFjAAegQIAxAD&usg=AOvVaw3ui0BhjJW_r3WRQ0klRcsg

Very. Not great for many grads in the next few years. I was surprised at stagnating starting salaries. In fact losing ground over 10 years. Also the universities most targeted by employers would go against MN wisdom in some ways too. No Exeter, Durham or LSE in the top 10! It’s a bleak read in some respects and the number of applicants for shrinking job opportunities is worrying.

I thought it was sober reading. Interesting how recruitment was significantly down in 2019 even before the pandemic. I wonder whether this was down to Brexit?

The data was surely always going to be affected by the increasing number of graduates abs therefore relative reduction in “graduate jobs”? Also more jobs can ask for degrees in entry requirements as there are so many grads out there? So does that affect this data ?

My understanding is that you still earn more over a lifetime with a degree - and that it’s enough to make the fees worthwhile. Plus you also now have degree apprenticeships as alternative route. And lots of the best students will chose this route.

And obvs a degree isn’t just about what you can earn, but what you can learn - including soft skills and life skills.

I think young people are really struggling and I don’t want them to read such articles without considering the other side.

I just read it properly. This is just a snapshot of the top employers. And they are able to freeze snd thaw their recruitment really easily because they recruit so many.

I’d be applying for a post grad and delaying for a year ....

Also, for parents of Year 13s: your child is entitled to free education up to 19. They can do their A levels then find a local college offering a diploma at the right level, and do that 12 month course for free before going to uni.

Only thing is there aren’t that many suitable courses offered. But it is worth looking and seeing if it something they’d be interested in. Our local college has an arts course snd an egaming course.

Good way of delaying and maximising your free education.

Also I’d bet that Exeter and Durham don’t appear because those firms don’t have a presence there. Although that doesn’t explain LSE.

If I was running a graduate recruitment programme I’d focus on large universities which were in big cities - Manchester has 26,000 or so undergrads and there will be branches of the employers in the city. I’m sure the same applies to Birmingham. UCL is another massive university so will have lots of ambitious students.

Also look at the top priorities for these top employers in graduate recruitment. Two of the top three are increasing diversity and social mobility and you wouldn’t be running to Exeter or Durham to achieve either of those.
I am surprised none of the Scottish unis are mentioned - I wish they had provided a bit of a wider list so we can see who sits just below those names unis.

@PresentingPercy however LSE and Durham still feature in the top 20 at 11th and 12th place.

And it seems that recruitment is moving away from targeting particular universities.

Makes me think you should aim for the university where you think you will be happiest but with a good reputation. If recruitment is becoming centralised and providing more equal opportunities, maintaining a high standard in the university years may better prepare you for the entrance assessments/ interviews etc

Chops where are you finding the longer list?

Oh found it here thanks. Edinburgh appears for Scotland

I did just pick out the top 10! Yes I think universities in big cities are going to be targeted by big employers because that’s where they are based. However KCL, Liverpool and Sheffield seem to be lower down. Exeter is always seen as a top destination on HE boards but possibly local employment for the top 100 recruiters isn’t possible.

I think what top recruiters do, who throw money at recruitment, is important. It’s by no means clear that SMEs are faring better. Certainly not paying more. The starting salaries have remained static and that’s a shock.

Only some grads earn more overall. Plenty of arts grads don’t. Having said that, they probably don’t pay much grad tax either! Different people have differing needs for a degree. Degree apprenticeships have tumbled in numbers too. It’s difficult to know the value of some. Engineering ones could be BEng at a mediocre university and not MEng at a top university for example. So are some students selling themselves short?

I think some employers were cautious about Brexit and Covid on top has meant additional caution.

As the forces are on those list I am not surprised at some of the drop in recruitment. I am unsure what percentage that may account for and perhaps someone on here may have an idea. Assessments (for which a residential stay are usually required) have been on hold for the duration of the pandemic and I know of candidates (RAF) waiting to be called for assessment when the world reopens.

Actually LSE performs rather well when you look at in the context of only about 11,000 students 70% of which are international and may therefore reurn home after graduation.

Starting salaries for many of these employers remain static in as much as they are trainee salaries. There is often a bigger jump when they achieve newly qualified status in their actual professions.

Lots of professions have very slow incremental progression though. Not all grads are big bucks earners after 5 years. In fact some barely scrape by even in supposedly grad level jobs.

Thought I ought to back up my statement re earnings : “ That said, a degree still pays off in the long run. According to the latest official statistics, graduates last year earned a median salary of £34,000, while non-graduates earned only £24,000.” 2019 article based on 2018 data : www.theguardian.com/news/2019/aug/12/is-a-british-university-degree-really-worth-it-any-more.

That said, the salary range must be huge and they’ll be signif crossover between grad and non grad, with the top 100 employers really driving up the graduate data.