The cream of this year’s graduates will struggle to find jobs if they have not done any work experience while at university, a report warns today.
Even those leaving university with a first or 2:1 class degree will find that is not enough to impress top employers.
Recruitment is still below pre-recession levels and average graduate starting pay from major employers will stall at £29,000 for the fourth year in a row, it claims. The High Fliers annual graduate recruitment report is based on responses from 100 leading employers.
More vacancies are predicted this year than last, with a 2.7 per cent increase in jobs available. But fewer graduates than expected were taken in 2012, so there may be extra competition from last year’s university leavers.
Companies warn that the best opportunities are already being snapped up by students who are known to them. They predict that more than a third of jobs will be filled by graduates who have already spent time at their company, through work experience, internships or industrial placements (sandwich courses) during their degree. In investment banking and law this rises to more than half of jobs.
The research found that more internships are rewarded with pay, suggesting that companies are reacting to negative publicity about the potential exploitation of young people through unpaid labour. Critics have claimed that too many industries are closed off to young people who cannot afford to do an unpaid placement.
Investment banks are expected to offer the highest starting salaries this year, with an average of £45,000, followed by £38,000 in law and £32,500 in energy companies.The biggest growth in recruitment numbers this year is expected at public sector employers, retailers and engineering firms.
Martin Birchall, from High Fliers Research, said: “Taking part in work placements or internships while at university is now just as important as getting a 2:1 or a first-class degree.”
Even those leaving university with a first or 2:1 class degree will find that is not enough to impress top employers.
Recruitment is still below pre-recession levels and average graduate starting pay from major employers will stall at £29,000 for the fourth year in a row, it claims. The High Fliers annual graduate recruitment report is based on responses from 100 leading employers.
More vacancies are predicted this year than last, with a 2.7 per cent increase in jobs available. But fewer graduates than expected were taken in 2012, so there may be extra competition from last year’s university leavers.
Companies warn that the best opportunities are already being snapped up by students who are known to them. They predict that more than a third of jobs will be filled by graduates who have already spent time at their company, through work experience, internships or industrial placements (sandwich courses) during their degree. In investment banking and law this rises to more than half of jobs.
The research found that more internships are rewarded with pay, suggesting that companies are reacting to negative publicity about the potential exploitation of young people through unpaid labour. Critics have claimed that too many industries are closed off to young people who cannot afford to do an unpaid placement.
Investment banks are expected to offer the highest starting salaries this year, with an average of £45,000, followed by £38,000 in law and £32,500 in energy companies.The biggest growth in recruitment numbers this year is expected at public sector employers, retailers and engineering firms.
Martin Birchall, from High Fliers Research, said: “Taking part in work placements or internships while at university is now just as important as getting a 2:1 or a first-class degree.”
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