Graduate jobs to hit ten year high

By Josie Timms

The number of graduate jobs available this summer is set to hit a ten year high.

A major new report into the 2015 graduate market suggests recruitment will be at its highest in a decade, meaning graduates who were the first intake of students to pay £9000 a year tuition fees are a lot more likely to get themselves a job.

The report shows employers increased their graduate recruitment by 7.9% in 2014 and are set to expand their vacancies for university-leavers by a further 8.1% in 2015.

The research, published by High Fliers, also predicts pay for young graduates is set to rise for the second year running.

Unfortunately, according to the research graduates are more likely to get a job if they have already done work experience with the firm that hires them, with a third of all jobs going to graduates who have done this.

More than four fifths of leading graduate recruiters now offer paid work experience programmes to students, and two-thirds offer paid internships during holidays for final-year students, while an increasing number of companies now offer placements to first-year undergraduates.

Research shows students without any more experience now face little or no chance of receiving a job offer through a graduate programme.

Universities minister Greg Clark says: “Confidence in the economy continues to grow, and this is reflected in the fact that Britain’s top companies will recruit more graduates this year than they have for a decade.

“This report will be warmly welcomed by the record number of students who started university this year and highlights how a degree remains one of the best routes into a rewarding career.”