Graduate Unemployment is at an all-time high in the UK in 2013, with the outlook not looking good for today’s youth what can be done.
Figures call for a new approach to teaching graduates how to get a job
Tough competition in graduate recruitment calls for a new approach to our helping graduates find work, one that teaches them the rudiments of getting a graduate-level job.
According to the latest figures from ONS almost 100,000 16 to 24-year-olds are unemployed, and having a degree does not mean you fare any better.
Recent research from High Fliers shows that 19 per cent of graduates were unsuccessful at finding a graduate-level position in 2011 and 36 per cent had given up altogether and settled for a lower skill role. The largest single majority end up in the retail or catering industry, and while some may develop sufficient experience to progress to management level many end up working as waiting and bar staff.
Barriers to getting a graduate job
The problem is that competition for graduate-level jobs is tough. We face a recruitment market where only the best shine through. According to a recent recruitment insights report, employers report that they receive an average of 77 applications for each graduate-level position advertised, up from 67 last year, but in some sectors, such as HR, this increases to a staggering 160 applications per vacancy.
Graduates also face difficulty when it comes to getting the experience they need to get started on the career ladder since 47 per cent of employers say they would not recruit a graduate with no experience. Those who graduate with anything below a 2:1 are at a greater disadvantage as more than three-quarters of graduate employers set this as their minimum requirement.
Many graduates, therefore, see a bleak future when it comes to finding a graduate-level job. Three quarters believe finding a job is harder than ever and one in five describe it as ‘unachievable’.
It’s not all bleak: the solution to getting a graduate-level job
Yet employers want to employ more graduates and almost half say they expect to recruit more in 2013. Rather than a reason for despair the state of graduate unemployment in the UK simply shows that our approach to graduate employment needs to change. Graduates need proper practical job finding help in order to overcome these challenges, but most are not currently receiving this from their university career service.
Most universities see themselves as set up to provide just an education, but this view results in a mismatch when compared to the views of graduates, who go to university in order to improve their chances of getting a good job. According to research carried among employers by the CBI, graduates need just as much help in developing their employability skills – their ability to self manage, solve problems, understand the business environment and work well as part of a team. They also need other employability skills like good communication and numeracy skills.
Teaching graduates proper job skills helps them get jobs
Graduates who are given this type of support, alongside the usual job findings skills like CV writing and interview skills, are far more likely to stand out from others to get the job they want.
Relocation may help too since around 35 per cent of graduate-level employment is in London and the South-East. Just over 10 per cent is in the North-West with the remainder spread across the rest of the UK.
Popular industries for graduate employment include the health and associate professions (13 per cent), the public sector, commercial and industrial fields (9 per cent), business and finance (8 per cent) and arts, media and culture (7 per cent). Six per cent of graduates are employed in education and the same in clerical and secretarial roles.
As the UK’s leading graduate coaching company, Graduate Coach takes a different approach to help graduates to find graduate-level roles. We focus on employability skills training, CV writing skills, interview skills training and one to one coaching to develop a graduate’s business awareness, confidence and communication skills. All of our graduates go on to secure a graduate-level job position.
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