The good news for graduates taking their first steps on to the jobs’ market this summer is that employers are expecting a double digit rise in graduate vacancies in 2015, according to the annual snapshot of the market by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) in January.
The bad news, or perhaps less good news, is that, after slogging through three or four years of university and building up a mountain of debt, they’re coming on to a market where employers are also increasingly focusing their attention and effort on apprenticeships and school leaver programmes.
The AGR survey, for example, concluded nearly three quarters (72.7%) of its members were planning to offer school leaver opportunities this year. And a poll last autumn by Barclays Bank’s LifeSkills youth employment programme argued it was seeing a 9% year-on-year increase in the numbers of young people considering an apprenticeship as a route into work.
The sharp rise in university tuition fees since 2012 has clearly been one factor in this. Another has been the growing availability of degree-level higher apprenticeships, with reforms to how apprenticeships are delivered and the fact the apprentice minimum wage is set to rise by 20% from this autumn all playing their part, too.
None of this, of course, is to suggest for a moment graduate programmes are somehow going to disappear. But, as employers gathered yesterday [1 April 2015] at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel for the TARGETjobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards the talk was very much about how the recruitment landscape has changed since the last Labour administration’s aspiration of getting 50% of young people into university.
As Sharon Goymer, resourcing manager for entry level talent programmes at National Grid, winner of the 2015 diversity recruitment award, explains: “I think we have moved on politically from that 50% talk. It’s not just because of the fees structure around degrees, it’s also the fact you are earning while learning, with a guaranteed job at the end.
“More and more people are recognising this is a credible route. You’re seeing a lot more interest from organisations that would typically have just recruited graduates in the past,” she adds.
The TARGETjobs Awards, now in their 11th year, in 2015 awarded the top plaudit – Graduate Employer of the Year – to haircare and beauty giant L’Oréal. The awards are the world’s largest student-driven graduate and school-leaver awards, and this year were determined by a record 40,000-strong student poll, conducted by the trendence Institute [crct l/c “t”]. Trophies were awarded in 28 categories (see panel), including 15 sector awards.
This poll echoed the AGR’s findings, concluding undergraduates were feeling more confident than at the same time in 2014, with those studying medicine, engineering and architecture the most and those studying English, history and law the least.
Alongside all this, undergraduates from Enactus, the not-for-profit students’ and business organisation, and Year 12 and 13 students from London schools, met at the Guardian’s offices to decide 10 student panel awards, including the Rising Star Award (see case studies) and three special awards focused – topical this year – on school leaver programmes and apprenticeships.
One of the challenges associated with this shift, recruiters and employers agree, has been not so much getting employers to recognise the value of such schemes, but changing perceptions among schools and, even more importantly, parents.
“Apprenticeships are very much on the agenda as a different way of learning to degree programmes. But a lot of parents and schools do still struggle with them because, for most, it is still all about university,” says Suzie Flynn, graduate and future talent manager at Barratt Developments, which has nevertheless seen interest in its apprenticeship programmes growing year-on-year.
“Until I got into apprenticeship recruitment I probably felt like many people – that apprenticeships were for people who weren’t good enough to go to university. But that is very much the old model – higher apprenticeships, for example, can get you to the same point as a traditional university degree, just within a workplace setting,” emphasises Rob Gill, graduate, undergraduate and apprentice recruitment manager at Jaguar Land Rover.
And this message does appear to be getting through, argues Phillip Paige, vice president, head of schools and college engagement at JP Morgan, which won in the investment banking category.
“I think if you go back three years, when we were putting our apprenticeship programme together, there probably were a lot of misconceptions out there. But we have done a lot of work with schools since then – we are now at the point where any stigma there might previously have been is starting to fade into insignificance,” he says.
“We particularly target Year 13. It is not so much about it being an alternative to university as simply another pathway to securing employment,” agrees Shaun Meekins, head of apprentice operations at Barclays Bank, winner in all three apprenticeship and school leaver categories.
For employers going down this route it is nevertheless important to think carefully about how to differentiate your programmes, advises Becky Plant, head of apprentice and graduate programmes at consultancy and IT services firm Capgemini. “Our apprentices generally outperform expectations; they definitely give our graduates a run for their money. But if you’re not careful you can find your programmes merging together. Your graduates need to have a very clear progression path too.”
Professional services firm EY has since 2011 offered a five-year school and college leaver programme, through which trainees gain a chartered accountant qualification.
In that time the numbers have more than doubled, from 60 in the first cohort to 100 in 2014. But it is still dwarfed by the 600-700 graduates the company hires each year, points out Liz Bingham, managing partner for talent.
“Apprenticeships or school leaver programmes aren’t for everybody, but then nor is university. But the chartered accountant qualification we offer is something you can take with you almost anywhere in business. And, as more people choose this route, we’ll be able to tell more and more success stories,” she adds.
Rising Star of the Year Awards
The Rising Star of the Year is chosen by the TARGETjobs’ panel of undergraduate and Year 12-13 students. We spoke to three of this year’s finalists to ask how they would advise graduates to stand out from the crowd.
Max Pullen, 26, (overall winner) – Mott MacDonald
After completing my degree in international business and management at Aston University in 2012, I spent a year working full-time as president of the Students’ Union.
It was a great springboard into the world of work – I was managing 35 staff, a budget of £1.1m and having to deal with a huge variety of issues around the university, from halls of residences to course profiles. I then started on Mott MacDonald’s four-year graduate programme in the summer of 2013, after meeting one of its representatives at a graduate jobs’ fair.
The company is a global engineering, management and development consultancy and through the programme I’ll become a certified management consultant, working across both the public and private sector. In fact I’ve already worked on more than 15 projects, so it’s a really diverse and fascinating job.
Consultancy as an industry is still developing; we don’t have chartered status yet, although the hope is that will happen next year, and the development of the young professionals within it is really important.
So one of the things I’ve really focused on in my time here is the development and training of other junior professionals. For example, I chair the Young Professional Excellence network within Mott MacDonald, which includes organising a wide range of seminars and webinars.
I sit on the advisory committee of the Institute of Consulting and I’m on the steering committee of Young MCA, the youth wing of the Management Consultancies Association. I’m also a founding trustee of a charity called Born to Thrive, which organises child sponsorship programmes, food provision, co-operative schemes and the building of classrooms in east Africa.
The best advice I’d give to anyone about to hit the jobs’ market this summer is to take a step back from everything else when you’re applying for a job; really focus on it and what you’re doing and want to say. It’s about quality not quantity, so really spend some time on it.
You want to be trying to get your personality down on paper. Even if you’re one of 3,000-4,000 applicants you need to let that employer see you are really passionate to come and work for them.
Stefano Persico, 27 – Rolls-Royce
I’m Italian and graduated from the University of Naples in 2012, with a degree in mechanical engineering. I worked for companies in Madrid and Milan before applying to join the Rolls-Royce scheme, which I started in September 2013.
It’s a two-year programme, split between six four-month rotations, and I’m on the Manufacturing Engineering Graduate Development Programme, currently working in Derby within the aerospace division as a business improvement leader.
I am a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) ambassador and an active member of the university campus team. But where I’ve really tried to make a difference is by taking on extra responsibility.
For example, I’ve led on various high level “black belt” projects that will potentially save the company £10m a year as well as a number of “green belt” projects that will save around £130,000 a year.
It’s unusual for someone at my level, on the graduate programme, to be working on black belt projects. So for me it’s been a real chance to show I can make a difference and to interact with other areas of the business, often at a high level. I’m now dealing everyday with executives, directors, chief manufacturing engineers, among others. Last month I even did a presentation to a roomful of directors.
My advice? Always try to take on extra responsibility and challenges; it helps to show you can learn and picks things up quickly. Networking is important, too, both with your peers and with senior managers. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, but it is important to try and ask the right questions!
Just show your enthusiasm, energy and passion for your job. Think about how you can add value, take the initiative and be proactive.
Jay Shetty, 27 – Accenture
My degree was in management science, from Cass Business School in London. I graduated in 2010 and spent some time working in India with a charitable foundation, helping to build sustainable villages and provide people with shelter and clothing.
My passion is digital innovation, which is what I’ve focused on since joining the Accenture graduate scheme in 2013. It’s a two-year scheme and, while you can rotate around the business you don’t have to; you manage your own rotations and so if you find your niche you can put all your efforts into that, which is what I’ve done at Accenture Digital.
In my work as a digital strategy consultant I’ve not only developed a SME social media strategy, which now has 10,000 followers across various social media channels, I’ve also become a networking coach – a reverse mentor – for a wide range of managing directors and executives within the company.
This has, of course, given me fantastic exposure to senior people as well as enabled me to focus on how you can use social media better to sell, build brands and make decisions within organisations. I’ve written papers and editorials on digital, business and innovation and have been asked to speak about it in public, including getting the opportunity last year to do a presentation to 1,000 colleagues at Twickenham – right after England Rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood!
For me, what’s important is to focus on showing your employer what you’re good at and what you’re really like. Be sociable – are there societies you can get involved in or events you can attend, or even organise?
Try, too, to create or get involved in a wide range of networks or communities. It’s important to build your relationships within the firm but also to reach out to others.
TARGETjobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2015 winners
Graduate employer of the year L’Oréal
Most popular graduate recruiters:
- Accounting and financial management PwC
- Banking, insurance and financial services HSBC
- Construction, civil engineering and surveying Arup
- Consulting McKinsey & Company
- Consumer goods – manufacturing and marketing L’Oréal
- Energy and utilities BP
- Engineering, design and manufacture Rolls-Royce
- Hospitality, leisure and tourism Hilton Worldwide
- Investment banking and investment JP Morgan
- IT and technology Google
- Law Allen & Overy LLP
- Logistics, transport and supply chain British Airways
- Public sector MI6 – Secret Intelligence Service
- Retail John Lewis Partnership
- Scientific research and development GlaxoSmithKline
- Best use of social media The Army
Student panel awards
- Best apprenticeship programme Barclays
- Best school-leaver programme Barclays
- Apprentice of the year Laura Webber, Barclays
- Best student marketing campaign for organisations recruiting fewer than 50 graduates per year L’Oréal
- Best student marketing campaign for organisations recruiting more than 50 graduates per year Accenture
- Best graduate recruitment website Bloomberg
- Best undergraduate internship/vacation programme IBM UK
- Diversity recruitment award National Grid
- Innovation on campus award Credit Suisse
- Advancement of social mobility in graduate recruitment award Enterprise Rent-a-Car
- Rising Star Max Pullen, Mott MacDonald
- AGCAS Award for excellence in careers and employability service engagement Phoenix Education Trust
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