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The Graduate Market in 2014Annual review of graduate vacancies & starting salaries at Britain’s leading employers

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3

The Graduate Market in 2014

Page

Executive Summary 5

1. Introduction 7 Researching the Graduate Market About High Fliers Research The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers

2. Graduate Vacancies 9 Job Vacancies for Graduates Graduate Vacancies in 2013 Graduate Vacancies in 2014 Type & Location of Graduate Vacancies in 2014 Changes to Graduate Vacancies in the Recession & Beyond

3. Graduate Salaries 19 Starting Salaries for Graduates Graduate Salaries in 2014 Changes in Graduate Salaries since 2013

4. Graduate Recruitment in 2013-2014 25 Promoting Graduate Programmes Graduate Recruitment Challenges in 2013-2014 Graduate Recruitment Promotions in 2013-2014 Universities Targeted by Employers in 2013-2014 Graduate Applications Received in 2013-2014

5. Work Experience at Graduate Employers 35 Recruiting Graduates through Work Experience Programmes Availability of Work Experience in 2014

Contents

New to graduate recruitment?

Get off to a flying start.For the last twenty years, High Fliers Research has conducted detailed research into the graduate recruitment market in the UK, providing the country’s leading employers with a unique insight into the attitudes and aspirations of final year university students.

Now, the company is delighted to offer professional training for new or recently-appointed graduate recruiters through intensive one-day courses, available monthly throughout the year at the High Fliers Research Centre in London. The courses have been designed to provide a highly practical insight into best-practice graduate recruitment and are ideal for those with up to 12 months experience of working in recruitment marketing or selection.

For more information about future training courses or to book a place, please call Carla Smith on 020 7428 9000 or email [email protected]

5


The Graduate Market in 2014 is a study of the latest graduate vacancies and starting salaries at the UK’s one hundred best-known and most successful employers, conducted by High Fliers Research during December 2013:

• Graduate vacancies at organisations featured in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers increased by 2.5% in 2013, compared with recruitment in 2012. Graduate recruitment at the leading employers dipped in 2012 by 0.8%, having risen by 2.8% in 2011 and 12.6% in 2010, after sharp falls of 17.8% in 2009 and 6.7% in 2008.

• The UK’s leading employers expect to recruit significantly more graduates in 2014 and are offering 8.7% more entry-level vacancies than last year – the biggest annual rise in graduate recruitment for four years.

• This substantial increase in graduate vacancies for 2014 takes graduate recruitment to its highest level since 2007 and means that there will be more opportunities for this summer’s university-leavers than at any time since the start of the recession.

• Employers in eleven out of thirteen key industries and employment areas are expecting to take on more new graduates than in 2013.

• The biggest growth in vacancies is expected at public sector employers, accounting & professional services firms, City investment banks, retailers and engineering & industrial companies which together intend to recruit almost 1,200 extra graduates in 2014.

• The largest recruiters of graduates in 2014 will be Teach First (1,550 vacancies), PwC (1,200 vacancies) and Deloitte (1,000 vacancies).

• Recruiters have confirmed that a record 37% of this year’s entry-level positions are expected to be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations – either through paid internships, industrial placements or vacation work – and therefore are not open to other students from the ‘Class of 2014’.

• Graduate starting salaries for 2014 at the UK’s leading graduate employers are expected to remain unchanged for an unprecedented fifth year – at a median of £29,000. Graduate salaries increased by 7.4% in 2010 and 5.9% in 2009.

• A quarter of top graduate programmes will pay new recruits more than £35,000 when they start work and ten organisations are offering at least £40,000 to this year’s graduates.

• The most generous salaries in 2014 are those on offer from investment banks (median of £45,000), law firms (median of £39,000), banking & finance firms (median of £33,000) and oil & energy companies (median of £32,500).

Foreword

Executive Summary


6

• Public sector employers (median of £22,400), the Armed Forces (median of £25,000) and retailers (median of £25,000) have the lowest graduate pay rates this year.

• The highest published graduate starting salaries for 2014 are at the European Commission (£41,500) and retailer Aldi (£41,000).

• More than a quarter of employers have increased their graduate recruitment budgets for the 2013-2014 recruitment round, the highest proportion for three years.

• The country’s leading employers have been actively marketing their 2014 graduate vacancies at an average of 18 UK universities, using a variety of campus careers fairs, local recruitment presentations, skills training events, online advertising and promotions through university careers services.

• Graduate recruiters have done more promotions through social media, skills training, university careers services, campus brand managers, careers fairs and recruitment presentations during this year’s recruitment campaigns – and less advertising in graduate directories, sector guides and local guides.

• The ten universities most-often targeted by Britain’s top graduate employers in 2013-2014 are Nottingham, Manchester, Cambridge, Oxford, Bristol, Bath, Warwick, Leeds, Imperial College London, and University College London.

• More than two-fifths of employers said they had received more completed graduate job applications during the early part of the recruitment season than they had last year and nearly half of employer believed the quality of applications had improved.

• Together, the UK’s top employers have received 9% more graduate job applications so far, compared with the equivalent period in the 2012-2013 recruitment round.

• More than four-fifths of the UK’s leading graduate employers are offering paid work experience programmes for students and recent graduates during the 2013-2014 academic year – a record 11,819 places are available.

• Two thirds of employers provide paid vacation internships for penultimate year students and three-fifths offer industrial placements for undergraduates (typically lasting 6-12 months as part of a university degree course).

• Increasing numbers of employers now also have work experience places for first year undergraduates – a quarter of organisations offer paid internships and a third of employers run introductory courses, open days and other taster experiences for first year students.

• Over half the recruiters who took part in the research repeated their warnings from previous years – that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations’ graduate programmes.

7


Researching the Graduate MarketWelcome toThe Graduate Market in 2014, the annualreviewofgraduatevacanciesandstartingsalariesatBritain’stopemployers,producedbyHigh Fliers Research.

This research, conductedduringDecember2013, examineshowmanygraduatestheleadingemployersrecruitedin2013andassessestheirlatestrecruitmenttargetsfor2014.

Italsoanalysesthestartingsalariesonoffertonewgraduates,thenumberofpaidworkexperienceplacesthatareavailabletostudents&recentgraduates,andreviewsthepromotionsbeingusedbyemployerstopublicisetheirgraduatevacanciesduringthe2013-2014recruitmentseason.

ThisistheeleventhyearthatHighFliersResearchhasproduceditsassessmentofthegraduateemploymentmarket.ThelatestresearchisbasedonastudyofgraduaterecruitmentattheorganisationsnamedasThe Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2013inapollof18,252finalyearstudentstofind“Whichemployeroffersthebestopportunitiesforgraduates”.

About High Fliers ResearchEstablished in 1994,High Fliers Research is an independentmarket research companywhichspecialisesinstudentandgraduateresearch.Ithasworkedwithmorethan125leadingemployerstomeasuretheimpactoftheirgraduaterecruitmentcampaignsoncampusandhelpthemunderstandtheirpositioninthegraduatejobmarket.

The company is best-known for The UK Graduate Careers Survey –itsinnovativeannualstudyofover18,000finalyearundergraduatesatthirtyleadinguniversities–whichissupportedandfundedbyupto70national&internationalemployerseachyear.

Thesurveygivesemployersauniqueinsightintothecareerexpectationsandaspirationsoffinalyearstudents–justweeksbeforetheygraduate–andprovidesadefinitiverecordoftheirsearchforagraduatejob.

Forthelastdecade,HighFliersResearchhasalsoconductedregularsurveysofBritain’stopemployerstoresearchcurrentgraduatevacancylevels,startingsalariesandbenchmarkthelatestgraduaterecruitmentpractices.ThecompanyhostsThe National Graduate Recruitment Conference,aone-dayeventheldexclusivelyforgraduaterecruitersinSeptembereachyear,aswellasprovidingmonthlyprofessionaltrainingcoursesfornewrecruiters.

Internationally, High Fliers Researchworks closelywith the Australian Association of Graduate Employers, theSouth African Graduate Recruitment Association and theNew Zealand Association Graduate Recruitment to carry out their annual surveys ofgraduateemployers,newrecruitsandyoungmanagers.

Chapter 1

Introduction


8

AccentureAirbus AldiAllen & OveryAppleArcadia GroupArmyArupAsdaAtkinsBAE SystemsBain & CompanyBaker & McKenzieBalfour BeattyBank of America Merrill LynchBarclaysBBCBlackRockBootsBoston Consulting GroupBPBritish AirwaysBTCancer Research UKCentrica Channel 4CitiCivil Service Fast StreamClifford ChanceCo-operative GroupCoca-Cola EnterprisesCredit Suisse DanoneDeloitte

Department for International DevelopmentDeutsche BankDiageoDLA Piper EDF EnergyEuropean CommissionExxonMobilEYForeign & Commonwealth OfficeFreshfieldsGEGlaxoSmithKlineGoldman SachsGoogleGrant Thornton Herbert Smith FreehillsHogan LovellsHSBCIBMJ.P. MorganJaguar Land Rover John Lewis PartnershipKPMGL’OréalLidlLinklatersLloyd’s Lloyds Banking GroupMarks & SpencerMarsMcDonald’sMcKinsey & CompanyMI5 – The Security Service

MicrosoftMondelēz InternationalMorgan StanleyMorrisons National GridNestléNetwork Rail Newton EuropeNGDP for Local GovernmentNHSOxfamPenguin PoliceProcter & Gamble PwCRed BullRolls-RoyceRoyal Air ForceRoyal Bank of Scotland GroupRoyal Navy Sainsbury’sSantanderShellSiemensSkySlaughter and MayTeach FirstTescoThomson ReutersTransport for London UBSUnileverWPP

The Times Top 100 Graduate EmployersAspartofthecampusresearchforThe UK Graduate Careers Survey 2013,18,252 final year students from thirty leading universities were askedtheunpromptedquestion“Whichemployerdoyou thinkoffers thebestopportunitiesforgraduates?”.

Betweenthem,finalistsnamedover1,000differentorganisationsduringthesurvey–theonehundredemployerswiththemoststudentvotesformThe Times Top 100 Graduate Employersfor2013.

It is these employers that are included in the research forThe Graduate Market in 2014 report:

9


Job Vacancies for GraduatesThefirstpartof theresearchexaminesthenumberofgraduatevacanciesavailableat theUK’sleadingemployersin2014,comparedwithrecruitmentin2013.Graduatevacanciesfor2014aretypicallypositionswithanautumn2014startdate,promotedduringthecurrent2013-2014recruitmentseason.

Twelvemonthsago,The Graduate Market in 2013reportedthatthecontinuinguncertaintyinthewidereconomyduring2012meantthatthegrowthingraduatevacancieshadstalledandfinalrecruitmentnumbersfortheyearwere0.8%lowerthan2011.Graduaterecruitmentimprovedin2013andemployersincreasedtheirvacanciesforuniversity-leaversby2.5%.

Thelatestresearchshowsthattheoutlookfor2014issignificantlymoreupbeat,withtheUK’sleadingemployersexpectingtohire8.7%moregraduatesthanwererecruitedduring2013–thehighestannualincreaseinvacanciesforfouryears(seeChart 2.1).

Chapter 2

Graduate Vacancies

Chart 2.1 How Employers’ Vacancies for Graduates Changed from 2004 to 2014

Percentage change in graduate vacancies on the previous year

1050-10-20

2007 Up 10.1%

Source - The Graduate Market in 2014

2006 Up 10.8%

2005 Up 10.9%

20

2004 Up 0.5%

2008 Down 6.7%

2009 Down 17.8%

-5-15 15

2010 Up 12.6%

2011 Up 2.8%

2014 Up 8.7%

2012 Down 0.8%

2013 Up 2.5%


1010

Graduate Vacancies in 2013Aftersubstantialreductionsingraduaterecruitmentatthebeginningoftherecessionin2008and2009whenalmostaquarterofentry-levelvacanciesattheUK’sbest-knownemployerswerecut,employmentprospectsforuniversity-leaversimprovedconsiderablyin2010and2011,butdippedagainduringthe2012recruitmentseason.

Atthestartof the2011-2012graduaterecruitmentseason, itseemedthatamorebouyantmoodhadreturned,withtheleadingemployerspreparingtohireover18,300graduates–nearly2,000morethanhadbeenrecruitedin2012.Butintheearlymonthsoftherecruitingseason, employers’ graduate recruitment targets in a number of industries and businesssectorschangedsignificantlyandtheoverall levelofvacanciesonofferwasreduced(seeChart 2.2).Bythesummer,however,anumberofmajoremployersoptedtoincreasetheirgraduateintakeandfinishedtherecruitmentseasonwithmoregraduaterecruitsthanin2012.

This very mixed picture meant that in several sectors – including the accounting &professionalfirms,investmentbanksandlawfirms–graduatevacancytargetsfor2013weredowngradedbetweenSeptember2012andJanuary2013,onlytogobackupagainbytheendoftherecruitmentroundinJuly2013(seeTable 2.4).Theneteffectofthesechangeswasthatgraduatevacanciesintheseindustriesdroppedslightlycomparedwithrecruitmentin2012.DifferentpatternsemergedwithinthepublicsectorandtheArmedForceswherevacanciesincreasedsteadilythroughtherecruitmentseason,andinconsulting,wheretargetswerereducedastheyearprogressed

Bytheautumnof2013,atotalof16,865graduatesstartedworkwithorganisationsfeaturedinThe Times Top 100 Graduate Employers–amodestincreaseof2.5%onthenumberofgraduateshiredin2012.Inall,forty-sevenemployersincreasedtheirgraduateintake,forty-oneemployersreducedtheirvacanciesandtwelvemaintainedtheirrecruitmentat2012levels(seeChart 2.3).Year-on-year,vacanciesincreasedinsevenareas–thepublicsector,IT&telecommunications,engineering&industrial,media,oil&energy,consumergoodsandtheArmedForces–whichtogetherprovidedover800additionalgraduateroles,comparedwithrecruitmentin2012.

Chart 2.2 How Graduate Recruitment Targets Changed during 2013

Graduate vacancies at Britain’s top employers in 2013

20,00010,0000


Recruitment Targets for 2013 Revised in July 2013 17,217

Recruitment Targets for 2013 Published in September 2012 18,306

Recruitment Targets for 2013 Revised in January 2013 16,900

Actual Graduates Recruited in 2013 Confirmed in December 2013 16,865

15,0005,000

11


Chart 2.3 How Employers’ Graduate Vacancies Changed in 2013, compared with 2012

Percentage of top graduate employers

504020100


Recruited the same number of graduates as in 2012 12%

30

Recruited 50+ graduates more than in 2012 11%

Recruited 1-50 graduates more than in 2012 36%

Recruited 50+ graduates fewer than in 2012 13%

Table 2.4 Analysis of Graduate Vacancies in 2013, by Industry or Business Sector

Industry or Business Sector

Accounting & professional services

Armed Forces

Banking & finance

Consulting

Consumer goods

Engineering & industrial

Investment banking

IT & telecommunications

Law

Media

Oil & energy

Public sector

Retailing

ALL SECTORS


Recruitment target for 2013, as published in

Sept 2012

4,600

830

1,097

675

359

1,510

2,700

695

795

455

640

2,305

1,375

18,306

% change from

recruitment in 2012

-1.0

2.0

-6.1

-2.4

11.1

8.1

-5.5

17.9

-6.2

18.4

5.8

19.6

-9.8

2.5

Vacancies added (cut),

compared with 2012

(39)

20

(53)

(15)

32

97

(125)

113

(47)

45

32

494

(142)

413

Actual graduates

recruited by Dec 2013

3,838

1,032

822

605

320

1,299

2,137

744

708

290

584

3,013

1,311

16,865

Recruitment target for 2013,

as revised in Jan 2013

3,827

910

927

620

322

1,324

2,270

681

765

259

565

2,672

1,572

16,900


as revised in July 2013

3,955

1,212

793

609

353

1,343

2,343

610

785

294

556

2,988

1,220

17,217

Recruited 1-50 graduates fewer than in 2012 28%


12

Expected Graduate Vacancies in 2014Followingthesmallincreaseingraduatevacanciesin2013,itisveryencouragingthattheorganisations featured in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers are now planning toexpandtheirgraduaterecruitmentprogrammessubstantially–byanaverageof8.7%in2014–thehighestannualincreaseingraduatevacanciesforfouryears.

Nearlyhalftheleadingemployersareexpectingtorecruitmoregraduatesthisyear,withfiveorganisationsconfidentthatthey’llbehiringatleastahundredextragraduatesduring2014.Overathirdofemployersplantorecruitsimilarnumbersofgraduatestotheir2013intake,whilstafifthhavefewerentry-levelvacanciesthisyear.Onaverage,employersexpecttotakeon175graduatesin2014butsevenofthelargestemployersarepreparingtohiremorethan500university-leavers(seeChart 2.5).

Comparedwith the final recruitment figures for 2013, vacancies for graduates are set toincreaseinelevenoutofthethirteenmainemploymentareas(seeTable 2.7).Thebiggestgrowth is at public sector employers, accounting&professional services firms, retailers,investmentbanksandengineering&industrialcompanies,which togetherexpect toofferalmost1,200additionalpositionsin2014.

Graduatevacanciesinseveralsectors–includingbanking&finance,investmentbanking,IT& telecommunications, thepublic sectorand retail–have increasedsince theoriginalrecruitmenttargetswerepublishedinSeptember2013.Thismeansthatforthefirsttimesincethebeginningoftherecession,thenumberofgraduatevacanciesonofferfromemployershasincreasedduringthefirstthreemonthsoftherecruitmentseason.

AlthoughthisdataconfirmstherewillbeasignificantincreaseinthenumberofnewgraduatejobsavailableattheUK’sleadingemployersin2014,recruiterswarnthatarecord37%ofvacanciesareexpectedtobefilledbyundergraduateswhohavehadpreviousworkexperiencewiththeirorganisations,suchaspaidinternshipsorindustrialplacements(seeChart 2.6)andthereforewillnotbeavailabletootherfinalyearstudentsfromthe‘Classof2014’.

Chart 2.5 Graduate Vacancies at the UK’s Top Employers in 2014


Recruiting 101-250 graduates 23%

Recruiting 500+ graduates 7%




504020100 30


No graduate vacancies in 2014 1%

13


Chart 2.6 How Graduate Vacancies at the UK’s Top Employers are likely to be Filled


Vacancies for 2014 available to final

year undergraduates and recent graduates63%

Vacancies for 2014 expected to be filled

by graduates who had already worked

for the employer

37%

Table 2.7 Analysis of Graduate Vacancies in 2014, by Industry or Business Sector



Armed Forces

Banking & finance

Consulting

Consumer goods


Investment banking


Law

Media

Oil & energy

Public sector

Retailing

ALL SECTORS


Recruitment target for 2014, as published in

Sept 2013

4,000

1,050

840

600

423

1,575

2,265

600

714

368

540

3,280

1,520

17,901

% change from

recruitment in 2013

7.2

0.4

16.2

21.6

7.5

11.3

8.2

2.2

3.2

-6.4

-4.7

12.1

13.3

8.7


as revised in Dec 2013

3,848

1,036

955

590

372

1,591

2,383

760

709

247

526

3,508

1,599

18,264

Vacancies added (cut),

compared with 2013

260

4

133

105

26

162

181

16

22

(17)

(26)

380

188

1,462

% of vacancies likely to be filled by graduates

who had already worked for employer

30

-

46

30

58

24

74

26

47

-

37

14

37

37


14

Chart 2.8 Location of Graduate Vacancies at leading UK Employers in 2014

London 87%


South West 48%

Northern Ireland 29%

North West 56%

South East 52%

Scotland 51%

Location & Type of Graduate Vacancies in 2014LookingatwherewithintheUKemployersexpecttoemploygraduatesshowsthatalmostnineoutoftenorganisationsareofferingvacanciesinLondonfor2013andhalfplantohirenewrecruitsforpositionsinthesoutheastofEngland(seeChart 2.8).Whilstthisdoesn’tnecessarilymeanthatthemajorityofgraduatevacanciesareinoraroundtheM25,itdoesconfirmthatmostmajoremployershaveopportunitieswithintheregion.

ThenorthwestofEngland,theMidlandsandthesouthwesthavethenexthighestnumbersofemployers recruitinggraduates into theregions, followedby thenortheastofEnglandandYorkshire.OfalltheEnglishregions,EastAngliaistheleastlikelytoyieldgraduatevacancies–43%ofemployershaveopportunitiestherein2014.

Atotalof51%and44%ofgraduateemployershaveentry-leveljobsonofferinScotlandandWalesrespectivelyand29%arerecruitingforopportunitiesinNorthernIreland.

The Graduate Market in 2014 alsorecordsthetypeofjobfunctionsthatemployersarehopingtorecruitgraduatesintoin2014.ThemostfrequentrequirementisforITandfinancevacancies–morethanhalfofemployersofferrolesintheseareas,irrespectiveoftheirorganisation’smainpurpose (seeChart 2.9). Around two-fifthsofemployershavevacancies inhuman

North East 48%

Yorkshire 46%

Wales 44%

East Anglia 43%

The Midlands 54%


1008040200 60

15


Chart 2.9 Type of Graduate Vacancies at leading UK Employers in 2014

IT 56%


Engineering 32%

Media 7%

Finance 54%

Human resources 44%

Marketing 38%

Consulting 18%

Transport & logistics 23%

Purchasing 22%

Accountancy 20%

Law 16%

Retailing 17%

Sales 25%

General management 28%

Research & development 25%

resourcesormarketing,athirdarerecruitingforengineeringpositionsandapproximatelyaquarterarelookingforgraduatestoworkingeneralmanagement,research&development,salesortransport&logistics.

Theseresultsunderlinethedisparitybetweenwhatorganisationsareperceivedtodoandtheirpotentialrecruitmentneeds.Forexample,thenumberofvacanciesatso-called‘ITcompanies’isrelativelysmallandyetthevolumeofgraduatesneededtoworkinITfunctionsatawiderangeofemployersinotherindustriesandbusinesssectorsisconsiderable.

Investment banking 11%


1008040200 60


16

Changes to Graduate Vacancies during the Recession & BeyondThe onset of the global financial crisis and the recession that followed in theUK had aprofoundeffectonthegraduatemarket.In2008and2009graduatevacanciesatorganisationsfeatured inThe Times Top 100 Graduate Employers fellbyanunprecedented23.3%andentry-level positionswere cut in thirteen of fourteen key industries andbusiness sectors.Inall,somefifty-nineemployerssawtheirgraduaterecruitmentdecline.

Theworstofthecutstookplaceattheinvestmentbanks,IT&telecomsfirms,chemical&pharmaceuticalscompaniesandwithinthemedia,wherevacancieshalvedduringthecourseofthetworecruitmentrounds.Thereweresubstantialfallstooinrecruitmentatconsumergoods manufacturers, engineering & industrial employers, oil & energy companies andaccounting&professionalservicesfirms–vacanciesdroppedbybetweenaquarterandathirdineachsectorbetween2007and2009.Onlyoneemploymentarea,thepublicsector,managedtoincreaseitsgraduaterecruitmentovertheperiod,stepping-upvacanciesby45%duringthistwoyearperiod,helpedbytheconsiderableexpansionoftheTeachFirstscheme.

Itisinterestingtobenchmarkhowgraduatevacancieshavechangedoverthelasttenyears(seeChart 2.10).Thisindexingofvacanciesshowsthatduringthefourrecruitmentseasonsbetween2004and2007,opportunitiesforgraduatesgrewbymorethanathirdatBritain’stopemployers.Virtuallyallofthisgrowthwaswipedoutinthefollowingtwoyears,andby2009graduaterecruitmenthadreturnedtoasimilarleveltothatrecordedin2004.

Twelvemonthslater,thegraduatejobmarketbouncedbackandvacanciesgrewby12.6%in2010,withafurther increaseof2.8%in2011. Therecoverystalledagainin2012butrecruitmentincreasedagainin2013,takingvacanciestotheirhighestlevelforfiveyears.Thesignificant8.7%riseingraduaterecruitmentexpectedthisyearmeansthattherewillbemoregraduatevacanciesavailablein2014thanatanytimesince2007.

Chart 2.10 Indexing Graduate Vacancies at the UK’s Top Employers 2004 to 2014


2004

100

0

50

100

150

2005

110

2006

122

2007

135

2008

126

2009

103

2010

116

2014

132

Gra

duat

e va

canc

ies,

inde

xed

to re

crui

tmen

t in

2004

2011

119

2012

118

2013

121

17


Comparingthegraduaterecruitmenttargetsfor2014withthenumbershiredin2007showsthatwithinfiveindividualindustriesandbusinesssectors,graduatevacanciesarenowhigherthantheywerebeforethestartoftherecession(seeChart 2.11).Thenumberofentry-levelpositionsavailableforgraduatesinthepublicsectorhasvirtuallydoubledoverthelastsevenyearsandvacancieshaveincreasedbyhalfintheretailsectorandbythree-quartersinIT&telecommunications.

Within five key employment areas – consulting firms, consumer goods manufacturers,engineering&industrialcompanies,accountancy&professionalservicesfirms,andbanking&financefirms–graduaterecruitmentlevelsarenowverysimilartothosesevenyearsago,despitesubstantialfallsingraduatevacanciesatthestartoftherecession.However,graduaterecruitmentatthewell-knownmediaorganisations,theArmedForcesandCityinvestmentbanks remains between 30%and 60% lower than itwas in 2007 and there are around aquarterfewergraduatevacanciesavailablethisyearattheleadingoil&energycompaniesandtoplawfirms.

Chart 2.11 How Graduate Vacancies Changed 2007 to 2014, by Sector or Industry

Percentage change in graduate vacancies between 2007 and 2014

100200-20

Public sector Up 94.4%


60-60-80

Armed ForcesDown 39.6%

Banking & financeDown 10.6%

LawDown 22.6%

Oil & energyDown 25.4%

MediaDown 57.9%

IT & telecommunications Up 77.1%

Retailing Up 58.4%

Investment bankingDown 32.5%

40-40

Accounting & professional servicesDown 3.4%

Consulting Up 10.4%

80

Consumer goods Up 7.5%

Engineering & industrialDown 1.3%


18

Summary• Graduate vacancies at organisations featured in The Times Top 100 Graduate

Employers increased by 2.5% in 2013, compared with recruitment in 2012. Graduate recruitment at the leading employers dipped in 2012 by 0.8%, having risen by 2.8% in 2011 and 12.6% in 2010, after sharp falls of 17.8% in 2009 and 6.7% in 2008.

• The UK’s leading employers expect to recruit significantly more graduates in 2014 and are offering 8.7% more entry-level vacancies than last year – the biggest annual rise in graduate recruitment for four years.

• This substantial increase in graduate vacancies for 2014 takes graduate recruitment to its highest level since 2007 and means that there will be more opportunities for this summer’s university-leavers than at any time since the start of the recession.

• Employers in eleven out of thirteen key industries and employment areas are expecting to take on more new graduates than in 2013.

• The biggest growth in vacancies is expected at public sector employers, accounting & professional services firms, City investment banks, retailers and engineering & industrial companies which together intend to recruit almost 1,200 extra graduates in 2014.

• The largest recruiters of graduates in 2014 will be Teach First (1,550 vacancies), PwC (1,200 vacancies) and Deloitte (1,000 vacancies).

• Recruiters have confirmed that a record 37% of this year’s entry-level positions are expected to be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations – either through paid internships, industrial placements or vacation work – and therefore are not open to other students from the ‘Class of 2014’.

19


Chapter 3

Graduate Salaries

Starting Salaries for GraduatesThesecondpartoftheresearchanalysesthestartingsalariesthattopemployersarepreparingtopaynewgraduatesduetobeginworkin2014,comparedwithsalariespaidtograduaterecruitswhojoinedtheirorganisationsin2013.Thestartingsalariesquotedaregenerallytheaveragenationalsalariesthathavebeenpromotedbyemployersduringthe2012-2013and2013-2014recruitmentrounds.Thefiguresdonotincludeadditionalbenefitssuchasrelocationallowances,regionalweighting,subsidisedcompanyfacilitiesorbonusschemes.

Forthefouryearsfrom2004to2007,salariesrosebybetween2.3%and3.0%–effectivelymatchingtheincreasingcost-of-livingeachyear–andbymoregenerousrisesof4.1%in2008and5.9%in2009(seeChart 3.1).Theimprovinggraduatejobmarketin2010broughtabiggerjumptoamedianstartingsalaryof£29,000butpayfornewgraduateshasremainedatthisleveleachyearsinceandisexpectedtodosoagainin2014.

Chart 3.1 How Employers’ Graduate Starting Salaries Changed from 2004 to 2014


2004 £22,500

2008 £25,500

2007 £24,500

2006 £23,800

2005 £23,100

Median starting salaries

£15,000 £20,000 £25,000 £30,000 £35,000

2009 £27,000

2010 £29,000

2011 £29,000

2014 £29,000

2012 £29,000

2013 £29,000


20

Graduate Salaries in 2014TheresearchshowsthatalthoughtheUK’sleadingemployersareofferingamedianstartingsalaryof£29,000foranunprecedentedfifthyearrunning,theirisconsiderablevariationinthestartingsalariesavailablefromindividualorganisationsin2014.

Onlythreemajoremployersarepaying£20,000orlesstotheirnewgraduaterecruitsthisyear(seeChart 3.2).Mostorganisations–somethree-fifthsofthosefeaturedintheresearch–areofferinggraduatesbetween£20,000and£30,000. At thevery topof themarket,aquarterofgraduateprogrammesnowpaymorethan£35,000andtenemployersareintendingtopaysalaries inexcessof£40,000 thisyear. Fiveof thebest-known investmentbanksareofferingbasicsalariesof£45,000thisyearandthreehaveconfirmedthattheiroverallgraduatepackageswillbeworth£50,000ormoretonewjoiners,whenrelocationallowancesorsign-upbonusesaretakenintoaccount.BeyondtheCity,thehighestsalariesareagainatAldi,whichpaysgraduatestrainingtobecomeareamanagersafirst-yearsalaryof£41,000,and theEuropeanCommission,wherenewgraduatesarepaidaminimumstartingsalaryof£41,500.

Withinindividualindustriesandbusinesssectors,thehighest-payingUKgraduateemployersin2014areagaintheinvestmentbanksandlawfirms(seeChart 3.3).Whilstitshouldbenotedthatseveralofthelargestinvestmentbanksfeaturedintheresearchdeclinedtorevealtheirexactgraduatestartingsalariesfor2014,themedianrateforthosethatdidis£45,000.Following increases in starting salaries at anumberof leading law firms and twoof the‘BigFour’accounting&professionalservicesfirmsduringthelasttwelvemonths–forboththe2013and2014intakeofgraduates– themediansalaryfornewgraduates joiningthelegalsectorisnow£39,000andhasrisento£30,000fortraineeaccountants.

Startingsalariesof£30,000ormoreareavailableinthreeothersectorsin2014–banking&finance,oil&energyandconsulting. ConsumergoodsandIT&telecommunications


£20,001-£25,000 16%

£20,000 or less

£25,001-£30,000 42%

Chart 3.2 Graduate Starting Salaries at leading UK Employers in 2014

More than £40,000 10%

£30,001-£35,000 8%

3%

£35,001-£40,000 16%

Unknown 5%


504020100 30

21


companiesareexpectingtopaysalariesclosetothenationalmedianof£29,000.Thelowestpredicted salaries are for those starting work with public sector employers, high streetretailersandthosejoiningtheArmedForces,wheretheinitialsalaryforgraduatescurrentlyaverages£25,000uponcommencementofOfficertraining.

Startingsalariesinsomeemploymentareasmayyetincreasebeforegraduatesbeginworkinautumn2014.Forexample,the‘BigFour’accountancy&professionalservicesfirmsoftendon’tfinalisetheirstartingsalariesuntilthesummermonths,sopayfornewgraduatescouldberevisedupwardsthen.

Whilstnoneof thedata forgraduate remuneration in2014 includesadditional incentivessuchas relocationallowances, approximately aquarterof employersdid say theywouldbe offering some formof ‘startingwork’ or ‘sign-up’ bonus to newgraduates this year,typicallyworthbetween£1,500and£6,000.

Chart 3.3 Graduate Salaries at UK Employers in 2014, by Sector or Industry

Median starting salaries

£15,000

Investment banking £45,000


£20,000 £30,000 £35,000 £45,000

Law £39,000

Consulting £31,500

Banking & finance £33,000

IT & telecommunications £29,500

Armed Forces £25,000

Consumer goods £29,000

Accounting & professional services £30,000

Oil & energy £32,500

Public sector £22,400

Engineering & industrial £26,500

Retail £25,000

Media £27,000

£25,000 £40,000


22

Changes to Graduate Salaries since 2013Examining how graduate starting salaries for 2014 at individual organisations comparewith2013,itisclearthatwhilstthemajorityofleadinggraduateemployersincludedintheresearchhaveoptedtoleavetheirstartingsalariesunchanged,uptoathirdofemployersareplanningtopaytheirnewrecruitsimprovedsalariesthisyear(seeChart 3.4).

Tenemployershavestepped-uptheirgraduatestartingsalariesby2.5%orless–arisewhichcouldbeconsideredtobea‘cost-of-livingincrease’,giventhattheUKrateofinflation(CPI)stoodat2.1%inthefinalquarterof2013.Itisinterestingthatsevenoftheelevenemployersthathaveopted to increasegraduatesalariesbymore than5.0%for2014hadpreviouslybeen paying university-leavers less than the national median graduate starting salary of£29,000–severaloftheseincreasesnowbringtheseorganisations’startingsalariesuptothemedianrate.Atotaloftwelvewell-knownemployershavereducedtheirgraduateratesfor2014,althoughmostappeartobeeitherminoradjustmentsof£1,000orless,orachangeto therangeofsalariesonoffer, rather thanmoresignificant reductions to theirgraduatestartingsalaries.

Withindifferentindustriesandbusinesssectors,manygraduatestartingsalariesremainthesamefor2014astheywerein2013(seeChart 3.5).Innineofthethirteenkeyemploymentareas featured within the research – including the Armed Forces, consulting, consumergoods,engineering&industrial,investmentbanking,law,oil&energy,retailandthepublicsector–thereisnochangetothemediansalarybeingoffered.Smallsalaryincreasesareexpectedat IT& telecommunicationscompaniesandaccounting&professional servicesfirmsbutrisesofupto10.0%areplannedbygraduateemployersinbanking&financeandthemedia.Itisworthnotingthatmanyofthegraduatepositionsinthemediaarecommercialroles,ratherthaneditorialjobs,whichtraditionallypaylowerentry-levelsalaries.

Lookingatstartingsalariesin2014incomparisonwiththoseonofferinpreviousyears,itisapparentthatpayrateshaveactuallyincreaseddramaticallyinseveralemploymentareas

Chart 3.4 How UK Employers have changed Graduate Starting Salaries since 2013

No change in salaries 52%

A reduction in salaries

Unknown

Source - The Graduate Market in 2014Percentage of top graduate employers

1008040200 60

More than a 5.0% rise in salaries

Up to a 2.5% rise in salaries

12%

10%

11%

Up to a 5.0% rise in salaries 10%

5%

23


duringtheyearsoftheeconomicdownturn.TheleadingCitylawfirmsarenowofferingnew graduates a quartermore than they did before the recession began in 2008, whilstthetopinvestmentbankshavesteppeduptheirstartingsalariesbyalmostathirdoverthesameperiod.Bycomparison,graduatestartingsalariesatthemajorpublicsectoremployershaverisenbylessthan10%since2007–wellbelowtheincreaseinthecost-of-livingduringoverthelastsevenyears.

Thesechangestograduatestartingsalariesmeanthatthereremainsawidedisparitybetweenthe individual employers featuredwithin the research – the top salaries on offer to newgraduatesin2014arestillmorethan£25,000higherthanthelowestrates.Sixsectorsnowpaymediansalariesofatleast£30,000andwithpackagesofbetween£32,000and£42,000onofferintheoil&energyindustry,atthreeleadingretailersandfromonepublicsectoremployer,itisclearthatgenerousremunerationpackagesareavailableforgraduatesbeyondtheCitybanksandlegalfirms.

Chart 3.5 Changes to Graduate Salaries since 2013, by Sector or Industry

Percentage change from 2013 salaries

-5.0

Banking & finance Up 10.0%


Oil & energy No change

Retail No change

0 5.0 10.0

Investment banking No change

Law No change

Engineering & industrial No change

Consulting No change

-10.0 -7.5 -2.5 2.5 7.5

Public sector No change

Media Up 8.0%

Accounting & professional services Up 3.4%

Armed Forces No change

Consumer goods No change

IT & telecommunications Up 1.7%


24

Summary• Graduate starting salaries for 2014 at the UK’s leading graduate employers are

expected to remain unchanged for an unprecedented fifth year – at a median of £29,000. Graduate salaries increased by 7.4% in 2010 and 5.9% in 2009.

• A quarter of top graduate programmes will pay new recruits more than £35,000 when they start work and ten organisations are offering at least £40,000 to this year’s graduates.

• The most generous salaries in 2014 are those on offer from investment banks (median of £45,000), law firms (median of £39,000), banking & finance firms (median of £33,000) and oil & energy companies (median of £32,500).

• Public sector employers (median of £22,400), the Armed Forces (median of £25,000) and retailers (median of £25,000) have the lowest graduate pay rates this year.

• The highest published graduate starting salaries for 2014 are at the European Commission (£41,500) and retailer Aldi (£41,000).

25


Promoting Graduate ProgrammesThenextpartoftheresearchexamineshowtheUK’sleadingrecruitershaveapproachedthe 2013-2014graduate recruitment round– from the promotions they used to publicisetheirgraduateopportunities,theuniversitiestheytargetedduringtheircampusrecruitmentcampaigns,tothevolumeandqualityofapplicationsreceivedsofarfortheir2014graduatevacancies.

Itisnosurprisethattherecessionin2008and2009hadasubstantialimpactontheresourcessubsequentlyavailabletograduaterecruiters.The Graduate Market in 2010reportshowedthatrecruitmentbudgetsatalmosthalfof theUK’sleadinggraduateemployershadbeencut comparedwith the previous recruitment season, and 18%of organisations describedthe decrease as ‘considerable’. Just thirteen employers increased their annual graduaterecruitmentbudgetthatyear(seeChart 4.1).

During the 2010-2011 recruitment season, the outlook seemedmore encouraging and athirdoftopemployersspentmoreonattractingandrecruitinggraduates.Butduringboththe2011-2012and2012-2013graduaterecruitmentrounds,employerswhosebudgetshadincreasedwereoutnumberedbytheorganisationswherespendingongraduaterecruitmenthadbeencutyear-on-year.

Thisyear,forthefirsttimesince2011,morethanaquarteroftheleadingemployershaveincreased their graduate recruitment budgets for 2013-2014, whilst smaller numbers oforganisationshavedecreasedtheirspendingongraduaterecruitment.

Chapter 4

Graduate Recruitment in 2013-2014

Chart 4.1 Top Employers whose annual Graduate Recruitment Budgets increased


2010 13%

2013 14%

2012 21%

2011 33%

2014 27%


504020100 30


26

Chart 4.2 Employers’ Graduate Recruitment Budgets for 2013-14


Budget has increased a little 22%

Budget is similar to last year 51%

Budget has decreased a little 20%


1008040200 60

Budget has increased considerably

Budget has decreased considerably 2%

5%

Graduate Recruitment Challenges in 2013-2014 GiventhatthenumberofgraduatevacanciesonofferfromtheUK’sleadingemployershasrisensubstantiallythisyear,itisperhapsunderstandablethatgraduaterecruitmentbudgetshaveincreasedaccordingly.

Sometwenty-sevenorganisationshaveallocatedmoreresourcesandbudgettoattractandrecruituniversity-leaversthisyear(seeChart 4.2),withfiveemployers–includingaleadingretailer, one of theArmed Forces and amajor financial institution – reporting that theirspendinghad‘increasedconsiderably’.Halfofemployershaveasimilarbudgettolastyearbutrecruitersfrommorethantwentyorganisationswarnedtheyhavehadlessmoneytospendongraduaterecruitmentthisyear–includingseveralengineering&industrialcompanies,oneoftheBigFouraccounting&professionalservicesfirmsandtwoofthekeyemployersfromtheIT&telecommunicationssector.

Graduaterecruiterstakingpartintheresearchwereaskedabouttheirmainchallengesandfocusesduringthecurrent2013-2014graduaterecruitmentround(seeChart 4.3).Almostthree-quartersconfirmedthatoneoftheirkeyprioritieswastoimprovestudents’perceptionsoftheirorganisationsandoverhalfwerekeentostepuptheirprofileoncampusandimprovethequalityofgraduatestheyrecruited.Aquarterofrecruitersfearedincreasedcompetitionforgraduatesfromotheremployersthisyear,whilstnearlyhalfwarnedtheyhadinsufficientresourcesintheirgraduaterecruitmentteams.

Three-fifthsoforganisationssaidthattheywereworkingtoachievediversitytargetsfortheirgraduaterecruitment,suchasthenumberofwomenorethnicminorityapplicants,butjustoneinfiverecruitershadsocialmobilitytargets,torecruitgraduatesfromawiderrangeofbackgroundsandcircumstances.

Relatively fewemployerswanted to increase theoverallnumberofgraduateapplicationsthattheyreceivedbutalmosthalfofrecruitershopedtoattractmoreapplicationsforspecificfunctions.Formanyrecruiters,therewasanincreasedemphasisonworkexperiencewithhalflookingtoimprovethequalityofstudentsrecruitedforinternshipsorotherworkplacements.

27


Chart 4.3 Challenges for Graduate Recruiters at the UK’s Top Employers in 2013-2014

Stepping-up the organisations profile on campus 53%


34%Attracting more applications for work placements or internships

Attracting more applications for specific graduate vacancies 45%

Improving students’ perceptions of the organisation 71%

Insufficient support for graduate recruitment from rest of organisation 8%


1008040200 60

Attracting more applications for all graduate vacancies 15%

Reducing the number of applications for graduate vacancies

50%Increasing the quality of students recruited for work placements

Increasing the quality of graduates recruited 56%

Reducing the number of applications for work placements or internships

Achieving diversity targets (such as gender, ethnic background) 60%

Lack of students graduating from specific degrees 18%

25%Increased competition from other employers

Limited graduate recruitment marketing budget 29%

Achieving social mobility targets 21%

Not enough resources in the graduate recruitment team 44%

Insufficient support for graduate recruitment from senior management 6%

6%

1%


28

Graduate Recruitment Promotions in 2013-2014 TheUK’stopemployershaveusedaverywidevarietyofdifferentpromotionstopublicisetheirgraduateopportunitiesduringthe2013-2014recruitmentseason(seeTable 4.5).

Virtuallyalltheleadingrecruitersareworkingwithuniversitycareersservicesthisyearandareadvertisingtheirgraduatevacanciesongraduaterecruitmentwebsites(suchasMilkroundandProspects).Therehasbeenasharpriseinemployers’useofsocialmedia–morethan90%oforganisationsarenowusingFacebook,TwitterorLinkedIntopromotetheirgraduateopportunitiesandtwo-thirdsofrecruiterssaidtheiruseofsocialmediahadincreasedthisyear.Averyhighproportionofemployersalsousedcommercialoruniversityemailservicestoletindividualstudentsknowabouttheirgraduatevacancies.

Atlocaluniversities,morethanninetyindividualemployershaveheldtheirownon-campusrecruitmentpresentationsand takenpart inuniversitycareers fairs so far thisyear. Fourfifthsofemployershaveprovidedskillstrainingsessionsthisyear,withmanyorganisationssteppingupthenumberofeventstheyhavehosted.Morethanhalfofemployershavealsousedsomeformofbusinessgametopromotetheirorganisationandtwothirdsofemployershavesponsoredstudentsocietiesthisyear,anoticeableincreaseonthe2012-2013recruitmentseason.

Over half of employers nowhave their own network of campus brandmanagers – localstudentsorpostgraduateswhoarerecruitedtohelppubliciseanemployer’suniversityevents,toremindfellowstudentsaboutapplicationdeadlines,andassistrecruiterswithidentifyingpotentiallocalpromotionalopportunities.Morethanaquarterofemployerssaidtheyhadmademoreuseofcampusbrandmanagersthisyear.Therehasalsobeenariseinthenumberoforganisationshostingstudentorgraduatecompetitionstoengagewithpotentialgraduaterecruitsandmorerecruitershaveoptedtohostspecialone-offcampuspromotionsaroundtheUK–suchasaroadshowevent,campusvendingmachinesandphotobooths.

Overall,employersreportedanincreaseintheattendancebystudentsattheircampuseventssofarduringthe2013-2014recruitmentseason(seeChart 4.4)–two-fifthsoforganisations

Chart 4.4 Number of Students taking part in Employers’ Campus Events in 2013-2014


504020100 30

A few less students than last year 8%

About the same number as last year 50%

A few more students than last year 21%

Considerably more students than last year 19%

Considerably fewer students than last year 2%

29


said thateithera‘fewmore’or‘considerablymore’studentshadtakenpart in their localpresentations,skills trainingsessionsorhadmet thematuniversitycareers fairs. Halfoforganisationsthoughttheturnoutfromstudentshadbeensimilartothepreviousrecruitmentseasonbuttenorganisationsweredisappointedtohaveseenfewerjobhuntersattheireventsthisyear.

It is interesting to see that record numbers of employers are now targeting first yearundergraduateswhenpromotingtheirgraduateopportunities(seeTable 4.5).Morethanfour-fifthsoforganisationsareholdingeventsspecificallyforfirstyearstudentsduringthe2013-2014recruitmentseason,suchas tastersessions,opendays,skillsevents,businessgamesandintroductorycourses.Overaquarterofemployersconfirmedthattheyhavedonemorewithfirstyearstudentsthaneverbefore.Veryhighnumbersofemployershavealsobeenkeentotargetpenultimatestudents,particularlytoletthemknowaboutworkexperienceandinternshipopportunities,andvirtuallyallemployersstillpromotetheirgraduatevacanciestostudentsintheirfinalyearatuniversity.

Table 4.5 Analysis of Employers’ Graduate Recruitment Promotions in 2013-2014

Graduate Recruitment Promotion

University careers services

Graduate recruitment websites

Campus presentations

Careers fairs

Social media

Email services

Advertising in graduate directories

Skills training sessions

Advertising in sector guides

Advertising in local careers guides

Drop-in sessions

Academic lectures

Sponsorship of student societies

Campus brand managers

Competitions

Business games

Special one-off campus promotions

Advertising in student newspapers

Year Groups Targeted

Promotions to first years

Promotions to penultimate years

Promotions to final years


Done more than last year

%

33

21

26

28

62

22

13

31

9

8

16

13

16

29

24

14

21

4

29

25

20

Done less than last year

%

8

11

14

19

1

9

19

8

18

16

14

6

12

1

6

5

5

7

1

0

8

About the same as last year

%

53

61

51

44

28

54

51

42

51

49

42

47

36

27

24

32

21

34

52

62

65

% of employers who used promotion

during 2013-2014

94

93

91

91

91

85

83

81

78

73

72

66

64

57

54

51

47

45

82

87

93


30

Chart 4.6 Number of Universities Targeted by Top Employers in 2013-2014

5 or fewer universities 5%

6-10 universities 14%



Not targeting universities


504020100 30




More than 30 universities 10%

Universities Targeted by Employers in 2013-2014 Withover130universitiesnowofferingundergraduatedegreecoursesintheUK,graduateemployershaveaverybroadchoiceofinstitutionsfromwhichtorecruit.Feworganisations,ifany,havetheresourcestotargeteveryuniversitytopromotetheirgraduateopportunities,somostemployersfocustheirrecruitmentpublicityatamorelimitednumberofinstitutions.

Theresultsshowthatthemajorityoftopgraduateemployersaretargetingbetween10and25 universities each in 2013-2014 (seeChart 4.6), although ten employers are currentlyvisitingmorethanthirtycampusesannuallyfortheirgraduatepromotions.Withinindividualbusinesssectors,accounting&professionalservicesandlawfirmshaveactivelypublicisedtheirgraduatevacanciesatthelargestnumberofuniversities,whereasmediaemployersandconsultingfirmstookpartinlocalpromotionsatthefewestuniversities(seeChart 4.7).

ThetopfiveuniversitiestargetedbythelargestnumberofleadinggraduateemployersareNottingham,Manchester,Cambridge,OxfordandBristol(seeTable 4.8).Theseinstitutionshaveattracted the largestnumberof topgraduate recruiters for campus fairs, recruitmentpresentationsorotheruniversitypromotionsduring2013-2014.

ItisinterestingtocomparethislistwiththerankingsfromThe Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2014–thelatestleaguetableofleadinginstitutionscompiledfromarangeof university data including entry standards, teaching performance, academic research,studentfundingandgraduates’careerprospects. Init,CambridgeandOxfordarerankedin1stand2ndplacebutNottinghamandManchester,thetoptwouniversitiesmost-targetedbytheleadingemployers,failtoevenmakethetoptwentyintheguide.Andbycontrast,StAndrewsandLancasterwhichareranked4thand12threspectivelyintheguide,donotappearintheemployers’toptwenty-fiveuniversities.

6%

31


Table 4.8 Universities Targeted by the Largest Number of Top Employers in 2013-2014

NottinghamManchesterCambridgeOxfordBristolBathWarwickLeedsLondon Imperial CollegeLondon University College BirminghamDurhamSheffield

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.

10. 11. 12. 13.

Ranking in ‘Good University Guide’ *

232612

157

102959

166

18

LoughboroughEdinburghLondon School of Economics

NewcastleExeterSouthamptonStrathclydeYorkLondon King’s College

Glasgow LiverpoolCardiff

14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.

Source - The Graduate Market in 2014 * The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2014

Chart 4.7 Universities Targeted by Top Employers in 2013-2014, by Sector or Industry

Average number of universities targeted by top graduate employers in sector

0

Accounting & professional services 35 universities


20 50

Banking & finance 18 universities

Law 26 universities

IT & telecommunications 17 universities

Consulting 11 universities

Investment banking 16 universities

Engineering & industrial 17 universities

Public sector 23 universities

Media 9 universities

Retail 14 universities

Oil & energy 13 universities

Consumer goods 15 universities

10 30 40

Ranking in ‘Good University Guide’ *

21223

188

20421127253633


32

Graduate Applications Received in 2013-2014 More than two-fifths ofBritain’s top employers have seen an increase in the number ofgraduateapplications they received in theearlypartof the2013-2014 recruitment round,comparedwiththesameperiodlastyear(seeChart 4.10).

Seventeenorganisationsfromabroadrangeofdifferentindustriesandbusinesssectorssaidthattheirgraduateapplicationlevelshadrisenbymorethan25%,averysubstantialyear-on-yearincrease.Nineemployershavereceivedatleast10%moreapplicationscomparedwiththistimelastyearandafurtherfifteenreportedmoremodestincreases.Bycontrast,sixemployershaveseentheirgraduateapplicationsfallbymorethan10%thisyear.Together,theseresultsequatetoanaverageriseingraduateapplicationsof9%,comparedwithlastyear’srecruitmentround.

Employersreportingthebiggestincreasesinapplicationsin2013-2014arethoseintheIT&telecommunications,engineering&industrial,accounting&professionalservicesandmediasectors,wheregraduateapplicationshaveincreasebyanaverageofatleast20%comparedwithayearago(seeChart 4.9).

Chart 4.9 Number of Applications to Employers in 2013-2014, by Sector or Industry

Average percentage change in graduate applications in 2013-2014, compared with 2012-2013

4020100

IT & telecommunications Up 25%


30-10-20

Down 10% Armed Forces

Engineering & industrial Up 24%

Accounting & professional services Up 24%

Media Up 20%

Investment banking Up 12%

Oil & energy Up 10%

Banking & finance Up 8%

Law Up 9%

Down 8% Retail

Public sector Up 7%

Consumer goods Up 6%

33


Whilstnearlyhalfofemployersfelt that thequalityof thegraduateapplications theyhadreceived was similar to the previous recruitment season, two fifths commented that thequalityofapplicationshadincreased‘alittle’andsixorganisationsthoughtthatthestandardofapplicantshadincreased‘considerably’.Nineemployers–includingtwooftheArmedForcesandoneofthe‘BigFour’accounting&professionalservicesfirms–warnedthatthequalityofgraduateapplicationsthey’dreceivedhaddroppedthisyear.

Chart 4.11 Quality of Graduate Applications Received by Employers in 2013-2014

Increased a little 40%

5%Decreased a little

Applications are similar to last year 45%

Increased considerably 6%

Decreased considerably 4%


504020100 30

Chart 4.10 Number of Graduate Applications Received by Employers in 2013-2014

Decreased by up to 10% 14%


504020100 30

Increased by up to 10% 15%

Increased by between 11% and 25% 9%

Increased by between 26% and 50% 11%

Applications are similar to last year 39%

Increased by more than 50% 6%

Decreased by more than 25% 3%

Decreased by between 11% and 25% 3%


34

Summary• More than a quarter of employers have increased their graduate recruitment

budgets for the 2013-2014 recruitment round, the highest proportion for three years.

• The country’s leading employers have been actively marketing their 2014 graduate vacancies at an average of 18 UK universities, using a variety of campus careers fairs, local recruitment presentations, skills training events, online advertising and promotions through university careers services.

• Graduate recruiters have done more promotions through social media, skills training, university careers services, campus brand managers, careers fairs and recruitment presentations during this year’s recruitment campaigns – and less advertising in graduate directories, sector guides and local guides.

• The ten universities most-often targeted by Britain’s top graduate employers in 2013-2014 are Nottingham, Manchester, Cambridge, Oxford, Bristol, Bath, Warwick, Leeds, Imperial College London, and University College London.

• More than two-fifths of employers said they had received more completed graduate job applications during the early part of the recruitment season than they had last year and nearly half of employer believed the quality of applications had improved.

• Together, the UK’s top employers have received 9% more graduate job applications so far, compared with the equivalent period in the 2012-2013 recruitment round.

35


Recruiting Graduates through Work Experience ProgrammesOverthelasttenyearstherehasbeenaverynoticeablechangeinthepurposeandaimsofworkexperienceprogrammes. Adecadeago, themainreason thatmanymajorgraduateemployers offered university students work placements was simply to help individualsdecidewhichcareersectortheyweresuitedtoandtoenablestudentstoexperiencethetypeofworkthatgraduatesdidinaparticularindustryorbusinessarea.Therewerefewdirectlinksbetweentheseundergraduateworkplacementsandthegraduaterecruitmentprocess.

Now,forthemajorityofemployerswhoofferworkexperienceplaces,suchschemeshavebecomeanintegralpartofrecruitingnewgraduates.Studentsapplyingforworkplacementsintheirfirstorsecondyearatuniversityareselectedthroughaverysimilarrecruitmentprocesstothatusedtorecruitgraduates.Thismeansthatonceaplacementhasbeensuccessfullycompleted,recruitersareabletoofferworkexperiencestudentsagraduateposition,oftenafullyearbeforestudentsareduetoleaveuniversityandseveralmonthsaheadofemployerswho only recruit graduates during their final year of study, the traditional ‘milkround’process. Manyemployersalsoconsider thatrecruitingcandidateswhohaveproventheirabilitiesduringaworkplacementtobeamorereliablewayofemployinggraduates.

Intheyearsfollowingthestartoftherecession,theproportionofnewgraduatesrecruiteddirectlythroughemployers’workexperienceprogrammeshasjumpedfrom26%in2010toarecord37%in2014(seeChart 5.1).

Chapter 5

Work Experience at Graduate Employers

Chart 5.1 Graduates Recruited via Work Experience Programmes from 2010 to 2014


2010 26%

2013 36%

2012 36%

2011 32%

2014 37%

Percentage of vacancies at top graduate employers filled by graduates who had already worked for the employer

504020100 30


36

Availability of Work Experience in 2014ItisveryencouragingtoseethatalmostallofBritain’stopgraduateemployersareprovidingpaidworkexperienceplacementsforuniversitystudentsorrecentgraduatesin2014.

Two-thirds of the employers featured in the research are offering paid internships topenultimate year undergraduates during their summer vacations (seeChart 5.2), whilstthree-fifthsoforganisationsarehostingindustrialplacements–structuredworkexperiencethatisorganisedaspartofuniversitydegreecourses(oftendescribedas‘sandwich’courses)and typically lasts between six and twelvemonths, giving students first-hand experienceoftechnical,commercialorresearchroles.Itisinterestingtoseethatathirdofemployersnowofferworkexperiencetofirstyearstudents–eitherviapaidinternshipsandvacationplacements,orthroughopendays,shortintroductorycoursesor‘taster’experiences.

Together, Britain’s top employers have a record number of paid internships and workexperienceplacementsonofferthisyear.Therearemorethan11,800placesavailabletostudentsandrecentgraduatesfromemployersfeaturedintheresearch(seeTable 5.4),anincreaseof7%onthenumberofplacementsavailableduring2013.Employersareofferingamedianof70paidplacementseachthisyear,butelevenorganisationsareprovidingmorethan250paidinternshipsorworkplacementsduring2014(seeChart 5.3).

TheCity’s leading investmentbankshave the largest numberofwork experienceplacesavailablethisyear,withover3,000paidinternshipsandworkplacements.Itisstrikingthatinvestmentbankingisoneofjustthreesectorswherethenumberofworkplacementsonofferfromemployersoutstripsormatchesthenumberofpermanentjobsavailabletograduates.Highstreetretailers,consultingfirmsandaccounting&professionalservicesfirmshavethelowestratioofworkplacementstograduatejobs,makingitharderforstudentsinterestedintheseareastogetrelevantworkexperiencebeforetheyapplyforgraduateroles.

Chart 5.2 Type of Work Experience available at the UK’s Top Employers in 2014

Industrial placements as part of degree course, typically lasting 6-12 months 61%


44%Paid internships or work placements for recent graduates

Open days, introductory courses or taster experiences for first year undergraduates 34%

Paid internships or vacation placements for penultimate year undergraduates 67%

Pre-university placements for students during year-out 17%


1008040200 60

Paid internships or vacation placements for first year undergraduates 25%

37


Table 5.4 Analysis of Paid Work Experience in 2014, by Industry or Business Sector



Banking & finance

Consulting

Consumer goods


Investment banking


Law

Oil & energy

Public sector

Retailing

ALL SECTORS


Total work experience

places available in 2013

1,626

599

203

335

1,071

2,957

600

725

388

1,755

345

11,044

% change in places between

2013 & 2014

13.4

21.0

-14.3

11.9

-0.4

7.8

8.3

-2.1

8.0

5.0

5.5

7.0

Total work experience

places available in 2014

1,844

725

174

375

1,067

3,189

650

710

419

1,842

364

11,819

Ratio of work experience places to graduate vacancies

in 2014

48:100

76:100

29:100

101:100

67:100

134:100

86:100

100:100

80:100

53:100

23:100

65:100

Chart 5.3 Paid Work Experience Places available at the UK’s Top Employers in 2014


51-100 work experience places 23%

250+ work experience places 11%




504020100 30


No formal work experience programmes during 2014 14%

Graduaterecruitersattheorganisationsfeaturedintheresearchwereaskedaboutthevalueofworkexperiencewhen it comes to assessing students’ applications forgraduate roles.Two-fifthsof recruitersstated that itwas ‘notvery likely’anda further12percent saiditwas‘notatalllikely’thatagraduatewho’dhadnopreviousworkexperiencewithanyemployerswouldbesuccessfulduringtheirselectionprocessandbemadeajoboffer.


38

Summary• More than four-fifths of the UK’s leading graduate employers are offering paid

work experience programmes for students and recent graduates during the 2013-2014 academic year – a record 11,819 places are available.

• Two thirds of employers provide paid vacation internships for penultimate year students and three-fifths offer industrial placements for undergraduates (typically lasting 6-12 months as part of a university degree course).

• Increasing numbers of employers now also have work experience places for first year undergraduates – a quarter of organisations offer paid internships and a third of employers run introductory courses, open days and other taster experiences for first year students.

• Over half the recruiters who took part in the research repeated their warnings from previous years – that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations’ graduate programmes.

the graduate market in 2014 - home - university of kent well as providing monthly professional...

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