Looks like the graduate jobs market in the US is looking poor, according to a research by Gallup up to twice as many are likely to be unemployed.

Well thank goodness the UK graduate jobs market is not seeing the same outlook.  Let's hope the economy carries on expanding in 2010.

Labels: graduate employers, graduate jobs

Graduate job hunters may be interested to hear that the Conservative Party plan to set up a "service academy" which could create up to 50,000 work and training positions for unemployed individuals via partnerships with major employers.




Of course this piece of legislation requires David Cameron's party to be elected to government later this year but if it does then big firms including Pizza Express, Starbucks, InterContinental Hotel Group and Whitbread are laying in wait to help.



As part of the initiative, the academy would train people in necessary skills that most employers require, People Management reports.



Theresa May, the shadow secretary of state for work and pensions said: "The creation of a service academy will not only give people practical skills but also an entry route into a career in a growing area of business."



Shadow chancellor George Osborne added: "The argument is that we need a sustainable private-sector recovery to create new jobs. That we cannot go on relying the public sector to provide the great majority of new jobs, as we did over the last decade."



The general election is rumoured to be scheduled for May 6th 2010.

Labels: graduate employers, graduate jobs

Graduates hoping to find employment at a big firm have been handed a boost by the news that nearly half of chief executives (CEOs) who took part in a recent survey are confident of increasing their headcount in 2010.


The poll, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, showed that 42 per cent of UK CEOs plan on increasing their headcount over the next year as part of a growing investment in staff.
 
Said survey, revaled at Davos, suggests that CEOs are trying to find ways in getting the best staff and increasing employee retention, something that could suit the brightest and best graduates.

Michael Rendell, partner and leader of human resource services at PwC, said: "We are all well-versed in the assertion that the deep cost-cutting and headcount reduction many companies felt forced to undertake during the recession could impact speed of recovery and competitiveness so it's encouraging that CEOs are now prioritising the people agenda."
  

Labels: graduate employers, graduate jobs, graduate recruitment schemes

It was interesting to read in the The Times that competition for graduate jobs is increasing as the record number of university undergraduates start to think about applying for graduate positions in 2010. 

This year there has been an unpreciendented number of applications and 2010 looks like it will be again a highly competitive year for graduates leaving univesity.

Many of the traditional graduate schemes are full which means that graduates who traditionally appliy for these schemes will need to cast their nets wider.

Graduate jobs in sales are especially attractive to the top graduates due to the potential earning salary that can be generated, our graduates can up to and over £35,000 in the first year with most earning around £30,000.

With there being so many graduate sales jobs available we expect the applications at Pareto to be very high this summer.

Labels: graduate earnings to be tagged, graduate employers, graduate jobs, graduate recruitment schemes

David Lammy, the higher education minister, has reacted to the results of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) graduate recruitment survey by emphasising the wide range of options available to recent university leavers.


The AGR's bi-annual report actually showed that there had been an 8.9 per cent reduction in the amount of available graduate vacancies, but this figure was considered a positive one because it was initially forecasted to be closer to 24.9 per cent.

University leavers' average expected starting salary froze at £25,000 for the second year in a row - an AGR survey first - in evidence that the recession has not had too much of a negative impact on the sector.

Mr Lammy said: "Employment rates for graduates continue to be higher than for those with lower qualifications. This research shows that there are areas of growth in the jobs market.

Labels: agr, graduate jobs, graduate recruitment schemes

I was interested in the recent survye showing a quarter of university leavers are confident that they will find a graduate job this year despite an increase in competition in all sectors.


More than half of last year's graduates are considering applying for jobs that require a degree this year and will be in direct competition with the two-thirds of 2010 graduates also applying, figures collected by recruitment firm Alexander Mann Solutions showed.

Spirits remain high among graduates with some 26 per cent claiming they felt positive they would find a position this year.

A similar figure (24 per cent) of 2009 graduates said they were currently - or had previously - been working in a degree-level capacity since leaving university.

Clodagh Bannigan, head of client services at the firm, said: "Businesses looking to hire graduates need to ensure that they have the processes and scalability in place to deal with the high volume of applications, without compromising on the human touch that is essential when looking to attract the best young talent.

Labels: graduate jobs

Ever since the economic recession, marketing budgets for advertising have been shrinking. But a new report from Nielsen says that this decline has consistently slowed down over the last year.
In what is sure to be good news for anyone working in sales jobs, Nielsen reports that in September 2009 total advertising expenditure was down 10% year-on-year, whereas in May 2009 the figure was 16% year-on-year.
Retail sales jobs in branded products were the most affected by the recession. Whilst supermarkets and other retailers of basic goods engaged in price and advertising wars to promote their budget ranges and increase sales, brand advertisers tended to reduce their advertising.
Nielsen reports that in the first twelve months of the recession (July 2008 to June 2009) all but two manufacturers chose to reduce media budgets by between 6% and 66%. Audi and Seat were the only two manufacturers who maintained their advertising spend.
Conversely, ASDA increased its average ad spend by 40% during the same period.
One of the most significant increases in advertising spends however was the Government's Central Office of Information (COI). The COI increased its advertising spend by 33%, using marketing to promote public services and information rather to increase sales. It ran awareness campaigns on the HPV vaccine for young girls, the spread of swine flu, and the dangers of smoking and drinking.
The slowdown of decline in the marketing industry may eventually offer a boost to the graduate jobs market. Marketing and advertising once provided graduate recruitment schemes that attracted students from a range of academic disciplines, offering them the opportunity to put their studies to work in sales jobs as well as acquire valuable sales training.

Labels: graduate jobs, graduate recruitment schemes, sales jobs

I was interested to read about the rethink of graduate recruitment strategies.

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit has found that the UK's top students are selecting their higher education providers based on different factors than those of their predecessors. One of the outcomes of the research is that employers are advised to modify their graduate recruitment strategies to accommodate changes in behaviour.

The HECSU's study surveyed around 50,000 students and found that historic selection factors such as the history and reputation of a university were becoming less important to prospective students. Institutions such as Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow (Russell Group Institutions) are not always the first choice for high achieving students. Rather it is course reputation, rather than university reputation, that can steer a student's choice.

The impact on graduate employers could be profound if they don't react to this news. Simply put, the talent may not be exclusively found within that Russell Group. The cost of studying full-time is becoming more and more apparent in university choice. As more students opt to stay at home and attend a commutable university, they naturally have their options limited.

The benefit of understanding the findings could be overshadowed by a greater problem- that of determining a more up-to-date and effective system for attracting and managing entrants to corporate graduate jobs. While employers may be temporarily diverted by more immediate recession related problems, there are those with a shrewd eye to the future.

Casting the net wider in terms of the "ideal" graduate employee may be much harder than it sounds, and it may also have long-term repercussions for the credibility of some long standing educational establishments.

Labels: graduate employers, graduate jobs, graduate sales jobs

The fantastic news that universities and their courses are to be rated and made more visible to students through showing their drop-out rates, graduate job future earnings and the number of hours (contact hours) students can expect with their tutors. Part of a consumer revolution in higher education this is planned to given graduates the best start to there graduate careers before they make the decision regarding their course.

This is great news as potential students will be able to see the best courses to enter.  However it would be good if the universities secretary Lord Mandelson would also show if the courses have resulted in careers along that degree subject. 

How many graduates actually end up doing something in their career that they studied at university?  Not many go to university to study for a sales job and then get a graduate sales job, not many.  We have proven to UK business over the years that graduates can make the best sales people as they have the best attributes.

At Pareto we take any degree discipline with any grade as we assess graduates on their characteristics, attitudes and motivation rather than the course they took.

However this is fantastic news for graduates and students across the UK. further information can be found http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/nov/01/university-dropout-rates

Labels: graduate earnings to be tagged, graduate jobs, graduate sales jobs, University drop-out rates