Nearly two thirds of UK firms (60%) plan to hire graduates over the next year, a rise of 22 per cent on last year, mirroring the growing confidence spreading throughout the UK economy.
According to the second year of the Allianz Insurance Graduate Employment Index, spending on training has remained steady this year, with employers investing £1,173 per graduate. They are however investing 84 more hours a year into supporting their graduates with mentoring and guiding them in their careers.
Jost Wahlen, Head of Learning & Development comments, “We believe it is extremely worthwhile investing time and providing support to these talented individuals as it goes a long way towards creating the long term success of the business.”
Allianz Insurance graduate programme applications close on November 14th 2014 for the 2015 graduate intake and for summer placements. The programme takes an average of 40 graduates a year on to permanent schemes plus the same number on to short-term and one-year placements across a number of different areas of the company.
Half of British bosses believe their business benefits from employing graduates (51%) and are impressed with how well graduates settle in (53%), how quickly they learn (26%) and the enthusiasm they show for their job (21%). However, the research suggests graduates need to have reasonable expectations as well as ensuring their enthusiasm, drive and ability are appreciated by their bosses. A third (33%) of employers say that salary is their biggest bug-bear, as they feel graduates have inflated salary expectations. It is however good news for graduates financially with their average starting salary rising this year to £20,975 – up by £1,530 from 2013.
Jost Wahlen, Head of Learning & Development continues, “Our Graduate Employment Index paints a positive picture for graduates and it’s encouraging to see that in the last year, employers have further realised the commercial benefits graduates bring to their firms. The increased investment in mentoring and training will only go further in helping graduates flourish, achieve their ambitions and perform at their best. However, it is clear that some employers in our survey want to see more from their Graduates and this should be a cause for some reflection.”
Within their first five years at a company employers plan to reward high performing graduates with one or more promotion (58%), a pay rise up to 30% (26%), acceleration through the business to retain their talent (23%), increased responsibilities (21%) and the opportunity to manage and mentor others (18%).
Students and university leavers can visit http://www.allianz.co.uk/graduates for details of the Allianz Insurance schemes and placements available.