- 13.2% rise in vacancies and £1000 increase in starting salaries
- Despite making up nearly 60% of all graduates, only 41.6% of graduate hires are women
- Average Intern salaries now at £317/week
- Just 11% of graduates leave in their first two years
The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) Annual Survey published on Wednesday 9 September reveals more graduates are being hired than ever before with a 13.2% rise in graduate vacancies for 2014-15.
Yet despite this buoyant graduate market, diversity in the UK graduate workforce remains a challenge. The AGR Annual Survey reveals that the share of female graduates joining AGR employer programmes only averages 41.6%, even though 58.7% of graduates are women, according to statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). The overall share of females has not improved in the last five years despite 62.8% of firms currently having a strategy to improve their gender balance.
Stephen Isherwood, Chief Executive of the AGR, said: “Gender diversity is an issue which requires more of our attention. Although our data cannot explain why women aren’t securing more graduate placements, it indicates there is more to be done to attract female graduates who in turn need to make the most of the opportunities available.”
Average graduate salaries are up 3.7% from last year, rising from £27,000 to £28,000. The median salary after three years on the job has also risen by 4.5% to £35,000, although rates of salary progression vary between different sectors. Salaries for internships have risen by 3.3% to £317 per week.
Stephen Isherwood adds, “Employers are doing more to invest in graduates with a continued increase in vacancies and rise in salaries. This investment is paying off. Despite the perception that all graduates are job-hoppers, graduates stay with our employer members for an average of five years. What’s more, only 6% leave in their first year on the job and just 11% leave before the end of two years.”
Employers are also making extensive use of internship programmes. Those surveyed stated that they offered 7,195 internships in 2013-14 with an average of 44.5% interns going on to secure graduate positions in the same company.
The three sectors with the largest share of internships were law firms (20.8%), accounting and professional services firms (18.8%) and banking and financial services (16.2%). However, the opportunities offered by law firms tend to be shorter (1-3 weeks) compared to the average of 11 weeks for a summer internship in other sectors.
The sectors with the largest growth in graduate vacancies are accounting and professional services (23.0%), the public sector (14.6%) and engineering and industrial firms (12.1%).