Big national vote chooses students’ favourite employers

In the second annual TARGET National Graduate Recruitment Awards, 14 companies have been recognised for the way that they recruit graduates and bring new talent into their organisations.

In a black-tie ceremony held last night at London’s Hilton on Park Lane in front of 700 people, JPMorgan, Atkins, PricewaterhouseCoopers, IBM, McKinsey & Co, Civil Service Fast Stream, Airbus, Allen & Overy and Marks & Spencer received awards for being the most popular graduate recruiters in their sectors with votes cast by over 20,000 undergraduates across the country.

Five other awards were presented at the ceremony

- Lovells won best graduate recruitment website for a site that contained a fantastic depth of information and a desire to help students really understand the firm and make better applications.

- PricewaterhouseCoopers won the best student marketing campaign for a campaign that combined mobile coffee units, massage services and giant projections on university buildings.

- BP won the best undergraduate placement programme and for successfully turning placement students into full time employees.

- The Co-operative Group were also recognised for the way in which they encouraged diversity and equality of opportunity within their organisation, winning the AGCAS Diversity Award.

- National Grid were named as Graduate Employer of the Year not only for demonstrating their excellence in graduate recruitment over the last five years but showing that it has delivered on the promise it makes to graduates joining the organisation.

Commenting on the winners, Chris Phillips, Publishing Director at GTI said:

Competition for the most talented graduates is getting greater. The winners should be delighted that graduates hold them in such high regard. We know that they can be harsh critics and it is difficult to get the recruitment process right. The companies that have been named tonight really are setting the standards for others to follow.