Businesses missing out on huge pool of graduate talent

- Employers urged to view different graduate routes to labour force in equal light

- Universities need to prepare students for disjointed and uncertain career paths

Businesses are missing out on a huge pool of graduate talent and should take steps to view the different routes graduates take to the labour force in an equal light, according to research published today (6 December 2006) by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR).

The Hidden Graduate Pool is unique and wide-reaching research into graduates who did not start a permanent career job or graduate training scheme immediately after leaving university. Over 10,000 students and nearly 400 organisations (including university careers services, employers, marketing and recruitment agencies) were surveyed.

The Hidden Graduate Pool is made up of graduates who can easily slip under the radar of traditional graduate recruitment strategies but have a diversity of experience and skills that employers are currently missing out on. The research found that over half (53%) of these graduates incorrectly believed that places on graduate training schemes were only open to them immediately after graduating.

Graduates in the Hidden Graduate Pool are just as likely to be working for a large multinational as an SME. 34% are in a temporary job not related to their career; 22% are in a permanent job that is not part of a graduate scheme; 10% have taken a gap year and 6% have continued to study.

Despite not being on structured graduate programmes, graduates in the Hidden Graduate Pool have risen to levels of responsibility where they train others or manage a business function. About half have also been promoted to junior manager positions.

In terms of skills, graduates in the Hidden Graduate Pool are slightly less likely to consider leadership to be one of their strongest skills, but they rate themselves higher than graduate trainees for ëadapting and copingí, possibly reflecting their varied work experience. In other skills there is very little discrepancy between the two groups.

Tuition fees also appear to be impacting on the choices these graduates make when job hunting; 43% of those surveyed saw their first job as just a stop-gap, indicating that a significant number are choosing jobs that will help pay off student debts, rather than pursuing a more structured career path. This figure rises to two-thirds for those who graduated in 2006.

Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the AGR says, ìThis research indicates that many recruiters need to broaden their methods in order not to miss out on this significant and skilled group of graduates. Particularly worrying is the fact that the majority of the students and graduates surveyed are misinformed about when they can apply to start a graduate training scheme.

ìWith growing levels of student debt and legislation aimed at eliminating age discrimination in the workplace recruiters need to up their game in order to access this more diverse pool, recognising that many have gained transferable skills from their different workplace experiences. Employers must be careful not to create a two-tier system by understanding and appreciating that different routes into the labour force are just that, different, not better or worse.

ìRegardless of whether graduates start their working lives on graduate schemes or in stop-gap jobs, the university experience as a whole provides them all with an opportunity to develop invaluable skills such as communication, team-working and cultural awareness, all of which contribute to their overall employability.

ìAccepting that the Hidden Graduate Pool is now a permanent feature, students in full-time education need more preparation for the uncertain transition into the world of work. Being able to manage your ëcareerí from day one is fast becoming a pre-requisite to laying a successful career path. ì

Other findings include:

Leaving first job
The most popular reasons for graduates on recruitment programmes for leaving their first job are:

Unfriendly work colleagues (29%)
Low level of success within its industry (14%)
It wasnít my first career choice, just a stop gap (11%)
Poor management style (9%)
No promotion opportunities (7%)

However, the most popular reasons for those not on graduate recruitment schemes are:

It wasnít my first choice, just a stop-gap (43%)
No promotion opportunities (9%)
Low starting salary (7%)
Poor management style (5%)

Recruitment
Recruitment agencies featured very highly as a source for finding a job with 35% of respondents using them to find their second position.