Over half of graduate jobseekers yet to find graduate level employment

Employers - many graduates ínot job readyí

Manpower report: íGraduate Skills and the Workplaceí

Over half (54 per cent) of graduate jobseekers, who left university in 2004 or earlier, are still looking for their first graduate job, according to a new report released today by Manpower, the UKís leading workforce management company.



The report, íGraduate Skills and the Workplaceí, examines the skills, training and recruitment issues facing UK graduates and employers today. The report is drawn from an NOP study of 2,140 UK companies and supplemented with an online survey of 813 graduates.

The report reveals a difficult transaction period for many graduates looking for graduate level employment with 28 per cent finding work within three months and a further 12 per cent within the year. But a significant proportion (54 per cent) of the graduates polled are taking longer than a year to secure that first graduate job.

The research shows a clear discrepancy between the expectations of employers and graduates towards the skills needed for work: just over half (54 per cent) of graduates feel that they are entering the workforce with the necessary skills, whilst only 37 per cent of employers are satisfied that new graduates have the right skills for the job. Employers in the Community and Social sector are the most optimistic with 46 per cent believing that graduates have the appropriate skills, compared to only 25 per cent of employers within the Manufacturing sector who share this view.

The report also reveals that in spite of concern at the level of graduate skills, only 13 per cent of UK employers have a graduate training programme in place.

Greg Teare, operations director at Manpower, says: Given that we still have a relatively buoyant employment market in the UK, it is surprising that so many graduates are still seeking their first graduate-level job. With a gap between the skills levels of graduate jobseekers and the skills levels employers expect, graduates may need to look to alternative means of gaining the skills necessary for their chosen career, particularly as few companies provide graduate training programmes.

Temporary work is a great way of gaining experience and developing both career-specific and wider skills. Itís also a great way to experience different working environments across a variety of industries to gain some valuable insights into which field of work will most appeal to you in the longer term. For many job seekers, temporary work often translates into permanent work with that employer or with another employer.

The research also details that employers and graduates are equally realistic when it comes to how long new graduates will stay in their first job: 29 per cent of employers expect graduates to stay between one to two years compared to 20 per cent of graduates. Three in ten graduates donít know how long they will stay with their first employer, and less than one in ten (nine per cent) expect to stay for five years or more. Medium or longer-term staff loyalty is clearly no longer a reality with only five per cent of employers expecting new graduates to stay beyond the five year mark.

Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) says: The transition into employment for graduates is clearly more difficult and uncertain than for previous generations pointing to the need for graduates to be better prepared to manage the transition while in higher education. Internships and work experience offer graduates an invaluable opportunity to learn the workplace skills that employers are looking for.

According to this yearís annual Unite/Mori survey of student life, an increasing number of students are gaining work experience during their years of study, with many making the most of the temporary work on offer during the holidays. The survey showed that 53 per cent of students are now working during university holidays, rising from 48 per cent in 2004.