After a gradual increase in work experience opportunities offered by organisations across all sectors over recent years, last year saw a reversal of this trend in more than half of all sectors, according to the annual TARGET Graduate Trends Survey released today by graduate careers publisher GTI. The graduate job market saw a continued rise in competition, with more applications made for graduate jobs than ever before in the history of the survey, against a background of falling numbers of vacancies in most industry sectors.
The survey is based on statistics compiled over the last seven years from eight titles in GTIís
market-leading TARGET series of careers magazines. This is a significant annual snapshot of major employersí views, with over 480 of the UKís graduate recruiters taking part in the survey.
The main findings of the survey are:
A decline in the number of work experience opportunities offered in most industry sectors. A slight rise in the number of placements was seen in the banking and investment and management consulting sectors.
Graduate vacancies have fallen in most sectors, exceptions being management consulting and the built environment.
The overall number of graduate applications has risen across the board, with a dramatic increase in applications in the built environment sector.
This year graduate starting salaries have increased or remained stable in over half of all sectors.
Chris Phillips, GTIís UK and Ireland Publishing Director, comments: ìItís disappointing that employers in many sectors are offering fewer work experience opportunities than last year. Employers have always valued the importance of work experience and want to recruit graduates with the skills and knowledge gained through vacation work, so itís sad when the encouraging trend of recent years has been reversed. With government and universities pledging support for work experience opportunities, itís to be hoped that next year sees an increase in the work experience on offer.î
Students face stiffer competition to gain work experience
The survey is based on statistics compiled over the last seven years from eight titles in GTIís
