2015 will it be the best year for graduates?
The job market for graduates continues to grow, and is expected to offer more opportunities than ever this summer, according to a study by the independent High Fliers Research.
Conducted in December 2014, the “Graduate Market in 2015” study revealed the vacancies for the top 100 UK employers combined are expected to climb 8.1% this year compared to the last. This follows the buoyancy where there was a 7.9% increase in graduate vacancies in 2014 compared to 2013, and a 2.5% increase in 2013 compared to 2012. In addition, approximately 700 graduate positions were left unfilled in 2014.
The figures in the chart emphasise the healthy recovery of the graduate job market, but recruiters warn that 31% of the vacancies will only be filled by people with work experience.
Experience can be obtained through volunteering, internships or sandwich placements. The latter two have seen vacancies rise by over 40% since 2010, with 90% of them expected to be a paid position in 2015.
London will have the most opportunities, with the average salary increasing by £500 from last year, following a freeze between 2010 and 2013. Top tier wages are likely found in banking, law and finance. Organisations such as European Commission and Aldi have expressed their entry-level programmes will pay graduates in excess of £40,000.
In a separate report found in the House of Commons Library, the academic year of 2013/14 saw 160,000 more apprenticeship starts compared to 2009/10.
The regions with the highest number of apprenticeships are the North West and South East (excluding London). Consequently, the majority of Business & Administration apprenticeships are in London, whilst the South West currently leads the way for health, public services & care.
Figures released by BIS at the end of March supports the growing trend in apprenticeships, with almost 670,000 starts since August 2014, 19,000 of those being higher apprenticeships.
Should these trends continue, it will mean a bumper year for graduates, undergraduates, and school leavers with more entry-level, fast-track schemes and apprenticeships available than at any time in the last decade. The largest three recruiters for graduates are Teach First, PwC, and Deloitte, and the recent addition of higher apprenticeships will introduce new routes into professions that are usually associated with a degree.
