More than 200 employers are participating in Real Prospects 2010, double last year’s figure, making it the biggest piece of research into the UK graduate employment market. 

The annual survey by Graduate Prospects explores what graduates think about their jobs, covering areas such as training and development, leadership and management, salary and benefits, progression opportunities, corporate social responsibility and work-life balance. Real Prospects 2010 will track graduates with up to five years’ experience in the workplace.  

Almost 13,500 graduates responded to the 2009 survey, and this figure will increase substantially this year as universities including Manchester, Warwick and Nottingham are sending a link to the survey to their graduates.

“With more than 200 organisations participating, the results will form a truly comprehensive picture of the reality of graduate employment,” says Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters.

“We are delighted to continue our support for this important project, the only one of its kind, and I urge all graduate recruiters to get behind it.”

Eden Keane, manager of Real Prospects, says: “It’s been a fascinating year for the industry and it will be interesting to see how the downturn has influenced graduates’ views of their jobs. We are expecting the survey to yield some astonishing data, providing invaluable information for employers who will be developing recruitment strategies and graduate programmes post-recession.”

Recruiters participating in Real Prospects 2010 include NHS, Procter & Gamble, Audit Commission, RBS and the Co-operative Group. Those who have opted for Partner or Associate status, which provides them with a personalised survey and report, include RWE npower and Mott MacDonald.

As well as forming a unique picture of the industry, Real Prospects 2010 will help recruiters understand how they are shaping up at a critical time.

“Real Prospects tells recruiters what they are doing well and what they need to do better,” continues Carl Gilleard. “As the economy emerges from recession, Real Prospects will be nothing less than a signpost for the future for graduate recruitment.”

The results of Real Prospects 2010 will be launched in June. It’s not too late to participate – employers can register now by emailing Russell Rhys Davies at R.Rhysdavies@prospects.ac.uk or calling 0845 077 1965. Product information and copies of last year’s survey are available on request.

Like Dick Whittington in pantos across the country this holiday season, the UK’s graduates are heading for London to seek their fortune.

New research by graduate recruitment website GradFutures.com (www.gradfutures.com) reveals that graduates are focussing their job search almost exclusively on London and the South East, despite being willing to move anywhere in the UK to secure a role.

However, as Demetrios Zoppos, Director at GradFutures.com, warns: “Graduates will find that London’s streets aren’t always paved with gold.

“Times are undoubtedly tough for graduates but there are still job opportunities to be found outside the capital. By focusing their job search on the South East graduates could be missing out on career opportunities elsewhere.

“Similarly, regional employers must widen their nets and step up marketing of opportunities to attract the cream of the country’s graduates.”

London Calling

The vast majority (91%) of graduates are looking for work in London, and a third (31%) are job seeking in the South East, according to the study among students and recent graduates.

Demetrios Zoppos commented: “Graduates believe the only place to build a successful career is in London, to which we have to say ‘Oh no it isn’t!’

“London has always had the most competitive graduate job market thanks to the sheer number of applicants for the capital’s positions. This situation has only worsened as a result of the recession.

“By simply focussing on London, graduates close the door to opportunities at the huge number of firms of all sizes that don’t operate in the capital.”

It’s Behind You!

Major UK regions outside of these areas each only manage to draw 13% of graduate jobseekers on average.

Indeed only around one in ten (11%) graduates are looking in the North West, 7% in Wales and barely 4% are considering vacancies in Northern Ireland.

This is despite the fact that the majority (53%) of graduates claim to be ready and willing to move across the country for a job.

Demetrios Zoppos said: “As things stand, regional employers are only accessing around one in ten of the total graduate population.

“There is a big opportunity for employers outside of London to improve their graduate ‘gene pool’, by getting in front of the country’s best graduates at exactly the right time with an attractive offering.

“Reward budgets are tight, but recruiters can tempt graduates away from London by meeting their desire for varied and challenging work and offering clear career progression with structured training.”

“Graduates will miss out on some fantastic opportunities if they don’t look beyond London,” added Caroline Griggs, Personnel Manager at Open Logic Solutions. “We are a company at the cutting edge of our industry and we need enthusiastic graduates to increase the flow of talent coming into the business. This is key to our success and we know as an IBM award winning, regional employer that we have a lot to offer graduates looking to build a successful, long term career in IT.”

Who Goes There?

The following league table shows the proportion of graduate job seekers attracted to each UK region.

Region  % of Graduate Jobseekers Considering Region    
London  91%  �
South East      31%  �
South West      20%  �
East Midlands   17%  �
West Midlands   16%  �
Yorkshire and the Humber        16%  �
North West      13%  �
North East      11%  �
Scotland        10%  �
Wales   7%   �
Northern Ireland        4%

Enhance Media’s newest online recruitment research project ‘How e-hireable are you?’ was launched this week.

The survey, launched in partnership with Graduatecareer.com, the new website from The Times and Milkround.com, is targeted at graduates and will gather information about how candidates approach the recruitment process online.

The purpose of ‘How e-hireable are you?’ is to help employers make their online recruitment strategy more successful, by increasing their understanding of how graduates use the internet to find work, and improving the way that they communicate with candidates. It will also provide graduates with information that will help them understand more about how to use the internet to find a job. To encourage uptake of the survey and provide a fun source of competition, league tables showing which universities and degree courses are the most ‘e-hireable’ are displayed alongside the results.

Giles Guest, Managing Director of Enhance Media commented; “Data and information are crucial for employers seeking to make the right decisions about their online recruitment strategy. ‘How e-hireable are you?’ will add to the findings of Enhance Media’s other online recruitment research projects to enable employers to make better decisions about how to use the internet for recruitment. It will also help employers to make considerable savings in recruitment.”

Jenni Wollerton, Sales Director at Milkround Online added; “We are delighted to have partnered with Enhance Media on ‘How e-hireable are you?’. The survey is a fun way for graduates to get some useful ideas about what they can do online to improve their chances of finding a job and will also help employers to find and communicate with the right candidates more effectively.”

Users can view the survey or take the test for free at www.howehireableareyou.com. A summary of the results is available from Enhance Media.

Enhance Media are seeking other partners who have a specialist candidate audience and who would like to obtain a better understanding of it. For more information please contact Giles Guest on 01483 719020 or email giles.guest@enhancemedia.co.uk.

www.enhancemedia.co.uk

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