Graduates Yorkshire, which offers a range of recruitment services aiming to create employment opportunities for graduate talent in the region, has announced it is launching the region’s first Yorkshire Graduate Internship Awards.

The new awards follow on from the success of Graduates Yorkshire’s paid graduate internship programme which offers recent graduates a route into employment by helping them gain practical work experience. The Internship Programme is funded by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

Graduates Yorkshire is now inviting entries to Yorkshire Graduate Internship Awards from employers currently running a graduate internship programme and from graduates who have benefited from work experience in the region.

The winners will be announced at a special ceremony and dinner in Leeds on March 31 to be held at Anthony’s Piazza at the newly renovated Corn Exchange.

The awards aims to recognise the achievements of local employers which offer graduates a route into the workplace through work placement and internships whereby they can acquire new skills that will help them in their future career.

There will also be awards for graduates who have made the most positive impact through their internship.

Martin Edmondson, Graduates Yorkshire Chief Executive, said: “The success of the Graduates Yorkshire’s paid graduate internship programme has given us access to a lot of employers in the region who have embraced graduate internships to enhance their business performance.

“Meanwhile, we have witnessed the positive effect on graduates who have been benefited from a company internship. They all have very positive stories to tell and we hope these awards will recognise that.”

The awards, hosted by Graduates Yorkshire, are supported by all Yorkshire’s University Careers Services and Yorkshire Forward. They will be open to all companies in the region offering graduate internships including ESIF funded schemes and the Graduates Yorkshire Internship Programme.

Awards are split into four regional categories – covering North, South and West Yorkshire and the Humber with prizes for the top graduate and employer in each region as well as an overall Yorkshire-wide winner.

Already confirmed to sit on the judging panel is Becky Heath, Chief Executive of social enterprise Internocracy and Harrogate MP Phil Willis, who is leading a petition for fair parliamentary internships in central government. Jo Taylor from 4Talent – the Channel 4 offshoot which aims to nurture talent of the future, has also been confimed a speaker at the dinner.

Interested companies can nominate themselves or their intern by visiting the awards microsite at: www.graduatesyorkshire.co.uk /awards

Graduates Yorkshire was established twelve years ago with the support of Yorkshire Universities to close the “knowledge gap” between the region’s universities and its business community by matching graduates with companies looking to make best use of that talent. It became a self-financing social enterprise three years ago.

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%

Despite popular belief that today’s students are living the high life, the Higher Education Careers Services Unit’s (HECSU) FutureTrack report reveals two thirds of students are working to pay for essential living costs and study materials as well as avoid crippling debt from loans and top-up fees. 

HECSU’s Futuretrack is tracking 50,000 students over five years, from when they first applied to university. Stage two* of the report reveals that almost half (44%) of students have difficulty paying for course books and 40% struggle to meet essential living costs. This has fuelled an increasing number of students working during term time and vacations (66%) and it is likely that more than ever will be seeking work this Christmas.  

The study, undertaken on behalf of HECSU by a research team at the University of Warwick, also revealed that women were more likely to work than men and those studying in Scotland worked longer hours than in any other region in the UK.

As students report that they are more likely to work during term time to satisfy course requirements, but during vacations to gain relevant employment experience Jane Artess, director of research at HECSU said: “Holiday periods offer good opportunities for students to gain valuable practical skills that will help them get their foot on the career ladder when they graduate. If they know what kind of job they’d like to go into and manage to get related work that’s even better as it will give insight into what that job will entail and whether it suits them.”

The study  shows that students most likely to understand the importance of doing paid work  in addition to study to gain employment experience, were on less vocational courses such as physical sciences (64%), maths and computing (63%),  linguistics and classics (62%), which rarely have work experience integral to their courses, as well as those doing business studies (62%).

HECSU’s Futuretrack survey is the largest study tracking the career development of higher education students ever undertaken in the UK. In 2006 every full-time UCAS applicant was invited to take part in the Futuretrack census, including EU and overseas applicants. It covers the full spectrum of UK higher education, across the range of universities, colleges and regions. It provides information supplied by students from when they applied to enter full-time higher education and is tracking them through their experience as students and out into their first jobs and further career development outcomes, through to 2012

The second report is available on www.hecsu.ac.uk

With 81% of graduates starting work outside London*, Graduate Prospects has cemented its alliance with university careers services to offer a central point for employers to post local vacancies.

Companies recruiting graduates regionally or nationally can now promote their job-openings to more than 80 university careers services throughout the UK using Prospects Net, the online vacancy handling service from Graduate Prospects.

Mark Watts, e-commerce business manager at Graduate Prospects explains: “London has always been seen as the hub for graduate talent, but with the majority of graduates choosing to remain locally employers should consider moving their focus to the regions. We’ve put a lot of work into regional penetration this year to reduce the time it takes to post vacancies with the many careers services across the country, simplifying the whole process for those looking to recruit talent outside London.” 

Prospects Net has been developed in response to the growing demand from employers for a centralised database to improve the efficiency of online vacancy advertising. Advertising to university careers services can be targeted regionally or nationally. 

For further information visit www.prospectsnet.com or to post a vacancy, contact 0845 077 1966 or email sales@prospects.ac.uk

 You’ve got your marketing degree but what else should you be doing to ensure employers are attracted to you?

What are the biggest challenges facing university graduates who are looking to secure career positions?  More and more we are hearing about the graduates leaving university, unable to secure work at all, let alone in their chosen profession.  Whilst the number of marketing jobs and, indeed, graduate marketing jobs may be on the rise, competition is fierce.

You are in a better position than some though.  Marketing is a sought-after industry and thousands of marketing vacancies are over-subscribed with applications from people without any tangible knowledge at all.

So what more could graduates be doing to effectively promote themselves?

Here are six top tips to help you get started:

On-the-job experience

Qualifications are great but employers would rather combine these with life and work experience. Most marketing degree courses offer the chance to apply your knowledge in a commercial environment but if you haven’t managed to do this, keep trying.  A lot of employers have neither the time or the money to pay an intern but by offering them something for nothing or by being innovative it is amazing what comes up.

A great place to look for intern marketing vacancies online is Rate My Placement.

Organising your CV

Despite the current age of digital technology the common CV remains the key ingredient to any jobseeker’s application process.  And it should not be taken lightly.

Whizzing your CV off to email addresses and ‘Apply Now’ buttons is the easy part but once it reaches the intended destination you have no control over who reads it or what they gain from doing so.  Therefore, you need to ensure you have sufficiently and professionally optimised this sales tool.

Of course most recent graduates will only have a limited amount of work experience to add to their employment history.  It is important, then, to maximise what you say about yourself – your ‘softer’ skills.  This is where developing a fantastic personal profile and writing a compelling cover letter comes in.

Read how to write the perfect cover letter and produce an amazing profile via individual career coaching.

Social media

These days employers are as likely to find you as you are them. With more than 70% of employers admitting to checking candidate credentials online at some stage during the interview process, it is essential you are not only visible but visible for the right reasons.

You need to ensure that the information you post on your social pages is both accurate and sends out the right signals about you. This should be your first step to ensuring a good application strategy.

If you are looking for marketing jobs make sure you hang out in all the right places. Some good places to start are: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Ning.

Personal Branding

In any climate standing out from the crowd is essential. Simply submitting your CV is no longer good enough.

Investing time (and a little money) into developing the way people perceive you will set you apart from your competition. Are you dressed appropriately for the occasion? How sincere is your handshake?  Have you considered the impact of your non-verbal communication (NVC)?  These are a few of many essential elements in the compilation of ‘brand you’.

Of course, personal branding is not just about the way you look.  And it is not all about face-to-face interaction, either.  Your online presence is just as important. 

Above all though, personal branding is about confidence.

Learn more about developing ‘brand you’ and maximising your career chances with a personal branding expert.

Networking

Any marketer serious about their career needs to network.  Establishing and building contacts is essential to both personal and business development.  Online networking is, of course, a critical component to any progressive strategy but nothing beats face-to-face interaction.

You should look to attend as many marketing events, seminars, conferences and professional social occasions as possible – time and money permitting, of course.

Make no mistake, getting out there, showing people who you are, what you do and – most importantly – what you can do for them, is imperative to any jobseeker’s strategy.

Applying to suitable vacancies

The key word here is ‘suitable’.  Too many graduates spend their time applying for positions for which they are clearly unsuitable.  This is incredibly counter-productive and never pays off.  All you will achieve is a sense of under-achievement as the frustration of not hearing back from your application heightens.

When searching for jobs to apply to go for job titles such as Marketing Assistant, Marketing Administrator or Marketing Executive.  Whilst not everything is in a name this will provide you with some guidance.

As for salaries, most graduate-level marketing jobs start between £18-24,000 per annum, though certain disciplines will pay more.

Simon Lewis | Editor | Only Marketing Jobs

The unemployment prospects for university leavers have seen a year-on-year increase of 44%, rising to a highest level in 12 years, reveals a study by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU).

The rate of unemployment increased 2.4 percentage points to 7.9% for the 220,065 students surveyed in January 2009 and who graduated in 2008, reveals HECSU’s What Do Graduates Do? published today (2 November 2009). The last time graduate unemployment reached this level was in 1995/6 (8.1%).

The construction industry has been particularly hard hit, as architecture and building graduate unemployment more than doubled from 2.9% in 2007 to 8.5% for 2008 leavers. Similarly, unemployment for civil engineering graduates increased from 2.4% to 7%.

What Do Graduates Do? also showed that despite the recession, public sector recruitment continues to be buoyant with a year-on-year increase of graduates entering healthcare, teaching and social work. Just under 5,100 graduates worked as medical practitioners or pre-registration house officers, compared with 4,430 in 2007(15% increase). Graduate physiotherapists, occupational and speech therapists increased 17% from 2,235 to 2,625.

Similarly, the number of secondary school teachers rose by 14% from 1,850 to 2,110, and the number of educational administrators and language assistants increased substantially by half. Social work was also buoyant with a 55% increase since 2007 to over 2,500 graduates. Graduates in sports instructing and coaching have also increased – 17% to 1,400.

Unsurprisingly, the number of 2008 graduates going into business or financial work was down: 7.5% of graduates worked in this area in 2008, compared with 8.7% in 2007. The number of graduates working as financial and investment analysts/advisers or mortgage consultants dropped 19% from just under 2,100 in 2007 to just under 1,700 in 2008. IT occupations also saw a year-on-year decrease. IT consultants, software professionals and computer programmers fell 18% from 2,980 to just under 2,450, whilst those working as IT support decreased by 15% from 795 to 675.

Mike Hill, chief executive of HECSU comments: “We’re now starting to see the extent of the impact the recession has had on graduate employment. Despite unemployment increasing, for those who have found a job, salary levels are holding up. Any signs of economic recovery may not be reflected in the destinations of new graduates until the 2010 graduating cohort. In fact it’s likely that unemployment for 2009 graduates may be even higher than that reported here. However, graduates shouldn’t feel disheartened, many organisations continue to recruit and a degree will certainly remain valuable for many years to come.”

For those that reported their salaries in What Do Graduates Do? the average salary was £19,677, an increase of 2% from 2007. Unsurprisingly, graduates working in London reported the highest mean salary at £22,570, but the lowest year-on-year average salary rise (0.4%). Conversely, the average salary in Scotland saw the largest year-on-year increase (5.6%). With a reported average figure of £19,953, this was better than that in the South East (£19,561), which is traditionally the second highest paid region after London.

What Do Graduates Do? is published in collaboration with the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) and UCAS. Margaret Dane, Chief Executive of AGCAS, says: “This publication gives HE applicants a useful overview of the range of graduate opportunities. University Careers Services offer current students and graduates who may be worried and need help, a wide range of advice and resources. A tougher jobs market only emphasises how important it is to plan ahead, and do as much as possible to improve employment prospects.”

The What Do Graduates Do? data was collected via the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey from the Higher Education Statistics Agency. For the full report visit www.hecsu.ac.uk

Honey, the UK’s fastest growing creative agency* and regional recruitment specialists Graduates Yorkshire, picked up an award at last nights Design Effectiveness Awards**, hosted by the Design Business Association (DBA).

The DBA’s Design Effectiveness awards specifically measure the impact a design has had on a company or brands bottom line, making a clear-cut case for a good return on the initial design investment.

Honey’s design work for Graduates Yorkshire (GY) consisted of creating the brand identity (logo), marketing and advertising communications, including a digital solution for their website and strategic consultancy, all of which has needed to help facilitate a smooth migration for GY from a Government backed, free university internal service to that of a fully fledged independent commercial enterprise.

With the help of Honey’s new look for Graduates Yorkshire, forecasted sales for year three, 2009, are up 44%. The success of GY’s relationship with Honey has created several extensions to the existing business; a consultancy offer, franchising opportunities and special projects. The current database of graduates for GY is up by 370% year on year and website hits have increased by 400,000 per month.

Martin Edmondson – chief executive of Graduates Yorkshire said; “ The design and branding across all channels has surpassed everyone’s expectations with sales growing from zero to a projected £1,036,000 in total for two years. It was also a breath of fresh air to work with the Honey team as they really understand and focus on return on investment from the outset. Honey truly are commercial and creative business partners.”

Doug James, managing director of Honey said; “This award for our work with Graduates Yorkshire is one of four awards for as many clients that we picked up last night at the ceremony. And even better, it adds to our very first design effectiveness award presented to us last year. It clearly demonstrates our ability to consistently produce commercially successful designs for all of our clients and provide impressive returns on their investment.”

He goes on to say; “GY are doing great things for both graduates and regional employers by ensuring the best talent is kept within Yorkshire. We are so glad to be part of such a win-win proposition.”

The 2009 DBA Design Effectiveness Awards ceremony took place last night at The Mermaid Theatre, London.

Graduates Yorkshire, which offers a range of recruitment services for the region’s graduate talent, is being commended in two prestigious industry awards.

The organisation is one of three companies short listed for The Startups Awards Social Enterprise of the Year 2009.

Run by Startups.co.uk, the awards celebrate the best new businesses in the UK across 12 categories. To be eligible, businesses must have been trading for less than three years, be privately owned, and employ fewer than 60 people.

Sara Rizk, deputy editor of Startups.co.uk, says: “Graduates Yorkshire’s place among the finalists of this year’s Startups Awards is testament to the company’s originality, flair and strong prospects for growth. With such strong competition, to have reached this stage is, in itself, a superb achievement,”

Graduates Yorkshire has also been recognised in the DBA Effectiveness Awards.

The awards measure the impact that design and branding has on an organisation and the entry, made by Graduates Yorkshire’s design agency Honey, is the first social enterprise project to receive an award.

The Graduates Yorkshire entry centred on the creation of their corporate and brand identity as well as the digital solutions used on their website. The website has helped Graduates Yorkshire increase sales over the last year by 44% and grow its database of graduates by 370%.

Honey also picked up three other DBA awards for its work with Harrods, Tossed, Spicentice.

Martin Edmondson, Graduates Yorkshire Chief Executive, says: “To receive this national recognition means we must be having a real impact on the Yorkshire economy. We’ve worked hard to help businesses understand the benefits of recruiting graduates and enable graduates to get a foot on their chosen career path.”

“Everyone who works for Graduates Yorkshire aims to make a difference and that includes companies like Honey who we have brought in to help us with our branding.”

“Although awards are important, our main business is matching the best graduate talent with the best companies through our recruitment site and our new Internship programme.”

Graduates Yorkshire was established with the support of Yorkshire
Universities to close the “knowledge gap” between the region’s universities and its business community by matching graduates with companies looking to make best use of that talent.

Graduates Yorkshire is launching a new microsite aimed at matching graduates with paid internship positions.
The social enterprise, which offers a range of recruitment services for graduates and promotes their employment in the region, has unveiled www.graduatesyorkshire.co.uk/internships to make it easier for graduates to find suitable placements.

The internship scheme aims to provide the region’s best graduate talent with the opportunity to gain vital work experience in companies across Yorkshire. The scheme will offer an alternative to unpaid internships, where only those with financial support in place can take them up, with employers paying interns a fair wage for their work.

Becky Ascough, Graduates Yorkshire Internship Programme Project Manager, said: “The new internship site offers a different route into employment, allowing graduates to gain paid vocational experience. The website will open up the scheme and make it easier for graduates to track down work placements.

“The website will also help businesses find more about employing an intern through the scheme and the support we offer to organisations which participate.

“The internship scheme benefits businesses because as well as bringing graduates in who can add real value to their business, companies can use the placement period to decide whether their intern has the skills to take on a full-time position once the placement finishes.”

Martin Edmondson, Chief Executive of Graduates Yorkshire, said: “Companies often take advantage of graduates, getting them to do valuable work for little or no reward. With many graduate jobs requiring work experience, it can be difficult to get on the career ladder unless you have supportive parents or some other financial support.

“Many bright graduates have struggled to finance their degrees or post-graduate degrees and can’t fund working full time without some sort of wage. Our internship programme offers a route into the vocation they’ve been training for, rather than seeing them disappear into bar work or call centres.”