13% Rise in Graduate Roles

Good news to all you job seekers!

The jobs market for graduates has recovered to the peak levels seen before the recession, latest figures show. Moreover, there’s a pay rise to be expected too.

Statistics released recently state that graduate job places are on the rise by 13 percent. Coupled with the fact that the number of applications has also dropped by seven percent compared to the same period last year, there’s even less competition, which means it could now be easier for students to achieve their dream job.

Graduate and trainee roles have increased by 13 percent year-on-year and six percent in the past quarter, according to statistics from the Q2 2014 totaljobs.com Barometer, which analyses the behaviour of 5.9 million British jobseekers and 5,000 recruiters.

Mike Fetters, Graduate Director at totaljobs.com, told InQuire:

“After so many tough years for young people, it’s encouraging to see that there are more vacancies and less competition faced by graduates and young talent who are seeking entry level roles compared to last year. This will be a relief for many young people who are still struggling to find work and follows last week’s announcement of the EU Youth Guarantee to secure under 25s a job offer within four months.

The Barometer results are similar to the statistics shown by the recent “High Fliers” survey, The UK Graduate Market in 2014 Survey, which polled 18,000 final year students and reported a 12% rise in the number of graduate places being offered by employers.

The High Fliers research also showed that the median starting salary for new graduates in 2014 has increased to £29,500 – the first time that graduate starting salaries have risen for four years.

Bruce Woodcock, careers advisor at the Careers and Employability Service here at Kent, informed us of his top tips for students, and his view on the rise in graduate job places.

Bruce told InQuire:

“The economy is getting stronger and businesses are growing again, leading to an increased demand for graduates. There has been a gradual improvement in the graduate jobs market with some areas, such as IT suffering a particular shortage of good graduate applicants”

Bruce also stressed that thinking about your career should be something that takes place as soon as possible, even before entering your final year of your undergraduate degree.

“There is still a lot of competition for most graduate jobs so students shouldn’t be complacent. You need to apply for graduate schemes early in your final year: many graduate training schemes are now open to applications by final year students in September or even earlier and have closing dates before Christmas. You can start making applications before your final year begins when you are less busy. You also need to make strong applications and to sell your soft skills such as teamworking,organising and leadership.”

The Careers and Employability Service is open throughout the summer vacation and will give help and support to University of Kent graduates for up to three years after graduation. For more information, visit http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/