The best opportunities for fresh graduates can be found in Manchester and the North, according to new research from the Intergenerational Foundation (IF). Click here to see our latest opportunities in the North...
The report – titled Should Young People Look North? – focused on matching affordable housing with graduate job opportunities and found Manchester topped the pile with other Northern destinations also performing well.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Liverpool and Nottingham performed well while Bristol and Reading also made the list of attractive destination for graduates – although there were greater difficulties finding cheap housing and good job prospects in these Southern locations.
The locations offering the least opportunities for qualified young people were those where large proportions of wealthy retired households were present – Poole, Christchurch, Worthing and Southend-on-Sea being four key examples.
Finding the best locations
Striking a balance between opportunities and affordable property was found to be the key to success as a number of locations had plenty of homes but few job openings for hopeful graduates.
Middlesbrough, Oldham, Rochdale, Hull and Blackpool all fall into this category with the lack of opportunities highlighted by the fact that less than 25% of the working population have a degree.
The opposite was found in London and Greater London with England’s capital reporting a large number of graduates but few affordable properties.
This has led to IF co-founder Angus Hanton suggesting that young people could be better off looking away from the capital for a better work-life balance.
He suggested that while young people want both affordable housing and to work, the situation in many areas is that they can find one or the other but not both.
Looking north to locations such as Manchester could provide more opportunities and better value as there is a huge untapped graduate talent pool.
Mr Hanton concluded that the IF’s findings overlap with the Government’s strategy to develop a “Northern powerhouse” by devolving powers to some of the major cities.
Discovery Graduates have a number of excellent graduate positions available in the Northern region. Take a look at them here...
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