Graduates searching for their first role can look forward to a entering a buoyant jobs market, with figures revealing the highest rise in graduate vacancies seen for four years!
The High Fliers report, based on a poll of 18,000 final year students, shows a 12% leap in graduate vacancies with the UK’s top employer’s set to recruit degree holders at above expected levels.
This means that there are now an average of 190 graduate-level roles at top UK employers, giving graduates a range of opportunities to vie for.
However, despite this fact, the report also highlights that the number of graduates has climbed by 85,000 to 365,000 since 2007. This could indicate that competition for graduate jobs may remain stiff, despite the increase in vacancies.
The report says: “These latest results mark a very welcome improvement in the graduate job market and suggest that graduate recruitment at the leading employers is now at its highest level for seven years.”
Average of 39 applications for each graduate vacancy
Further figures from the report support the idea that competition for graduate jobs remains fierce, with an average of 39 applications for each graduate vacancy. Competition is even tougher in the sectors below, where an average of 50 graduates apply for each role. These are as follows:
• Consumer goods manufacturers
• Oil and Energy companies
• Media Organisations
• Banking and Finance companies
• High Street retailers
The best sectors for rising graduate jobs
Graduates keen to snap up a role the moment they complete their degrees, will welcome the news that some sectors are set to offer above average levels of graduate recruitment.
Leading the way for new graduate jobs is the accounting and professional services sector. Here, here graduate vacancies are set to soar by 23.8%, this compares to an overall 11.6% rise in vacancies. Overall two-thirds of firms plan to meet, or increase their recruitment levels, next year.
High Fliers Managing Director, Martin Birchall, said: “It’s great news for the ‘Class of 2014’ leaving university this summer, that Britain’s top employers have stepped up their graduate recruitment so significantly this year.”
