By Ben Chernoff, Director at Davis Grant
Many UK graduates have faced a tough couple of years as their courses are taken online and employment has dropped off.
In fact, the Financial Times recently reported new figures that show that of those who graduated during the pandemic, 26 per cent experienced a loss of an internship, 29 per cent lost a job and 28 per cent had a deferral or loss of a graduate job offer.
Despite this, a new study has found that things are changing in the world of graduate recruitment.
The work by Handshake found that traditionally the nation’s largest employers have relied on a small talent pool from just a few universities, while SMEs have found it harder to recruit graduates.
In the past, nepotism was clearly a big issue in graduate recruitment, with many of the best positions going to close family and friends.
However, Handshake has said that a new form of online nepotism has replaced this, where employers are hiring from a small group of prospects through existing contacts online.
Despite this growing trend, there are indications that things are beginning to change again as employers and universities alike challenge these practices using technology.
They are trying to turn away from traditional networking sites, geared towards those already in employment to newer platforms that have been created to encourage early careers networking between students and employers.
These offer access to more opportunities, from a more diverse range of employers, including many SMEs, with the intention of opening up the graduate pool for both students and businesses.
With youth unemployment sitting at 14 per cent, graduates face an extremely competitive market so it will be interesting to see whether these new solutions can disrupt traditional approaches in graduate recruitment. At Davis Grant, we support a number of national recruitment agencies with their financial strategies, tax and accounting requirements. To find out more about our services, please contact us.