Graduates facing employment challenges

With 48 graduates chasing each opportunity, it's no surprise to find that the AGR predicts most employers will fill their graduate vacancies this year. Carl Gilleard, AGR chief executive, pictured, said: "We cannot hide from the fact that dramatic vacancy cuts will make the job search very tough for graduates both this year and probably next year too. However, It is important to look at this in context and to point out that very few employers have abandoned their graduate recruitment programmes altogether and most are likely to reinstate recruitment levels at the first sign of an upturn in the economy." The AGR monitors a range of industry sectors and reports that eight sectors have experienced reductions 'amounting to hundreds of recruits'. IT and Banking are the worst hit sectors, but engineering employers have cut recruitment by 40%. The only sector to buck the trend, says AGR, is energy, water and utilities, with a 7.1% rise in vacancies. Looking to the future, AGR says employers are remaining cautious. For 2010, 53.4% expect little change, 22% are cautiously optimistic and 11% think there may be worse still to come. "I would like to reassure graduates that, although things will be harder, their degree is a valuable asset and there are still opportunities out there for those who do their research and focus on quality rather than quantity of applications," said Gilleard. "It is heartening to see that the class of 2009 appears to be equal to this challenge, with many of our members reporting a marked improvement in the quality of graduate applications this year."