Boost for graduates hunting for jobs

More jobs will be available for graduates this year, but those without work experience stand little chance of securing a position, research suggests.

Almost half of employers expect to recruit extra graduates in 2013, with a third planning to take on the same numbers as last year, according to a report by High Fliers research.

But more than a third of the jobs available will be taken by people who have already worked for the firm while studying, it warns.

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The report found that overall, graduate vacancies are set to rise by 2.7 per cent this year, compared with last. That is an improvement on last year, when Britain’s leading employers recruited slightly fewer graduates than expected.

The research suggests that the biggest increase in job openings will be among public sector employers, engineering and industrial companies and retailers.

And Teach First, which recruits top graduates to work as teachers in schools in disadvantaged areas, is likely to take on the highest number of university leavers, with around 1,260 vacancies in total.

But while more graduate jobs will be on offer, competition will still be tough, with those students who have not taken part in internships or work placements, especially those hoping to work in banking or law, likely to find themselves left out in the cold.

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The report, based on a survey of the 100 top graduate employers, found that firms believe that 36 per cent of entry-level jobs will be filled by students who have already worked for the company.

It reveals that three quarters of the jobs advertised this year by City investment banks are set to be filled by people who have done work experience with these firms, along with half of the training contracts offered by leading law firms.

More than half of the recruiters surveyed suggested that students who are leaving university with no previous work experience have little or no chance of getting a job offer for their company’s graduate programme.

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