Graduates ‘choosy’ about taking jobs

UNIVERSITY-leavers are getting “choosier” about jobs, with more than 1,000 graduate vacancies left unfilled last year, according to new research.

It suggests that there has been a “noticeable” rise in the number of graduates who are turning down, or reneging on offers of employment.

Despite this, employers are planning to offer more graduate-level positions this year, taking the number of jobs available to its highest ever level, a study by High Fliers Research found.

The Graduate Market in 2016 report, based on a study of vacancies, starting salaries and work experience programmes at 100 of the UK’s leading employers, found that the number of graduates hired by these firms rose by 3.3 per cent in 2015 – with 18,818 people taken on overall – although this was a smaller increase than expected.

In total, 1,074 positions were not filled with the majority of these down to graduates turning down or reneging on offers. Around 30 organisations reported they had positions they were unable to recruit for and a further 19 said they had taken on fewer graduates than predicted in July last year.

It went on to say: “It is evident that the buoyant job market has had a significant impact and in a number of sectors graduate vacancies were left unfilled, either because graduates turned down employers’ job offers or because they reneged on offers that they had previously accepted earlier in the recruitment season.”

Firms are expecting to expand their graduate recruitment by a further 7.5 per cent in 2016.

The study also suggests that work experience continues to be important for students seeking a job, with nearly a third of this year’s entry-level positions expected to be filled by graduates who have already worked for the organisation.