As the end of the academic year nears, there are promising signs for those with one eye kept wisely on the graduate recruitment market even as dissertation deadlines near and exams loom ever closer. A recent survey conducted by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) suggested that just under a quarter of all United Kingdom-based companies are planning to add to their permanent workforce in the next three months, as figures suggest an on-going decrease in unemployment.
While the graduate job market is still in something of a transitional phase, these results suggest a move away from the more temporary forms of employment commonplace in the recession, which have seen the issue of unpaid internships become a controversial one in recent weeks. While these no doubt still represent certain opportunities for graduates looking to gain insight into a certain working environment without fully committing to it, that there will now be a greater number of more secure roles available alongside such options can only be a good thing.
Further light has been shed on the effect such an increase in permanent recruitment could have on graduate prospects by Charlie Ball, deputy director of research at the Higher Education Careers Service Unit. He suggests that throughout the recession, firms have sought to maintain graduate recruitment programmes in a sustainable manner, often meaning that financial incentives such as salary increases on the table for those joining the firm are less substantial. However, for graduates, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as it ensures that a greater number of opportunities are available. Consideration of such long-term prospects within these opportunities would be considered by many searching for a graduate job as something of a luxury. And no matter what these prospects, securing some form of permanent employment will allow any graduate greater financial stability and a foot in the door with regards to future development.
Jon, GRB Journalist
