There would seem to be some cause for optimism. Several large corporates have gone public to announce an expansion in their recruitment targets for 2011 and that has to be a good sign. Anecdotally, I hear encouraging comments from graduate recruiters across a number of sectors who have been busy promoting their opportunities on campuses up and down the land. Bearing in mind that recruitment is closely linked to business confidence, if the economy is starting to improve that too would be an indicator of better times ahead for graduates. But if the economic recovery is fragile and we enter the dreaded double-dip recession then the knock-on effects will be entirely negative. We must all hope that the recovery continues and even if it does, fresh graduates will still find the jobs market highly competitive as they compete with graduates from 2010 and even earlier years for graduate level opportunities.
For many, the start to working life will mean entering work at any level they can. This will include accepting temporary posts or entering a graduate internship to build up their skills, work experience and network of contacts. It will not be unusual for graduates to take several short-term roles before securing that much coveted first career post. Having the confidence and skills to manage such a fluid and uncertain transition from the relatively secure world of being a student to that of a troubled workplace is going to be a differentiator between success and failure for many.
And what about future generations of graduates? Recent events (student demonstrations, votes in parliament to raise tuition fees) have attracted the headlines but when the dust settles, the question will still remain, is going to university still a good investment? There is no doubt that levels if student debt (if that is what the repayment of loans is best described as) will focus attention on both job and salary prospects. Job prospects will be influenced by exactly the same factors as today - essentially the state of the UK economy and how well we as a nation are competing with the rest of the world. On salaries other factors come into play but I am sorry to say there is no evidence that I am aware of to suggest that employers will pick up the tab on behalf of graduates. Salaries are stagnant at the moment and I suspect will remain so for the foreseeable future. The catalyst for salary growth is unmet demand and until employers find themselves struggling to recruit the talent they need, starting salaries are not going to increase significantly. Not that Class of 2011 will be too concerned about that - I suspect that most would snatch your hand off for a job that pays the current median average of ??25k a year.
So, as the year comes to an end, I apologise for not bringing more festive cheer to our readers. However, it is not all doom and gloom as I point out above. There are some signs of better times ahead. Whether you are an employer or a graduate job seeker I wish you everything you would wish for yourself in 2011.
Carl Gilleard
