Member Article

IT graduates struggle to find employment

IT graduates are still struggling to secure employment despite a significant rise in vacancy numbers, according to a IT recruitment consultancy.

Comparing the first 11 months of 2010 to the same period last year, IntaPeople found that IT graduate vacancies in the UK have increased by almost 80%.

However, it believes that a large proportion of these roles are being filled by more experienced job seekers instead.

Stephen Riley, director at IntaPeople, said: “Whilst it is encouraging that IT graduate vacancies are on the up, we estimate that graduates are being overlooked for these opportunities around 30% of the time.

“A difficult economy has seen skilled IT professionals applying for roles that would usually be considered too junior for them. Although many employers set out with the intention of taking on fresh talent, they often find it hard to resist these more experienced applicants – especially if they are available at a similar salary level.”

Research from the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) recently showed that unemployment among IT graduates has grown from 13.7% to 16.3% over the course of the year.

Stephen Riley added: “The IT arena is as fast paced as ever, and the UK needs to be careful that it doesn’t fall behind the rest of Europe by neglecting a whole generation of workers.

“Experience is always attractive, but upcoming talent will play an equally important role in supporting the country’s economic recovery. Firms therefore need to do whatever they can to see through their graduate recruitment plans and help aspiring IT professionals into work.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .