Member Article

Graduate recruitment returns to “pre-2007 levels“

Graduate recruitment in 2012 is set to be up by 6.4% on last year, indicating a return to pre-recession levels.

The Graduate Market in 2012 survey showed that 10 out of the 15 industries represented in The Times top 100 employers are planning to hire, while the median starting salary remained at £29,000 across all sectors.

This news has been welcomed by PwC, who are already heavily committed to graduate recruitment. Out of 1,200 PwC trainee vacancies, 25% go to former interns, a figure which Mark Menton, director at PwC North East, believes is indicative of the firms’ commitment to nurturing young talent.

He commented: “Graduate recruitment is the lifeblood of our business. That’s why we continue to invest heavily in offering outstanding opportunities to students.

“The biggest shift over the past few years is that competition for talented students no longer starts in the run up to graduation, employers start competing for the attention of talented students from their first day on campus, or before they even leave schools and colleges.”

Early paid work experience can be key for both employers and students as it gives both parties the opportunity to asses first hand potential career opportunities. Likewise the return investment which both receive from the arrangement is becoming increasingly attractive.

Lat year PwC expanded its intern programme by 50% after attracting record numbers of applications

Mr Menton continued: “We think early identification of talent, whether in schools, colleges or on campus will only become more important as the fight for the best jobs becomes more pronounced. The survey results reinforce this trend.

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