Grads fight the credit crunch
Students are fighting both the credit crunch and graduate debt to get a job after graduation that relates to their degree, experts have warned.
A new survey has found that almost two thirds of students are hoping to find careers in which they can use knowledge gained in their degree. However Milkround.com, which carried out the research, is warning that graduates may be disappointed as industries struggle through the credit crunch.
‘Current market conditions’ have already led to top accountancy firm Ernst & Young telling graduates who were due to start work with them in September that they may have to wait until next spring to join.
It has also been reported that graduates have been increasingly forced to choose their jobs on the basis of pay rather than preference, in efforts to overcome graduate debt.
Research from the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) found that this year is seeing the smallest rise in graduate salaries in recent years, and in most cases employers will offer no more than a cost of living rise next year.
Research from Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) highlights the IT industry in particular, where pay rates for entry-level IT jobs are falling, and one in ten computer science graduates are unemployed.
Milkround.com spokesman Mike Barnard said: “There are clear signs graduates will need to be more savvy than ever in their hunt for work and not rely on the usual high numbers of vacancies available in previous years.
“Although major firms generally take on graduates every year through their annual schemes, places can expect to be limited if businesses target staff cutbacks to cope with the credit crunch.”
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