Employers
are becoming less specific about which degree their graduate recruits have
gained, a report claims.
As
competition for graduates continues to grow more intense many companies are
filling their vacancies with employees holding degrees not directly relevant to
their job, preferring instead to train them once they start, the study reveals.
The
Graduate Market Trends Salary and Vacancy Survey shows that vacancies,
especially in key sectors such as engineering, finance and IT have risen in the
past year by as much as 23%.
As
a result, average graduate salaries have been hiked by up to 2.5% in the same
period and employers are less rigorous in their selection processes.
New
graduate employment ‘hotspots’ are also highlighted in the report, with
Scotland, the North, the North-West and the South-West offering the greatest
increases in vacancies over the past year.
Commenting
on the changing graduate market, CSU chief executive Mike Hill, said “Employers
have been prepared to widen their search criteria rather than hold out for
graduates with specific degree subjects.
“This
suggests that a degree is the surest foothold to professional employment for
young people and employers will invest in training and development to teach
them industry skills.”
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The
survey by the CSU examined 12,221 vacancies across the country during the year
up to May 2001.
By
Robert De La Poer
