The CIPD has renewed warnings that ‘generation Ys’ and fresh graduates face a long summer wait for job offers, as employers become “more choosy” in who they hire.
Gerwyn Davies, public policy adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), warned employers would be more picky when looking through CVs this summer. His comments follow the latest Labour Market Outlook report by the KPMG and the CIPD, out earlier this month, which found nearly half (45%) of UK companies were not planning on recruiting school-leavers or graduates.
Davies said: “Employers have for a long time had doubts about the employability skills of those leaving education, and this year’s crop face employers in a more choosy mood than ever before.
“Against this backdrop, graduates and school-leavers need to sharpen their case for being picked ahead of their classmates – and fast.”
Just one-third of the 505 employers polled in the report said they planned to recruit 17- and 18-year-olds, while less than half (49%) said they intended to hire university graduates.
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The latest Labour Market Statistics survey by the Office for National Statistics found one in six 18 to 24-year-olds were now unemployed, up from one in eight last year. This was far higher than the unemployment rate for adults aged 25 to 49, which sat at 5.5%.
The CIPD previously warned that HR could miss out on talent if Generation Ys avoided going to university due to poor recruitment prospects.
