Slim pickings for Birmingham university graduates in shrinking job market

Jul 19 2010 by Edward Chadwick

As graduates face the toughest competition for jobs in years, Edward Chadwick discovers some university leavers are changing their career plans to survive the battle for employment.

The mortar boards were present and so were the proud parents to catch every moment on camera. But a ghost has been present at the feast of graduation day for thousands of students in the city this summer in the shape of growing uncertainty over their chances of landing a job.

The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) says the number of applications for every post has rocketed to 70 this year and number of available positions is down by seven per cent.

It has led to a warning that thousands of young people fresh from university could end up flipping burgers or stacking shelves.

Students at a ceremony in the University of Birmingham’s Great Hall were not ready to head for the dole queue, but many said their choices had been influenced by the shrinking jobs market.

Lauren Lewis, from Scunthorpe, gained a masters degree in physics and astrophysics and had hoped to work in the nuclear sector.

“I’ve applied for about half a dozen jobs but haven’t been successful,” said the 22-year-old. There seems to be a huge number of people going for a smaller amount of jobs than in the past. I chose to do a masters at Birmingham because I was told that I could do anything with it but it hasn’t been the case.

“I haven’t even managed to find a management or waitressing job because it’s the same story. I’m not getting too disheartened because I know the situation will improve and I’m going to teach English in South Korea and do some travelling.

"It’s a bit frustrating to have worked so hard and get nothing but I hope things will be better when I come back.”

Another delaying her first steps into working life is Helen Howlett, aged 22, from Gloucestershire.

She has graduated from a three-year degree course in physics and astrophysics but has decided to return to study for a masters degree and improve her chances of finding work.

“I’ve already got some contacts from doing internships and I want to build on them,” she said. “Not even a good degree is a guarantee of a job so I am going to continue to get some experience and come back next year to specialise in nuclear physics.

“It’s an area that is growing and I hope that with my experience I won’t have a problem finding work.

“But I know friends who have taken a year or more after graduating to find work.”

The report by the AGR paints a bleak picture for jobseekers.

It said prospects were even worse now than they had been for the first post-credit crunch generation of graduates last year, when there were 48 applications for each position.

The paper, which was the result of a poll of 200 firms including Cadbury, Marks and Spencer and Vodafone, said nearly 80 per cent of employers would insist of a 2.1 degree or better.

Graduate salaries have remained stagnant for the first time in the survey’s history at £25,000.

But a second report, published by graduate research body High Fliers, claims an 18 per cent increase in jobs for leavers after two years of decline.

The University of Birmingham’s own director of student employability, Eluned Jones, said the outlook was nowhere near as gloomy as the AGR suggested.

“There has been a change in tactics by employers and although there aren’t as many jobs in certain sectors, we have had the same number of firms recruiting at the university,” she said. “It might surprise a lot of people to know that 30 per cent of positions for summer intakes have not yet been filled so there are jobs out there.

“I don’t think the AGR report paints a fair picture. When they talk about 70 applicants for a job, it probably means the same people applying for a lot of the same positions.”

Ms Jones said that employers were increasingly engaging with students in the first and second years of university so they can assess them better than in a single interview.

She said it was also crucial that students understood the need to stand out by gaining work experience or playing a role in student life.

“I’m sure the post-graduate centre would say that there has been an increase in people going on to do further study,” added Ms Jones.

“Some of that will be people delaying going in to the jobs market and trying to make sure they stand out but post-graduate study has always been a very important at the University of Birmingham.”

One student going on to further qualifications is 23-year-old physics graduate Aidan Moss, originally from Worcester, who will study for a Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) in the hope of becoming a teacher.

“I’ve wanted to do this for the last few years so I wouldn’t say that I have been influenced by the current climate but I’m quite pleased that I won’t be in competition with so many people looking for jobs,” he said.

>More: Photo gallery from the summer 2010 University of Birmingham graduation celebrations