Graduates face tough times
University graduates are facing ever decreasing prospects due to the recession, research shows. The job market is shrinking with fewer vacancies for graduates to apply for, leading to higher numbers of people applying for the jobs which are there.
With the UK government responding to the jobs crisis by telling graduates to ‘go abroad’ and get work until the worst effects of the recession blow over, it seems there is no real guidance or advice on how to deal with the problem for those worst hit.
Graduates now have more debt on average than ever before with top-up tuition fees and higher costs of living contributing heavily to a high financial burden on those leaving university. However, people are finding it ever harder to even get their foot on the first rung of the career ladder in order to combat this and it is leading to a vicious cycle – with less money coming in to support themselves, some are finding themselves descending into worse and worse debt just to afford to live.
In the worst affected industries, High Fliers Research claim that up to 100 people could be applying for each position in investment banking and 15 people for every accounting position. Contrast this with 2 people for each position in the military, which is one of the few areas experiencing growth in vacancies, and you can see the scale of the problem. Unfortunately, with many businesses facing financial problems on varying scales and recruitment bosses being more cagey about the number of people they hire, the problem is not a simple one to fix.
So, have you found yourself in this position? Have you applied to lots of jobs and not had any success? We’d like to hear from you, give us your stories! You never know, it could help you or someone in your situation!
