4 April 2009

Graduates must do more to land a job

A new report say students must develop employability skills and get workplace experience to boost their chances of getting a job in the current economic downturn.

The report, by the CBI and Universities UK, also calls on employers to offer work placements and internships to help meet the demand from students.

Entitled Future Fit: preparing graduates for the world of work, the report goes on to identify key employability skills as self-management, team-working, customer awareness and problem solving.

CBI director-general Richard Lambert said that universities and business must do more to meet the pent-up demand that exists among students for doing work placements and internships during a degree and developing the skills they know will be vital in getting a good job after graduation.

The latest CBI education and skills survey, shows that more than three quarters of employers consider employability skills as essential when recruiting graduates whilst another recent survey found that recruitment targets among the UK's top 100 graduate employers had been cut by 17% for this year.

To say that the class of 2009 won't have it easy after graduation is an understatement - competition for jobs will be the most intense for many years, Lambert added.

Previous research has also shown that more employers are turning to psychometric testing to find the ideal candidate with suitable employability skills and this trend looks set to continue as an increasing number of graduates chase fewer jobs.

As well as gaining valuable work experience, graduates should also consider familiarizing themselves with psychometric testing to give themselves the best chance of landing their dream job.

 

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