Deloitte reports surge in graduate job applications

Published on Sunday 30 November 2008 20:26

PROFESSIONAL services firm Deloitte has reported a 34 per cent rise in applications for graduate positions at its Scottish business, led by a 59 per cent hike at its Edinburgh office.

The company, which works in areas from accountancy to insolvency, is planning to take on roughly the same number of graduates – about 1,000 – across the UK as in previous years, but many firms are cutting back on new staff, intensifying the demand for those jobs still available.

Deloitte said that applications in Scotland have been increasing for the past few years, but that concern about student debt and the availability of graduate positions had encouraged more to apply early for 2009.

Over the UK as a whole, applications rose by 40 per cent. Jim Boyle, talent partner for Deloitte in Scotland, said: "I've found that some graduates who might ordinarily take a post-university gap year have been applying to Deloitte during their final year rather than wait until they return."

He added: "The number of applications to the three Scottish offices for 2009 is very healthy and testament to the quality and range of jobs available at Deloitte."

Sarah Shillingford, graduate recruitment partner at Deloitte, added: "The current economic climate has not affected our graduate recruitment plans. At this stage, we are anticipating around 1,000 graduate vacancies, broadly the same number of graduates as previous years.

"A number of graduate recruiters have cut back on recruitment figures and, as a result, more students are competing for our positions than ever before."

The company added that graduates were keen to secure a stable job amid rising student debt.

Research from Highfliers revealed that, over the past ten years, student debt has more than trebled. The average debt of a student leaving university in 2008 was 11,600 compared with just 3,200 in 1999.

Shillingford added: "Students graduating in 2009 face a tougher job market than those who graduated in previous years. The value attributed to job security by students is higher than I have seen before, both in terms of the employers they are attracted to and the timing of their applications."