Scots graduates 'get raw deal on help to find job'

Published on Tuesday 19 May 2009 21:43

AFTER the traditional throwing of mortar boards in the air, this summer's new graduates will find the sound of champagne corks fading much more quickly than usual.

As they return graduation gowns, rented for the award ceremonies, the dark spectre of unemployment will loom heavy despite summer skies.

For recession has meant many of the big firms and banks, who normally run large graduate training schemes, have been forced to freeze recruitment, thereby cutting job opportunities at a stroke.

Last month, a snapshot survey by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) showed 60 per cent of those questioned had reduced the number of university leavers they would be taking on.

Of the 124 employers that responded, from sectors such as banking, financial services, law, engineering and industry, only a third said they were still looking for applications from graduates this year.

Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the AGR, says: "It is really important that graduates coming into the market this year do not despair and assume that there are no jobs whatsoever out there. Though there is certainly nervousness among recruiters about the impact of the recession on their business, not all have shut up shop by any means and a very significant number are still looking for bright graduates to take on."

However, critics north of the Border say little has been done here to help those streaming through university gates this year, the ink barely dry on their degree certificates, while in England the Westminster government has introduced an initiative targeted at the problem.

The Graduate Talent Pool scheme is a matching service that aims to bring together graduates and employers keen to offer internships. Its website will go live in September, along with an advice line, and it is hoped it will facilitate 5,000 placements.

Proponents argue the scheme has few costs for government (mainly advertising), and say the Scottish Government could simply buy into the UK scheme without having to start up its own version from scratch. Companies already signed up include Network Rail, the police, Marks & Spencer and Microsoft.

Claire Baker, Scottish Labour's further and higher education spokeswoman, says the Scottish Government should get involved, and she accuses the SNP administration of doing too little to help Scotland's young people through the recession.

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We cannot allow our young people to languish in unemployment unable to use the skills they have built up over years of study," she says. "The rest of the UK is pressing ahead with an intern programme that will offer thousands of opportunities to graduates in England and Wales. However no such scheme exists in Scotland, meaning Scottish students graduating this year will have no help from their government to get them the experience they urgently need."

She adds: "The SNP shouldn't allow their pride to get in the way of taking good ideas from the rest of the UK. Fiona Hyslop should pick up the phone to the UK government and negotiate access for Scottish graduates."

But the Scottish Government argues it is working closely with Scotland's universities to improve further the employability of graduates and is monitoring the impact of the recession on graduate employment.

"While we are far from complacent, we are pleased to note that demand in Scotland is currently holding up well and in certain sectors, such as oil and gas, actually increasing," a spokeswoman says. "There is also some evidence to suggest that our more diverse financial services sector has not been as badly affected as the rest of the UK.

"Meanwhile, there are number of local initiatives at universities across the country assisting graduates into employment in addition to the Scottish Enterprise 'Graduates for Business' scheme."

Final-year students in Scotland have heard of the scheme in England and believe it would be good for them. Stuart MacLennan, 23, is finishing a postgraduate diploma in legal practice at Edinburgh University and needs to find a two-year traineeship at a law firm.

"I appreciate the government can't force employers to give someone else a job," he concedes. "But it would be good if the SNP were just doing something to help facilitate a little bit because there is no central resource for matching graduates with jobs, and at least that's what they are trying to do in England."