Insights into graduate recruitment
The Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) 2008 Employers survey provided many interesting insights into the graduate recruitment market and the likely future trends in Australia. The survey was conducted in August and September 2007 with 180 graduate employers.
The survey found that graduate vacancies were at 11.2% in 2008, down from 13.9% in 2007.
60% of organisations had not filled their 2008 vacancies by the time the survey took place.
The industry with the largest number of unfilled vacancies was IT (22.9%) followed by civil engineering (11.3%).
There was also interesting news about graduate salaries:
- The median starting salary for graduates in 2008 was $48,000 (a 5% increase from 2007).
- Nearly half of all the employers surveyed planned to increase their 2009 starting salaries by more than a 'cost of living' raise.
Employers were most satisfied with their applicants' analytical and IT skills (both 35%), but only one in ten were very satisfied with the applicants' business knowledge, while written communication skills and judgement skills also rated poorly.
Most employers felt that university had made graduates quite well prepared for work, but 16% didn't think they were very well prepared.
Another AAGE survey was conducted in July and September with 1518 new or future employees from 68 organisations. The survey found that:
- An impressive one-third of graduates had gained some form of work experience which was directly relevant to their new employer while continuing with their studies.
- Nearly half of all candidates had undertaken voluntary or charity work while at university.
- Two-fifths had completed a vacation program, clerkship or internship with an organisation.
One-fifth of candidates used employers' websites as part of their job hunting, and nearly two-thirds attended at least one university careers fair. Commercial websites, careers services, and family and friends were also popular sources for candidates to help them determine where they should send their job applications.
Graduates' future direction:
- Over half of all candidates expected to stay with their employer for more than five years.
- Candidate said they would stay longer with an employer for the following reasons: promotion or career advancement, content of work, ability to move within the organisation, and remuneration offered.
- A third of all candidates thought it was most likely they would work overseas after 2010.
Sources:
The AAGE Employer Survey 2008
The AAGE Candidate Survey 2008