Graduates are able to secure better salaries |
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Published
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Tue, 12 Jul 2005 18:05
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LONDON: Fresh graduates in the UK are securing jobs with an average starting salary of £22,000 a year, according to a recent study. This marks an improvement of £1,000 compared with figures released last year.
The Association of Graduate Recruiters, which carried out the study, said the number of graduate-level jobs too have gone up by 11.3 per cent.
In London, the average starting salary for a graduate is 26,000 pounds, while in Northern Ireland, it is 18,000 pounds, which is the lowest. The study covered 224 companies and said there could be variations as a fresh graduate entering a bank could earn as much 35,000 pounds and one taking up a job in an insurance company can be drawing 14,000 pounds.
The earnings figures are higher than the actual average salary for graduates, most of whom do not work for leading companies such as banks and law firms.
The Association said the increase in the number of job vacancies this year has led to a decline in the number of applications for each job -- from 37.6 to 32. 9. The association's chief executive, Carl Gilleard said, "There have been consistent above-the-rate-of-inflation rises in salaries for three consecutive years.
"This suggests that employers do value graduates who can offer the right skills and experience."
The association said specific to Scotland, the average starting salary has hit 20,000 pounds.
It found shortage of qualified hands in professions like law, banking, IT and engineering.
In percentage terms, the study found that nearly 50 per cent of all graduate jobs are located in London, 7 per cent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the rest in other parts of Britain.
Gilleard said statistics collected during the study revealed that there may be some mismatch between graduate aspirations and market conditions. For example, accountancy and professional services firms report one of the largest increases in vacancies but the smallest number of applications.
The study said that as much as 25 per cent of the 17,000 graduate jobs advertised by the 224 employers surveyed were for accountancy and professional services.
While investment banking offered the highest salary -- 35,000 pounds a year -- the next in line was consultancy and law (a beginner gets 28,000 pounds) followed by media (less than 20,000 pounds). The worst paymasters are insurance companies (14,000 pounds).
The data has come in handy for students leaving universities this year. They can make a choice whether to continue their studies paying an annual fee of 3,000 pounds or take up a job and draw salaries between 35,000 pounds and 14,000 pounds.
Welcoming the study and its findings, the National Union of Students said, "This is encouraging news for those recent graduates who are just stepping on to the career ladder."
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