A chance to reflect on the student recruitment and development trends of the year by reading our most popular blogs of 2022.

We’ve delved into the data behind ISE’s blogs to bring you the top blogs picked by readers during the year. Given the heightened competition for talent, it’s no surprise that the theme seems to be all about what students and graduates are looking for from employers.

We are always looking for contributors. If you have new data, insight from a project, advice or new ideas you’d like to share email suggestions to clare@ise.org.uk

Here’s our top 10 of the most popular blogs of 2022:

10. What the marking boycott means for employers and graduates

Alongside our regular News Digest we bring you analysis of the hottest topics and what they mean for student employers. In May universities were hit by a marking boycott, so we teamed up with AGCAS to provide advice.

9. Student recruitment predictions for 2022 and beyond

At the beginning of the year we looked back at ISE data to offer some considered predictions for the year ahead.

No-one could have foreseen the impact the Russian invasion of Ukraine would have on the recovery of the labour market or the chaos we’d see in British politics, yet there are some insightful forecasts that remain relevant.

8. Early talent more likely to leave jobs than at any other point pre-pandemic

ISE’s Student Development Survey 2022 launched in March. It showed a long-term decline in student retention.

Don’t miss out on the how the trend is shifting. The next Student Development Conference will take place 30 March 2023.

7. Universities explain what students want from employers this autumn

ISE’s university steering group got together in September to share with employers what autumn on campus would look like this year.

As well as employer engagement activities, universities offered insight to what students want.

6. What do graduate and apprentice salaries look like in 2022?

Salary data is among the most desirable information for members, so it’s not surprising that this post made it into the top 10.

5. Solving the recruitment challenges of 2022

During the summer of 2022, the Great Resignation dominated headlines and demand for workers outstripped the labour force for the first time in nearly 50 years.

We looked into ISE data to help inform solutions for some of the year’s biggest challenges.

4. What attracts graduates to work for SMEs Vs large organisations?

A report by AGCAS and GTI identified significant differences in students and graduates who would prefer to work in a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) after graduation, versus those who would prefer to work for a large organisation.

The findings highlighted some steps employers can take as part of their attraction activities.

3. Graduate vacancies set to increase beyond pre-pandemic levels

The ISE Vacancy Survey 2022 tracked graduate and school leaver vacancies. We asked employers how many graduates they expected to hire in the coming year and how many they hired the previous year.

The findings revealed that for the first time since pre-pandemic times, graduate vacancies were set to increase by 20% compared to 2019. You can read how this actually panned out in this autumn’s Student Recruitment survey 2022.

2. 5 biggest trends in student recruitment in 2022

ISE’s Student Recruitment survey 2022 launched during some of the greatest political turmoil we have seen. This blog from October shared light on the significant trends that have been shaping student recruitment this year.

1. What do graduates want from employers in 2022?

Bright Network’s annual research What do graduates want? 2022/23 took the top spot this year.

Delving into the thoughts of over 14,000 students and recent graduates it gives a new take on social mobility and flexible working as well as highlights the gap between what students think employers want, and what they actually want.

The latest ISE blogs can be found on our Knowledge Hub. They come out in our Insights newsletter every Thursday. For information or to contribute email clare@ise.org.uk