Our Student Recruitment Survey 2024 is full of interesting trends and data on the evolving landscape of early careers in the UK. ISE’s Georgia Greer unpacks five top trends everyone should know.
1. Graduate application ratios hit an all-time high
This year we heard from UK employers that the number of graduate applications they collectively received was in excess of 1.2 million.
When combined with the fact that growth in graduate vacancies was slowing, we see the ratio of applications to vacancies hit a new record high of 140 application to every one vacancy (140:1).
This trend is likely to continue as employers predict further cooling of vacancy numbers in the coming 12 months, and no abating of the volume of applications.
2. Employers hold mixed opinions on the use of AI
The surge in student applications can no doubt be linked in part to the increasing ease of making applications in light of AI.
However, employers hold mixed opinions on this, with 43% of employers telling us they had no problem with a candidate using AI in the recruitment process compared to 32% who were advising candidates not to.
Employers were more likely to be supportive of candidates using AI to help write CVs and cover letters or complete application forms than they were in applying it to the later stages of the assessment process.
Meanwhile, employers also told us that the vast majority (79%) were not using AI in their own recruitment activities, an unexpected increase on last year’s findings where we saw usage triple between 2022-2023.
3. UK immigration changes impact international student hiring
While our report looked at a period that straddled the new visa rules coming into effect, it is worth understanding the initial impact with a watching brief for the coming campaign year.
When asked about the impact of the new regulations, 44% of employers told us they were not changing their approach and would continue to successfully recruit international students for their organisations.
However, roughly a third of employers (30%) told us that it had led them to recruit fewer international students. And 18% were unable to continue with their offers and had to rescind on the basis of not being able to meet the new requirements or salary thresholds.
At the time of surveying employers (July 2024), 14% were reviewing their position regarding salaries/locations of roles, and the visa routes to employing international students. As we enter the new recruitment year, we will see more clearly what the outcomes of these changes might be.
4. Demand for top skills continues to be sector agnostic
An emerging trend from last year’s survey continues to build momentum – the need for early careers talent to help organisations bridge persistent skills gaps, regardless of which sector they’re in.
Yet again the top three in-demand skills employers were hiring for were:
• IT, AI and digital roles
• Accounting and finance roles
• Engineering roles
This top three transcended sector and type of hire. They are skills that employers recruit for in graduates, interns, and school and college leavers alike.
We also saw this year an increase in the number of apprenticeships being offered, with 82% of employers offering apprenticeships this year (compared to 76% last year). There is a continuing investment in school and college leaver recruitment activity, which may also contribute towards employers’ goals when it comes to bridging skills gaps.
5. A targeted EDI approach is paying mixed dividends
We know that EDI is an important topic and business imperative for many UK employers and early careers recruitment and development activities are often seen to be an opportunity for positive impact in a company’s existing demographics.
This has led to an increase in focus on EDI in the early careers sector including nearly half of employers (47%) telling us they have some form of EDI recruitment target to achieve this year. However, when asked if they were meeting their targets, we got a less positive response.
Many employers told us they were not achieving their targets despite targeted interventions in their attraction, assessment, and candidate care activities last year. Alongside this, they told us that challenges with data persist, including limited access and low levels of candidate disclosures.
With 63% of employers predicting ESG factors (which EDI now tends to fall under the umbrella of) will increasingly influence what and how they recruit early careers talent, we hope that some of these unresolved challenges will come into sharper focus for resolution in the near future.
Some of these challenges will be explored at ISE’s forthcoming EDI Conference.
Read ISE’s Student Recruitment Survey 2024 for more data and trends.
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