We have spent a lot of time discussing the difficulties older generations face in the job market but younger generations, particularly those leaving university, also face serious challenges. Growing up, there is often a focus on getting a degree to help find a job. Whilst this has begun to change in recent years, most young people decide to go to university and follow the traditional path. There is a perception that this means that young people find jobs easier. In a recent CMI report, managers stated that they preferred younger workers to older workers, most commonly fresh graduates. However, in reality, this is not the case.

In truth, the graduate market is highly competitive because there is an overabundance of qualified graduates. Some of The Times Top 100 employers receive 650+ applicants per vacancy for their structured graduate schemes. Only 52% of graduates find a graduate-level job, the others are underemployed in jobs that do not require their degree. Each year even more graduates join the pool of the previous years’, alongside the international students who want a graduate job in the UK, which means that the likelihood of finding a job which means the time and money spent on your degree was fully worth it is minimal.

“Instead of looking for experience, businesses should start looking to offer experience”

The main reason for this is that employers value experience over everything. This was shown in our recent poll where respondents said experience was the main benefit of an age-diverse workforce. But to get experience, you need to have experience, meaning it’s a never-ending cycle of being stuck and struggling to find a job. A good example is the tech industry. In a Wiley Edge report, many young people stated it took them longer to find a job than they expected. There is an element of a tech degree potentially being out of date by the time of graduation because of the ever-changing world of technology. However, there is also the factor of experience being necessary in the industry. But the only real way to get experience is through unpaid work which isn’t always viable for everyone.

It is important to note that not all industries suffer from this. When studying in healthcare, a lot of the experience earned on that course is because it is built in. Furthermore, you are usually guaranteed a job at the end due to the nature of the industry and the layout of study.

This leads to an important change within university degrees. Placement years. This is a year outside of traditional education where students can dedicate finding experience to help them when they graduate. This can be particularly beneficial as they are often paid and provide another level to a CV. Often the only experience a student might have will be a part-time role which can’t always be translated into a graduate career. These placement years have become more and more frequent with all sorts of subjects beginning to include them. Many businesses have also begun to offer them with the expectation of the applicants having minimal experience making it easier for those who haven’t had the opportunity to gain any previously, to get a head start after their 3 or 4 years on their course is finished. But, it is not easy to fit a placement year for every subject. For example, a History degree may have less opportunity for a placement year compared to Engineering or Business degrees.

So how can it be made easier? Placement years are one way but firms offering internships can also be a particularly useful tool. Internships can be for a much shorter amount of time so it means you can complete several and get a wide range of experience under your belt. More and more firms have begun offering them with some even offering employment at the end. However, there is the risk of being unpaid as around 43% of internships are unpaid meaning they also disproportionately go to privileged students.

This suggests there should also be a change in business culture. Instead of looking for experience, businesses should start looking to offer experience, otherwise, there is a risk that in the future there will be a high volume of skilled young people underemployed and businesses lacking the skilled workers they need. There are benefits to providing experience to graduates, the biggest one being that you can ensure they meet the level of skill you need and mould them to the role you place them in. They will be a clean slate and likely very eager to take on any information or experiences you throw at them, making them perfect training candidates.

All this being said, there has been a shift towards young people deciding to do an apprenticeship instead of a degree. The lack of prospects for graduates is a reason for this. With an apprenticeship, you are often guaranteed a career at the end of it, and you learn all the necessary and practical skills for that job. Compared to a degree where it could be argued you learn a lot more theory. Another reason is the cost of getting a degree, which is only amplified further when considering the limited chance of finding a career that allows you to pay that tuition fee off. Apprenticeships also help solve that issue by allowing you to earn whilst studying at the same time, thus potentially putting young people in a better financial situation.

To conclude:

  • Is experience really a trump card for employers over what a new graduate might offer?

  • And if so, are they being ageist by valuing experience so highly? Why are so many internships unpaid, do policymakers need to step in to provide employer incentives?

 

Sonya Knight | ADF Comms Team

Read our last editorial here

To respond and/or for more information, please contact the ADF Comms Team at: [email protected]