Graduate Food Blog: January 2009 Archives

We are all aware that the current economic climate is far from its best; it has been for some time and is unlikely to improve in the immediate future. As well as many senior level and junior level employees losing their jobs as a result of the 'credit crunch', students who stand to graduate in summer 2009 are finding it increasingly harder to find a graduate scheme that is running this year. Heinz and Bakkavor, to name but a few, have put their graduate roles on hold for the foreseeable future.

This is not the first time that graduates have been struggling to find jobs after finishing University. In 2001, a report on the Times Higher Education website stated that 1 in 5 out of 66 surveyed companies (that were registered as members of the Association of Graduate Recruiters) said they had deferred graduate roles for an average of 12 months, while 1 in 10 had withdrawn offers already made to graduates. Here in January 2009, the situation is undoubtedly worse, as graduates will be struggling to find jobs in any area, never mind one that will utilise the skills they have been taught throughout their degree.

However, it is not all doom and gloom for graduates. Aldi have announced they are looking to take on Graduate Area Managers with a starting salary of £40k, rising to £57,750 after 3 years, and have also thrown in a fully expensed Audi A4. Not bad for a graduate salary!

As someone who is on industrial placement at the moment, with about 18 months until I'm due to graduate, I personally will be looking to stay in education for as long as possible, and avoid looking for graduate schemes or alternative employment for as long as possible. That will include the possibility of either a Masters, travelling after graduation, or a more appealing option (to me) of securing employment for 6, 12 or even 18 months in a foreign country.

I can only wish the 300,000 students due to graduate in June 2009 the best of luck in fighting for the recently-government-backed graduate roles at Barclays and Microsoft (BBC Website, Intern plan to ease graduate woes), and hope that the economic climate has improved by June 2010 when I'm due to graduate.

Students who graduate from university this summer were warned on Wednesday that their chances of getting a job have virtually disappeared already.

Vacancies for graduates have fallen by 17 per cent since last summer, cutting jobs on offer by thousands, and most vacancies for this year have already been filled according to a survey of the top 100 graduate recruiters.

It's not all doom and gloom however. Most sectors report a decline in the number of graduate vacancies but employers in the public sector and the Armed Forces stepped up their graduate recruitment in both 2008 and 2009. As a result there are now 51% more entry-levels positions for graduates in the public sector and 17% more roles in the Armed Forces.

And some graduates will still be smiling. Bargain supermarket Aldi will offer recruits of its graduate development programme a starting salary of £40,000 and an Audi A4 car this year. Aldi has seen sales rise as shoppers switch to low-cost food in the economic downturn. This has led the discount chain to expand the number of places on its graduate training scheme by 50% from 100 to 150 places.

If a career in the Armed Forces or at Aldi is not for you, what other options are available to 2009 graduates who have not yet been able to secure a job? Several are considering taking a gap year and broadening their horizons through travel or voluntary work. Another possibility is to take a vocational or conversion course to improve your marketability.

Although some sectors are struggling, there is still a shortage of food scientists and technologists in the UK which is good news for graduates of food science courses.

Are you about to graduate in a food related discipline? Have you already secured a position or are you putting your career on hold until the economic crisis abates?