Graduates ‘a great opportunity for SMEs’

There is a “great opportunity” to be had by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which recruit graduates, it has been claimed.

Prue Watson, spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses, said a recent survey conducted by the firm revealed one in five such companies plan to take on a graduate intern in the next year.

“Small firms recognise the skills that graduates bring to business and the excellent working environment small firms give the graduate,” she added.

However, Ms Watson added 99 per cent of UK companies have up to ten members of staff and will not have the resources to engage in formalised graduate recruitment.

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This may explain recent findings from Centre for Enterprise, which revealed 89 per cent of SMEs it spoke to do not intend to recruit graduates in 2010.

Furthermore, many respondents were unsure what a graduate qualification was, with 29 per cent incorrectly identifying A-Levels and only 59 per cent correctly recognising Foundation Degrees as being so.