Graduates should look beyond recruitment schemes, says expert

New graduates concerned about their prospects in the highly competitive UK employment market should not view recruitment schemes as the be all and end all of job hunting, an expert has claimed.

Graduate Recruitment Bureau co-founder Dan Hawes acknowledged that finding work in the current climate can appear daunting, but suggested hype from certain sections of the media has filled some students with undue apprehension.

"There are lots of other jobs that aren't necessarily on schemes, but require a degree," he explained. "This is the big picture stuff that doesn't get widely reported and it does create panic among graduates."

He added that although there are thousands of non-scheme graduate jobs currently available, many companies are simply not advertising these positions through careers services, websites and employment fairs.

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Mr Hawes' comments came after a survey carried out by business group the Association of Investment Companies found that more than half of students polled expressed concern over finding a job upon graduation.

Posted by Colette Paxton