Changing employer practices in graduate recruitment: implications for career development

A major study of the changing graduate recruitment practices of UK employers, was conducted during 2014 by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) and the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It involved in-depth interviews with 76 employers (diverse by size and sector) and 30 'stakeholders' in graduate employment, including university careers services. The qualitative data were complemented by analysis of existing quantitative data on graduate employment and a wide ranging literature review. This article reports on selected findings relevant to career development professionals, including: the challenges for employers of attracting appropriate applicants; employers' generic skill needs and views on employability; the changing reasons and criteria for targeting specific higher education (HE) institutions; and employers' increasingly strategic use of work experience in graduate recruitment.