THE EUROPEAN GRADUATE LABOUR MARKET

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THE EUROPEAN GRADUATE LABOUR MARKET - A VIEW FROM
THE DRIVING SEAT
Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive AGR (Association
of Graduate Recruiters)
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Recruitment of graduates from Europe and the rest
of the world 2002 - 2006

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Survey Participants

Number of graduate level vacancies being offered
in 2007 9485
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The Impact of a Buoyant Graduate Market

• Increased competition
• Less choice
• Candidates in the driving seat
• Severe skill shortages
• The risk of escalating salaries
• Retention issues

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Do you actively recruit from mainland Europe?

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Where do employers in the UK recruit European
graduates to work?

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Why do employers recruit graduates from Europe?

Quotes To help grow the business globally To
help overcome severe skill shortages Too few
graduates in technical disciplines at home More
diverse minds make for a more effective
workforce There are certain careers where UK
graduates are reluctant to work despite studying
the discipline at university
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Recruiting graduates from different countries
improves our business advantage

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Recruiting graduates from overseas is more
trouble than it is worth

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The most difficult part of recruiting overseas
graduates is being able to compare
qualifications, knowledge and skills

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Have you heard of the Bologna Declaration?
What does it represent? Standardising
qualifications across Europe A standardisation
of qualifications across Europe x 2 Comparable
degrees across Europe by 2012 Equalisation of
bachelor degrees Standardisation of degree
levels Bachelor academic system across
Europe Looking at international qualifications
and trying to measure degrees to our
standards Europe dictating to UK Equalisation
of European/global qualifications and degrees
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Have you heard of the European Diploma Supplement?
Do you use the EDS? Yes, one recruiter!
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Universities in Europe are very helpful and easy
to communicate with when recruiting graduates

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What challenges do recruiters face in cross
border recruiting?

• Ignorance/lack of understanding
• Confusion/lack of awareness
• Lack of support networks
• Costs return on investment
• Creating an effective European brand and employer
  proposition
• Reaching the target audience
• Accurately measuring and comparing academic
  levels reached by candidates
• Assessing fairly without cultural bias
• Generation Y and work life balance

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What will help advance the cause of cross border
recruiting?

• Better understanding (all round)
• Training for recruiters
• Learning from experience
• Learning from each other
• More effective networks (FEDORA, INGRADA,
  AGR/AGCAS type associations)
• A buoyant European economy
• Continuing demand from graduates
• The war for the best talent
• Demographics

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So, is there a European Graduate Recruitment
Market? Over to the panel!