Graduates “are good for the economy”

Citation

(2005), "Graduates “are good for the economy”", Education + Training, Vol. 47 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2005.00447aab.002

Graduates “are good for the economy”

Graduates contribute around £1 billion a year of added value to the UK economy, according to research by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR). “Adding Value Beyond Measure”, a project conducted by Dr Anthony Hesketh, reveals that the business case for graduate recruitment programmes is as strong as ever, at a time when ongoing economic uncertainty has led to many organisations adopting limited graduate-recruitment strategies and, in a few cases, even retracting them.

The report reveals that graduates bring value through:

• •

  a capacity to articulate innovations and to cope with the changes that this brings about;

• •

  developing faster than other employees and demonstrating leadership qualities at an accelerated rate;

• •

  having the skills to articulate ideas in the cut and thrust of everyday working life, despite having limited experience;

• •

  stimulating change, and not simply accommodating it, in a fast-moving world; and

• •

  coming up with solutions and being innovative because they want to make their mark.

The report shows that graduate recruitment is a costly business, but ultimately the value of it comes down to whether it is viewed as an investment in the business or a cost in need of reduction. Investment levels vary between organisations but the research indicates that abandoning a graduate-recruitment programme is largely seen as a risk that could lose the organisation a range benefits. In particular, graduate recruitment is seen as an investment in a talent pipeline. This is more cost-effective than recruiting from the wider marketplace at the next recruitment level up.

Organisations with substantial levels of investment are able to hand-pick and “hot-house” graduates, giving them access to senior management and excellent development and coaching facilities. Graduates who are nurtured and shaped within the organisation are likely to stay with the organisation longer and be more aligned with the values of the organisation.

Projecting and building brand equity has emerged as a key driver for investment in graduate-recruitment strategies. It is an essential element to attracting the best graduates in what is perceived to be a crowded marketplace. As one graduate-recruitment manager comments: “Once people find out that we have a great programme, the news spreads. But we are not a Barclays or a Shell. The initial attraction to us, therefore, has to be worked at a little harder by us, and that is the role of the team.”

This branding exercise goes beyond its attempt to provide high-quality applicants with a positive view of working life within the organisation, with many believing it plays a major role in marketing the organisation’s brand to future customers. One graduate-recruitment manager commented: “It is worth remembering that today’s graduate applicants may well be tomorrow’s customers. The last thing you want to do is put them off the brand by giving them a lousy recruitment experience.”

“We know there is a compelling business case for the recruitment and development of graduates, but the challenge for graduate recruiters is to measure and clearly articulate this”, said Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the AGR. “As we see HR increasingly aligned with the commercial strategies of organisations, a greater emphasis needs to be placed on the what graduate recruitment is worth to the business – not just what graduate recruitment delivers, but the value of it”.