Chris Blackhurst, the City Editor of the Evening Standard newspaper, opens his 1st July article by describing his daughter’s situation; she has recently graduated and is to work unpaid for a charity for three months before working in a bar to save up for a travelling expedition.
His daughter’s situation is one of many examples of today’s “Lost Generation” of graduates; those that have worked tirelessly to gain the necessary grades to attend their chosen university as per Tony Blair’s ‘Education, Education, Education’ Grand Plan.
The problem facing recently graduated students is threefold;
1) Competition for full-time employment is fierce.
2) University debts loom over them.
3) The lack of properties on the market ensures house prices have fallen little in most areas and jumping on the property ladder is a distant dream for most.
Mr. Blackhurst believes that today’s graduates will find ‘the prospect of real careers nigh on impossible to come by’ by pointing to the ‘latest figures’ showing that 270 graduates are competing for every graduate job in the consumer goods industry (a ‘traditional breeding ground of would-be business stars’) and to George Osbourne’s public sector cuts. However, this year is by no means exceptional; employment figures have been rising throughout the recession resulting in a backlog of three years’ graduates.
We believe that in order to differentiate themselves, today’s graduates should be looking at gaining work experience in their chosen industries in order to differentiate themselves from their unemployed contemporaries. By working hard, you could push your name to the top of the pile and be the first name in the minds of your future employees.
Get employed, Get Work Experience.