GRADUATES leaving university this summer have run up student debts averaging more than £10,000 for a three-year degree course, so it’s no surprise that the latest research shows that starting salary is the No 1 factor for finalists when deciding where to apply for graduate positions.
But while pay packets are important, the Class of 2006 also assessed potential employers on the type of work on offer, the quality of their training and development programmes and the location of graduate positions. At 23 of the 30 universities surveyed, students said that London was their first-choice location to work after university and nearly half of all this year’s graduates hope to work in or around the M25. More than half of finalists felt that it was important to use the degree subject they’d studied, despite the fact that more than three quarters of graduate-level vacancies are now open to applicants with any degree.
The survey of 16,000 final-year students, produced by High Fliers Research, also showed that one new graduate in four was keen to take a job that let him or her give something back to the community and a similar number said it was essential that their first employer was environmentally responsible.
However, fewer than one in ten said that working for a British company was a priority.
For a summary of the research e-mail surveys@highfliers.co.uk