As youth unemployment nears one million is it time for government intervention?

The latest unemployment figures make unpleasant reading – a rise of 74,000 between June and August. Included in the figures are almost one million young people, aged 16-24, currently out of work.

Graduates are not exempt from the dole queue. To complete your degree and then find it impossible to kick-start your career is frustrating to start with and then the frustration turns into depression as time marches on.

It’s not the graduates’ fault. Whenever the economy dips, jobs become more scarce and competitive and those trying to break into the world of work are at a disadvantage. They lack the experience and contacts of people already in work and the longer the economy struggles to recover, the less people in work are prepared or able to move on.

The country faced similar challenges in the 80’s and 90’s. Fortunately when we did eventually come out of recession, the jobs market  grew and sucked in many of those who had not been able to get on to the career ladder. Of course, there were long-term casualties. Some people who lost the confidence to apply for jobs; others adapted to alternative life styles. I’m not comfortable with the phrase ‘lost generation’ but I do recognise the dangers that fewer jobs and growing unemployment levels can bring to individuals and communities.

The shame is that real talent is going to waste. None of us, least of all employers, should assume that those who graduates in 2011 and have yet to find work are lazy, lacking in talent or both! Gaps on CVs and application forms might quite easily be explained if only recruiters were prepared to listen.

In the run up to the 2010 general election, AGR launched an election manifesto. In it we called for the government to introduce tax breaks to incentivise businesses, especially SMEs, to recruit graduates. At the time the media focused on other elements of the manifesto such as our take on tuition fees. In the past few days however it is a call that others have taken up. Let us hope that the powers that be take notice.

On an entirely different tack, I have just finished reading the draft of a report based on research into ‘Global Graduates for Global Leaders’ which AGR is funding along with CIHE and CFE (the research partner). It makes for fascinating reading and I am sure that when the report is signed off and circulated to all AGR members they will agree.

Which reminds me – together with other graduate recruiter associations across the globe, AGR is planning a conference for those employers who operate global recruitment and development programmes. The event will take place in London on 3^rd and 4^th May 2012. The venue is about to be confirmed and a small international advisory group is being set up to set the agenda for the two days. It’s the second such event (the first was inDallas last May and attracted more than 100 delegates). Details of the event will be launched shortly so watch this space. If you have ideas of topics you would like to see covered then let me know. Equally, if you feel your business might have something to contribute to the event, I’d be delighted to hear from you. (carl@agr.org.uk ).

It’s exam results time!

Here’s a warning – it’s the silly season again! That time of year when the media are desperately searching for stories to make the news. Fortunately for them, August brings a spate of examination results beginning today with the Scottish Highers. Later in the month we will see the release of GCSE and A level results. It is almost certain that exam passes will hit an all-time high.

Today’s headlines focused on students receiving their exam results a day early if they requested them to be delivered by text! An embarrassing blunder which brought an apology from the Scottish Qualifications Authority which was at pains to say no-one was advantaged or disadvantaged by the mistake. At least the error shifted the focus from the usual headline when exam results improve – claims that exams are not what they used to be.

This has been a consistent theme for the past decade or so and while there may well be evidence to back up the claims, it is hardly the students’ fault. Yet they must feel miffed that their efforts are routinely devalued by a sceptical media. Imagine handing an Olympic gold medal to an athlete at the same time as pointing out that if it wasn’t for improved training techniques they would probably not have run as fast as an athlete twenty years ago! You might find the medal attached to a tender part of your anatomy.

Why do we have to have this annual rubbishing of students’ academic achievements? Are the exam boards and politicians to blame for drawing attention to it? Is society so cynical that we have to believe that things can’t be as good as they seem? Whatever, the reason, its time to draw breath and let the dust settle on student celebrations before we charge in with accusations of ‘dumbing down’.

As a parent I am in a strong position to compare the scholastic efforts of my children to my own and I can categorically say that they worked harder than I ever did; studied more subjects; had more homework; took more exams from SATS to GCSEs, from AS levels to A levels and then had to compete for places at university with no certainty that even with excellent grades they could get on to the course they desired.

Pressure on today’s students is higher than at any time in the past. Let’s just pull back from our intense regard for standards for the remainder of this month and take the exam results for what they are – a measure of what each individual student has achieved – and celebrate. You never know, we might even feel better for it.

 

AFTER THE LORD MAYOR’S SHOW………..

Yet another AGR conference ends. Where did the time go?

More than 500 people made their way to the Celtic Manor Resort in South Wales – some from as far away asAustralia,New Zealandand theUnited States. About half arrived on the Sunday to soak up the sun and party atmosphere on the revamped rooftop terrace. How ironic that the resort’s improvements to provide protection from wind and rain was superfluous on a magnificent summer’s evening.

Earlier in the day, Real World and the Spring Project ran our first ever employability workshop for sixty unemployed graduates with support from a professional team of AGR members (and the Celtic Manor Resort).

Monday morning began with a series of showcases and opening of the exhibition heralding the start proper of conference. No matter how many conferences you organise, and this was my 13^th, the nerves kick in as you watch scores of delegates take their seats for the official opening. Our first keynote speaker, Dennis Turner, HSBC’s chief economist, put the nerves at rest with a highly informative, revealing and amusing delivery on the state of theUK economy. It is, to quote, “bumping along”.

Experience dictates that the first keynote sets the tone for the whole event. If it is well received then there is a build up of momentum that propels the conference forward. That certainly happened this year.

Domestic considerations such as the logistics of feeding large numbers of people at the same time and rehearsing the awards ceremony prevent me from attending seminars but from what delegates fed back to me, the seminars were topical, lively, challenging and participative. Just what the conference planning team called for.

Squeezed in between the seminars was a timely keynote address from Sir Alan Langlands, Chief Executive of HEFCE. His insights into the future direction of higher education inEnglandgave delegates plenty of food for thought.

As if organising a major conference programme isn’t enough we also build in an awards dinner. This is the most complex and challenging element of conference. While delegates worry about which dress to wear or who to sit with, the cast – awards presenter, entertainers, DJs, and catering staff – all compete for floor time to ensure the evening is a success. At one time we had Mike Gunn rehearsing his lines on stage, the stage crew fixing the LED dance floor, String Mania waiting patiently for their sound test and the hotel staff laying tables for 450 guests. Yours truly stood in the middle of this organised chaos clutching a clip board, trying to keep the peace.

Hard to believe that less than two hours later the Caernarfon Suite was transformed into a spectacular setting for dinner. Mike Gunn got his own back for my nitpicking over pronunciation with a few well aimed jokes at my expense. As ever there was a technical hitch but we got away with it. Congratulations to all the winners and especially to Barclays Bank for lifting the ‘blue riband’ award. Once the final award is handed over, I relax and enjoy the dinner and entertainment. Traditionally the evening ends up in the bar and this year was no exception. However, as I sneaked off to bed at 1.00am, Merlin’s Bar was less busy than normal – a sign of the economic times, or are we all becoming more responsible?

The acid test for conference is the first session the morning after the night before – Tuesday morning. The launch of the AGR survey results by James Kewin and the panel discussion, chaired by Alison Hodgson did a great job in exploring the survey findings in detail. The turnout, it has to be said, was brilliant.

With 12 workshops to choose from delegates are spoilt for choice. Delegates occasionally ask why they can’t attend more than 2 sessions. The simple answer is that we would not get many presenters prepared to run sessions more than twice on the same day!

Tuesday afternoon and we are in the home straight but with repeat workshops, a keynote delivered by Dr Debbie Swallow on intercultural communication, and a conference reflections session to fit in, the pace does not slacken off.

We end Conference 2011 on a high with presentations to Margaret Dane, Chief Executive of AGCAS who retires in the autumn, and the aforementionedAlison Hodgsonwho becomes AGR’s first ever honorary fellow for her contributions to AGR over the past decade.

Finally, once AGR chairman Terence Perrin closes the conference and wishes everyone a safe journey home, the conference hall empties in seconds and suddenly it is all over – again!

Heading back into the hotel for a debriefing with Celtic Manor staff, I find I don’t recognise anybody.UK’s leading conference hotel never sleeps and as one set of delegates leave, another crowd arrive. The backroom crew have but a couple of hours to dismantle the stage by which time there will be no visible evidence that AGR’s members have been at the Celtic Manor. Fortunately memories are not so easily dismantled.

2011 was a vintage year and I shall always associate it with the glorious weather that greeted us; the brilliant keynote from Dennis Turner; Mike Gunn’s jokes; the efforts of a committed conference planning team; Guardian Job’s amazing coffee and  WII dance/sing song; Alison Hodgson’s surprise at her award; the party atmosphere at Sunday’s social; the inspirational short video capturing the essence of the employability workshop; the exceptional food and the unsolicited positive feedback from delegates.

That’s how I felt about it – but what about you? If you were there please take the trouble to complete the conference evaluation form which should be reaching you via RateMyPlacement anytime now (the link for this is also below). In less than 4 months time (groan) we start all over again and begin organising the 2012 conference. The very first thing that the planning team does is consider the feedback from delegates this year. So help us by making sure you let us know what you think.

You can find the conference feedback survey here http://www.ratemyplacement.co.uk/surveys/agr-conference-2011

More detailed information on the conference sessions and award winners will be available in the next issue of Graduate Recruiter due out at the end of July.  You will also be able to find copies of the presentations on the AGR website over the next few weeks. 

We are also hoping to make the photographs available on the website, so look out!

WOULD YOU RECOGNISE YOUR CEO?

A few weeks ago I attended the 18^th Breakfast News event organised by TARGETJobs sponsored by Work and in association with AGR.

I have yet to miss one of these breakfasts, so I am well placed to say that this was one of the best yet. Not because of the food, although it was very good, but because the agenda was as fresh as the orange juice that Gary Rhodes served up.

My presentation focused on “How important are graduates to business leaders?” Over the past three weeks we surveyed AGR members with a series of questions aimed at exploring this somewhat neglected aspect of the graduate recruitment function.

Against a backcloth of 5 years of expansion in graduate vacancies, despite the uncertain and challenging economic environment,  two thirds of AGR members reported that their business leaders have either a great deal, or a fair level, of involvement with graduate recruitment. That involvement was at its highest with regards to determining targets and budgets and participating in the selection process and development programmes. There was also a healthy interest in the return on investment.

In a majority of businesses graduate recruitment was seen as a route to leadership and a significant minority saw it as a prime outcome of the development process. It was estimated that 3 in 4 leaders are themselves graduates.

Perhaps the most useful statistics related to the length of time it takes a graduate to reach positions of responsibility. Bearing in mind Gen Y’s predilection for progressing quickly at work, the responses were fascinating and provide a valuable benchmark against which to measure you own organisation’s performance. For example, the first level of responsibility is working autonomously (16 months on average) followed by managing projects. The report also includes timescales for managing people and managing budgets. Compared to my early years at work when ‘sitting next to Nelly’ and observing how to do the job could last for 6 months or more, these timescales are impressive but I doubt that high-flying graduates will see it that way.

The survey also covered the value of graduates to organisations. Some interesting data emerged here though not all of it positive. It seems that too many businesses still don’t have processes in place to measure the ROI. An element of ROI has to be retention rates and again, half of the respondents did not know how long graduates stay with them. That’s not quite the same as saying that no-one in the business knows but those recruiters who could provide an accurate answer are clearly in a stronger position to measure the true value of graduates.

To be effective at work in this day and age you need to be able to develop working relationships with colleagues at all levels including top management. The last section of the survey explored how well the graduate recruiter related to their CEO. While the vast majority would be happy to ask their CEO to take part in recruitment/development activities, only a third would buy them a drink and one in twenty would not recognise their top boss if they bumped into them!

AGR members will be able to access the full survey report for free shortly on the AGR website.

 Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive (who would be delighted to accept a free drink from a member of staff!)

Question Time at the House of Commons

Getting into the Houses of Parliament these days is akin to boarding a transatlantic flight – security is tight and queuing is the norm. I had to line up with a group of young, extremely excited and noisy school children. Not the best preparation for giving evidence to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee.

Hardly surprising, the school children were not headed for Committee Room 16. They were greeted by their constituency MP to be taken on a tour of the magnificentPalaceofWestminster.

Select committees are an important feature of parliamentary life. This was my second summons, the first being a few years ago before a similar committee but with an entirely different make-up. A clear sign that we have had an election and change of government.

My fellow panellists were Oliver Tant, Head of Audit, KPMG and Matthew Jaffa, Deputy Head of Policy, Federation of Small Businesses and the Committee’s enquiry was into The Future of Higher Education.

The session lasted 75 minutes and the MPs fired a whole series of questions at us ranging from what are employability skills and how can graduates obtain them to whether degree classifications are a benchmark to use in recruiting graduates?

Ironically, it was the first and shortest question that provided the most food for thought. What are universities for?

I recently came across a quote from USeducator Harlan Cleveland which I felt summed up the dilemma of HE.  “The outsiders want students trained for their first job and the academic insiders want the students educated for 50 years of self fulfilment. The trouble is that students want both.” I’m with the students on that one!

The friction between short and long term goals, between training and education, between vocational and general divides us, claimsCleveland. I think his analysis fits theUKhigher education scene every bit as much as in theUnited States.

On the question of employability and skills for graduates, I came across another fabulous quote, this time in a recent issue of the THES. It is attributed to Professor Cathy Davidson of DukesUniversityin the USA. She wrote, “We continue to prepare students as if their career path were linear, definite, specialised and predictable. We are making them experts in obsolescence. We are doing a good job of training them for the 20^th century.” How good is that?

Of course, some skills of the 20^th century are still very much in demand but as someone who reckons that today’s graduates will have several careers (not jobs) in their working lives, I believe we should be giving more attention to providing talented young people with an education that encourages them to develop skills that will enable them to ride the waves of change that are becoming more frequent and more powerful.

Our time in front of the Committee went quickly but as we were starting to think about lunch there came another seemingly straightforward yet loaded question, “What would you like to see in the White Paper?” We have moved a distance from the recommendations of the Browne Review, published just a few short months ago. The White Paper is imminent and it will be fascinating to see just how much of Browne has survived. We should not have to wait for long – June is the latest prediction.

Back to work after a holiday!

Have you noticed how quickly a suntan disappears once you get back to work? After returning from a blissful week’s relaxation on the dramatically landscaped island of Santorini, I swear I could see the skin returning to its usual pale pallor as I grappled with a backlog of emails almost as long as the queue to get through passport control at Birmingham airport.

As ever there was no time to gradually immerse myself into work mode. A day in and I found myself speaking at a HEPI conference on the highly topical theme of “The Student Experience: Rising costs – Raising Expectations”.  I was asked to contribute to a session focusing on how students gain a great deal from their HEI. This, as I suggested to the audience, will be one of the  key challenges facing universities under the new finance arrangements with students paying significantly more for their studies.  I was quick to point out that AGR supported the notion of students contributing more to the cost of their learning in the belief that it would inevitably raise their expectations (and their parents) which in turn would drive up standards and improve quality in teaching and learning.

I am not sure to what extent I convinced my audience of university managers but listening to other contributors, especially legal experts, one thing is for certain – HE is going to change out of all recognition over the next few years although I doubt that anyone yet knows exactly how it will change. Even looking forward just 12 months to when the new fees are introduced, there seems to be great uncertainty about the impact on participation rates.

Which neatly brings me to this week’s main challenge. Today I am attending the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee at the House of Commons to give oral evidence to the Committee’s enquiry into The Future of Higher Education. The link to the BIS Select Committee’s homepage is http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-innovation-and-skills/inquiries/the-future-of-higher-education/.

The uncertainty I referred to above makes the task of answering parliamentary questions that much more difficult. However, as important stakeholders in higher education there is a duty on employers to present clear expressions of the way forward for the sector. It is pleasing that the Committee values AGR’s contribution to the debate and I will share the experience with you in my next blog.

Another indicator of how challenging shaping the future of higher education is can be gleaned from the delay in the long awaited publication of the Government’s White Paper which is now expected to be published in the summer.

When I am not attending high profile events, together with the rest of the AGR team I am grappling with the important detail of putting on this year’s annual conference which is now only 7 weeks away! I know you would expect me to say this but I genuinely believe that our conference planning committee has put together an excellent programme this year. Take a look online at www.cceventslive.com/agrdel2011. Almost 300 people have already registered. Do you really want to miss out on the graduate recruiters/developers event of the year?