We've talked on the studentswapshop blog about using your spare time smartly to try and get that all important work experience, be it a full gap year or work over the summer and it seems the CBI agrees with us. According to a recent report by the CBI and Universities UK, more than three-quarters of employers consider work employability skills essential when recruiting graduates.
CBI Director-General Richard Lambert claims it is vital students gain employability skills and experience of the workplace while at university so they are better equipped to compete in the increasingly tough jobs market after graduation.
He also said "Of course businesses don’t expect graduates to arrive on day one fully trained, but what they do value in graduates are their people skills, a focus on the customer and a keenness to solve problems."
Richard Lambert goes onto say: "Universities and business must do more to meet the pent up demand that exists among students for doing work placements and internships during a degree, and developing the skills they know will be vital in getting a good job after graduation. There’s no substitute for experience gained directly on the job and offering placements can be a cost effective route to recruitment."
The good news if you're looking for a graduate job is 7 in 10 firms do not specify degree subject for their graduate jobs and a whopping 84 percent do not consider the university attended as being a key influence.
Here at studentswapshop we think companies are starting to behave a bit like banks. Just as the banks are behaving badly by taking government help but not starting to lend again employers through all sectors are claiming that they want graduates to have work experience before taking them but making graduates one of the first areas they cut back on.
Isn't the answer to employers' dilemmas simple? Take on graduates for free. Graduates get work experience and employers don't increase their costs.
So it doesn't answer all the problems for students as they do need to start paying back loans etc. at some point but at least it would be a step in the right direction.
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Monday, 27 April 2009
Spring is in the air and summer is just round the corner . . .
At least that is what I was thinking over the weekend. For most of us the sun shone and we could allow ourselves to hope we might get a summer this year.
Today though, it’s grim, grey and reflective of the true mood of the country and students are no exception. It’s not summer that’s round the corner but exams.
There’s nothing new there, it’s been like that for students for years. The trouble is that this year there isn’t much respite once exams are over. With a job market looking dimmer than the weather and talk of rising tuition fees to look forward to next term it makes you just want to bugger off somewhere else doesn’t it. But that would be irresponsible wouldn’t it. Or would it?
Why not take off? I think it could be time to take a holiday. Now I’m not thinking of such irresponsible stuff as just lazing in a far flung country until it’s time to come back to study again or start your career, claiming to have found yourself. There is plenty you can do that would be both exciting and rewarding as well as give you something worthwhile to add to your CV.
It doesn’t matter if it’s for the summer or a full on gap year. You can add valuable work experience to your CV as well as life experiences that might show your organisational capabilities and so on by finding the right thing to do with your time out.
We know you’re thinking about it as we’ve seen a big increase in the amount of interest in our travel related vouchers and discounts, such as guidebooks and hostel enquiries on the money matters page on studentswapshop. Finding something constructive to do however could give you the edge when you do need to find that all important job.
I’ve recruited people throughout my career and without a shadow of a doubt when all else is equal will select the CV with activities that show a bit of get up and go, be it volunteering, learning or teaching a language, living with a family overseas etc. The list is endless but what is common throughout is the ability to demonstrate how you make decisions, deal with problems and prioritise in those situations. Funnily enough they are just the sort of skills employers are looking for you to demonstrate. So give yourself a head start and make your summer fun but also constructive.
Today though, it’s grim, grey and reflective of the true mood of the country and students are no exception. It’s not summer that’s round the corner but exams.
There’s nothing new there, it’s been like that for students for years. The trouble is that this year there isn’t much respite once exams are over. With a job market looking dimmer than the weather and talk of rising tuition fees to look forward to next term it makes you just want to bugger off somewhere else doesn’t it. But that would be irresponsible wouldn’t it. Or would it?
Why not take off? I think it could be time to take a holiday. Now I’m not thinking of such irresponsible stuff as just lazing in a far flung country until it’s time to come back to study again or start your career, claiming to have found yourself. There is plenty you can do that would be both exciting and rewarding as well as give you something worthwhile to add to your CV.
It doesn’t matter if it’s for the summer or a full on gap year. You can add valuable work experience to your CV as well as life experiences that might show your organisational capabilities and so on by finding the right thing to do with your time out.
We know you’re thinking about it as we’ve seen a big increase in the amount of interest in our travel related vouchers and discounts, such as guidebooks and hostel enquiries on the money matters page on studentswapshop. Finding something constructive to do however could give you the edge when you do need to find that all important job.
I’ve recruited people throughout my career and without a shadow of a doubt when all else is equal will select the CV with activities that show a bit of get up and go, be it volunteering, learning or teaching a language, living with a family overseas etc. The list is endless but what is common throughout is the ability to demonstrate how you make decisions, deal with problems and prioritise in those situations. Funnily enough they are just the sort of skills employers are looking for you to demonstrate. So give yourself a head start and make your summer fun but also constructive.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
It’s difficult to write a blog without including some comment about the credit crunch. We’ve been following the developments along with everyone else but for us we have been thinking about how students will be impacted too.
So this week it came as no surprise to us to hear some of the hardest facts about the credit crunch in the headlines – ‘students will be disproportionately affected by the financial downturn’. We’ve believed this could be the case for some time. However, media coverage has focused on the employed. It’s unsurprising with the bottom falling out of the mortgage market and unemployment on the rise that primary concern has been for those losing jobs and not being able to meet mortgage payments.
However, sitting one step down on the ladder are students who rely on employed parents as their support structure. The effect on rising unemployment stats will be equally important to those who’ve not yet got on the first rung of the career ladder. When the parental financial support falls away then students have to fend for themselves. Easy, you might think, stop drinking down the student union and get a job. It’s just that there aren’t any. Summer jobs and part-time work are drying up quicker than rain in the Sahara.
There are some that might say that the credit crunch is tough for many people and they are right. The difference for a student is that they are approaching the credit crunch with roughly £20K debt already accrued just for the privilege of studying to ensure a brighter future. The future will be far from bright if they can’t find jobs to start and pay off those debts.
So what is the response? We also heard about universities considering increasing the tuition fees for our beleaguered students. Hoorah! Let’s knock our poor students for a bit more.
Studentswapshop was set up to help students manage on low funds providing an alternative way to get the things they need, books, household items and so on. The idea is to save money by swapping or buying secondhand off other UK students. Seems like we didn’t launch it a minute too soon.
£20K of debt (excluding mortgages) in the working world has more often than not been built up through frivolous, must have, greed purchasing – now you can’t really tar students with that same brush – or can you?
The question is are students ready to swap and buy secondhand books or is the brand new/must have culture not just the curse of the salaried population?
So this week it came as no surprise to us to hear some of the hardest facts about the credit crunch in the headlines – ‘students will be disproportionately affected by the financial downturn’. We’ve believed this could be the case for some time. However, media coverage has focused on the employed. It’s unsurprising with the bottom falling out of the mortgage market and unemployment on the rise that primary concern has been for those losing jobs and not being able to meet mortgage payments.
However, sitting one step down on the ladder are students who rely on employed parents as their support structure. The effect on rising unemployment stats will be equally important to those who’ve not yet got on the first rung of the career ladder. When the parental financial support falls away then students have to fend for themselves. Easy, you might think, stop drinking down the student union and get a job. It’s just that there aren’t any. Summer jobs and part-time work are drying up quicker than rain in the Sahara.
There are some that might say that the credit crunch is tough for many people and they are right. The difference for a student is that they are approaching the credit crunch with roughly £20K debt already accrued just for the privilege of studying to ensure a brighter future. The future will be far from bright if they can’t find jobs to start and pay off those debts.
So what is the response? We also heard about universities considering increasing the tuition fees for our beleaguered students. Hoorah! Let’s knock our poor students for a bit more.
Studentswapshop was set up to help students manage on low funds providing an alternative way to get the things they need, books, household items and so on. The idea is to save money by swapping or buying secondhand off other UK students. Seems like we didn’t launch it a minute too soon.
£20K of debt (excluding mortgages) in the working world has more often than not been built up through frivolous, must have, greed purchasing – now you can’t really tar students with that same brush – or can you?
The question is are students ready to swap and buy secondhand books or is the brand new/must have culture not just the curse of the salaried population?
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