How has graduate recruitment changed in the UK?📈

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The past year has again proved challenging. But Give A Grad A Go has pulled together defiantly, and produced some of our most exciting graduate employment statistics yet.

It has fulfilled us to continue supporting our clientele’s businesses despite difficult recruiting trends. In these trying times, we’ve made sure that we continue to find countless dream jobs for graduates.

Download our UK recruitment statistics below to read our full annual breakdown, including details on average salaries and gender representations in different industries.

Download our 2020 recruitment statistics, to find out average starting salaries per industry and gender representation, to best influence your businesses’ hiring plans.

 

Download our full 2021 Graduate Employability Statistics report with insightful industry-specific data for free

 

What are the key hiring statistics of 2021?

Throughout 2021, we placed over 600 candidates in 200 different businesses. Our thorough, personalised process assured that every company was the right fit for every candidate!

Our recruitment statistics show we are now hiring at a faster and more accurate rate. Our clients reviewed an average of just 6 CVs in order to find the right candidate for the role, streamlined down by 25% compared to the previous year.

However, our clients did not have to sacrifice candidate quality for speed of service. The standard number of placements made within each sector increased to 48, almost double our 2020 graduate job statistics.

Our commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion continues to be reflected in our placements. This has been particularly pertinent in our encouragement of female talent within traditionally male industries.

For instance, whilst the industry expectation for gender split within law, tax, and accountancy sits at around 45% female, our placed candidates were 67% female.

 

Take a look at our most up-to-date findings on employment across the UK in our Employment Statistics Archive:

 

What are the recruitment industry trends for 2021?

What are the recruitment industry trends for 2021?
With the graduate job market recovering from the effects of the pandemic, our client portfolio has grown by 22% in 2021. We now provide expert early careers recruitment services to 200 different companies spread across a myriad of industries.

We segment these into 12 broad sectors, but there is great variance within these as well.

  • From our analysis of 619 graduate job placements in 2021, graduate salaries ranged from £20,000 to £80,000, with the average graduate salary in 2021 at £27,129.

    Our past UK recruitment statistics analysis has shown that in 2020 the average salary for graduate jobs was £25,846 and in 2019 graduate salaries averaged at £25,487.

    But these graduate job statistics are highly dependent on industry trends. So, how do these numbers differ by sector?

     

    Energy & Engineering

    Over the past 12 months, our candidates have been placed in the Energy & Engineering sector in roles varying from Business Development to Technical Support. The mean starting salary for these graduates amounted to £27,204.

    With an average of 12 candidates being taken to interview, our average time taken to place a top graduate was 29 days, a good deal shorter than industry standard (which is 42 days).

    Finance, Banking & FinTech

    With placements in Banking, Finance & FinTech ranging from Investor Relations Analyst to Fraud Operations Executive, the average starting salary was £29,220 in 2021.

    Sending out an average of 6 CVs in our shortlists to our clients, it took us around 21 days to fill a role in the Financial sector. This is twice as quick as the usual recruitment industry data.

     

    Research, Data & Analytics

    This year, the average starting salary for a graduate role in Research, Data & Analytics amounted to £29,125, with graduates being placed in roles ranging from Junior Analyst to Sales Executive.

    Whilst the gender split for roles in data science were unbalanced in 2021, our number of female placements were double that of the estimated industry standard.

    Click the links if you want to learn more about Technology recruitment, FinTech hiring, and Finance recruitment.

    To explore our full list of sector-specific hiring statistics, download our UK recruitment statistics document below.

    To find out more detailed salary metrics and guidance, enter your details here to download the full graduate market report.

  • Over 5,000 participants have completed our voluntary and anonymous diversity and inclusion questionnaire, allowing us to provide research and insights on our diversity database to our clients.

    The benefits of having a diverse workplace are numerous, with fair and unbiased hiring practices becoming more important than ever.

    With nearly 90% of respondents stating they’d be more inclined to work for a diverse company, and almost 30% of participants feeling overlooked for roles due to discrimination, it’s clear that forward-thinking companies who promote inclusive workplaces will be at an advantage.

    As a company, we have established goals in our diversity and inclusion promise that we strive to meet in order to ensure equal opportunities for all.

    We have made great progress so far as we have adjusted the training we offer, and changed the way we send CVs to clients. This is to avoid unconscious bias and reduce discrimination at the CV application stage.

    For more graduate job sector overviews with the salaries for key job roles, download our the graduate employment report.

  • It’s been a busy period for internal hiring at Give A Grad A Go!

    In the midst of the busiest time for graduate recruitment, our 14 new team members have already been making their mark on the business.

    3 of our new starters passed probation early!

    This past year has also been a great chapter for internal career progression, with a total of 14 staff receiving promotions.

    At Give A Grad A Go, we recognise the importance of employee development in boosting productivity, retention rates, and our graduate employment figures.

    The Give A Grad A Go team works hard to continually improve and refine the services we offer, ensuring that our recruitment statistics exceed targets, year after year.

     

    Awards & recognition

    We’re proud to have yet again had the great effort of our employees recognised by candidates and employers alike… From our candidates, we have received a 4.8-star average from 824 Google Reviews.

    From our peers, we have received a number of prestigious awards again this year to recognise our consistent hiring statistics:

    • ‘Best Graduate Recruitment Company’ Winner
    • Corporate Coaching and Recruitment Awards, 2021
    • ‘Best Small Specialty Recruitment Firm’ Winner
    • Corporate Excellence Awards, 2021
    • ‘Leading Graduate Recruitment Experts of the Year UK’ Winner
      M&A Global Awards 2022
    • ‘Best Graduate Recruitment Agency UK’ Winner
    • Corporate Excellence Awards 2022

     

    Our partners & sponsorships

    We were proud to sponsor the Great British Entrepreneur Awards this year, joining its fantastic group of partners to celebrate entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom.

    Give A Grad A Go was also honoured to be featured in the official History of Parliament Trust 300 Years of Leadership and Innovation commemorative album, published by St James’ House.

    In 2022, we endeavour to grow our business even further. We will find new ways to support our great clients, and help their business excel.

    We will also continue to expand our client base, continuing our determination to keep in line with recruitment industry trends.

    Give A Grad A Go gives back – charities we have supported

    We at Give A Grad A Go recognise that charitable giving is deeply rewarding for our business.

    This year, our focus has been on Movember and its namesake organisation.

    The leading charity changing the face of men’s health in regards to prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.

    Our team raised £340 by fundraising through ‘Grow A Mo’ & ‘Move for Movember’!

    With some staff opting for the traditional moustache-growing method, the rest of the team are raising money through a collective 600k run, walk, or cycle for the 60 men lost to suicide every hour across the world.

    Additionally, Give a Grad a Go has matched the amount raised totalling our final donation to £680.

    For more graduate job sector overviews with the salaries for key job roles, download our graduate employment report.

Download the 2021 Graduate Employment Statistics

To see a breakdown of our 2021 graduate employment statistics in each industry, fill out the form below and receive our full graduate employment report, including graduate hiring data in the FinTech, PR and IT sector… and much more!

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