‘Graduate Barometer’ identifies UK finalists’ preferred employers

The seventh annual ‘Graduate Barometer' survey, conducted by the trendence Institute, reveals this year's top-ranking potential employers in the eyes of UK-based students who are about to graduate and enter the workforce.

The 2009 study, which reflects the views of some 20,000 students, sees the BBC occupying top position with a score of 13.7%.  Next comes the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) with 9.7%, just ahead of technology giants Apple (on 9.0%) and Google (7.8%).  (Both of the latter are held in high regard by business and engineering students alike, incidentally.)  Channel 4 is in fifth place, while the remaining top-ten positions go to NHS Graduate Schemes (5.6%), PwC (5.3%), Microsoft (4.9%), Cancer Research UK (4.8%) and the FCO (4.5%).

The news headlines of the past year have also had an impact on the employer brand landscape.  No less than six banks lost ground among the top fifty employers this year, whereas public-sector institutions have been moving in the opposite direction.  Aiming to "capture the mood of the student population", the Graduate Barometer also reveals that over two-thirds (69%) of finalists acknowledge that it will tough to secure a good job this year.

Among other findings from the survey, it was interesting to note that progression to management seems to have lost much of its traditional career appeal. Asked what they wanted to have achieved five years into their career, almost half of the respondents expressed their desire to become a specialist in their chosen field, while a similar proportion saw the acquisition of a professional qualification as their main career goal.  Promotion to management represented a career goal for just one in three.

Expectations of starting salary have increased again this year (from £22,500 to £24,500), although expected weekly hours have also seen a corresponding rise (to 43.5, having remained steady on 41.1 for the past four years).  Bonuses and student loan pay-offs were seen as motivating factors by over 40% of respondents, while funding for training or further study appealed to almost 50%.