The Generation Y graduates of 2010 will face a stark reality check this year when entering the employment market.

For the first time since 2003 graduate vacancies decreased in 2009 (AGR) and with things likely to continue along the same lines into 2010 it makes worrying reading for the class of 2009/10.

Working at the front line of recruitment advertising we regularly post vacancies for Graduate positions and we see firsthand how supply is significantly outstripping demand. Receiving over 1000 applications for a single graduate campaign is not uncommon. With such competition graduates need to be one step ahead of the game if they want to succeed. Accepting unpaid or sometimes paid internships often provide candidates with valuable commercial experience that gives a CV that much needed competitive edge.

PricewaterhouseCooper realise how important graduate talent can be, voted the best Graduate Employer for 2009-2010 by the Times, they have an established internship programme that delivers results. This is what James Chalmers, Head of Strategy and Talent had to say:

“Our internship programmes are an established and integral part of our talent pipelines at PricewaterhouseCooper. Typically, 92% of our interns convert to full-time positions. By providing real opportunities and insights into our organisations, students enhance both their employability skills and business awareness while delivering value.”

Launching our own internship programme this month we believe that there has never been a better time to tap into the available graduate resource. Hiring Marketing and Technical interns we find it a great way to bring in fresh talent who can share ideas and breathe new life into projects that might normally sit on the backburner. A small step towards helping Generation Y to avoid becoming Generation Lost.

Interested in starting your own internship programmes be sure to check out the following resources:

CIPD guide to taking on interns
The Graduate Talent Pool is a free intern jobsite

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 2:07 pm and is filed under Guru Insight, Industry News, Jobs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.