'Only interns will get good graduate jobs': It's not just rising college fees... students must be prepared to work unpaid too

Fierce competition for jobs means graduates will struggle to get taken on by top firms this year unless they have already worked there as interns.

Three out of five leading companies will not interview applicants from the class of 2011 who have not done work experience with them, warns a comprehensive study today.

It said students must get a job in their chosen field while still studying for a degree in order to get a good job when they graduate.

Struggle: The battle for jobs means that many potential candidates will not be taken on unless they have already completed unpaid work

But with most firms offering unpaid internships, it is feared middle-class and poorer graduates will miss out on top jobs.

There is concern that only the wealthy will be able to afford to work for free when college fees rise up to £9,000-a-year in 2012.

This year, a record 320,000 students will graduate from university, up by more than 50,000 since 2007. Top firms cream off the best talent by offering around 15,000 places on graduate trainee schemes, with starting salaries of £25,000 to £40,000.

Today’s study by High Fliers Research looked at the recruitment plans of 100 leading UK employers including GlaxoSmithKline, Tesco, Lloyd’s and the Civil Service.

It predicts an average of 70 graduates will apply for every place on a trainee scheme.

Martin Birchall, of High Fliers, said undergraduates must adapt by getting jobs in their desired career while still studying.

He said: ‘This is a stark warning. In this highly competitive market, new graduates who’ve not had any work experience have little or no chance of landing a well-paid job with a leading employer.’

Fierce competition: An average of 70 candidates will apply for every one place on a trainee scheme

This was ‘irrespective of the university they have attended or the results they have achieved’, added Mr Birchall.

Recruitment experts expressed fears that less well-off students will lose out.

Ben Willmott, of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: ‘Jobs are scarce and competition is fierce.

‘Undergraduates must have relevant work experience to get the top jobs. But with few firms offering an internship wage, all but the very wealthy will be eligible for top jobs.’

The law on pay for internships is a grey area. Unions claim unpaid work experience is illegal while the CIPD is calling for firms to pay interns at least £2.50 an hour.

Today’s report also found that recruitment has yet to recover after a quarter of posts for new graduates at top employers were cut in 2008 and 2009.

But some sectors, such as high street banking and teaching, are beginning to recover with employers looking to hire 9.4 per cent more graduates this year compared to 2010. The best paid jobs are in banking and law.

Recruitment drives are focused exclusively on fewer than 20 universities, including Oxbridge, Manchester and London.

For students looking to boost their chances, nearly 11,000 internships are on offer at the top 100 firms.



The majority of these top firms offer paid internships, however many internships available to students are unpaid.



However the outlook for undergraduates wishing to work in engineering, industry or investment banking is bleak. The number of jobs on offer in these sectors is expected to hit an all-time low this year.

