EMPLOYABILITY FOR THE FUTURE THE EMPLOYERS PERSPECTIVES

EMPLOYABILITY FOR THE FUTURE – THE EMPLOYERS’ PERSPECTIVES Carl Gilleard Chief Executive, AGR

Background to AGR Mission: To set the agenda for change in graduate recruitment and development • • Not-for-profit membership organisation 800 plus members - • • blue-chip companies public sector charities universities supply firms Recruit 30, 000 graduates into graduate level jobs annually Services include: - • research training conferences information and advice networking representation www. agr. org. uk

Membership includes ASDA Atkins Barclays BP International Cabinet Office Caterpillar Clifford Chance Danone Diageo Enterprise Rent-A-Car Glaxo. Smith. Kline Google Hilton Hotels Innocent JP Morgan Kerry Foods Kier Lloyd’s Register Marks & Spencer Mc. Kinsey & Company Metropolitan Police Mitsubishi National Grid Norwich Union Oxfam GB Pricewaterhouse. Coopers Rolls-Royce Scottish & Newcastle Shell Skanska UK Standard Life Teach First Tesco Thomas Cook Virgin Transatlantic Wincanton Logistics Sheffield Hallam University

In the world of work – Change is the only constant and the only certainty is uncertainty

The changing world of work • Globalisation • Technology • Demography • Environment • Business and people expectations

The changing business world • Increasingly diverse business sectors - global local public, private, not-for-profit large, medium, small, sole traders • Customer driven • Switch from manufacturing to service • Increasingly competitive

“India wants your lunch and China wants your dinner” Professor Richard Scase

Changes at work will impact on: • What we do • How we do it • When we do it • Where we do it • The speed at which change occurs and how we cope with it • The demand for skills, knowledge and understanding The knowledge economy demands a better educated, more highly skilled and flexible workforce

The working environment in the future • The war for top talent will continue unabated • Work performance will be judged on results, not time spent • Roles will be defined by behaviours and outcomes rather than tasks • Greater emphasis on project working and networking • Many workers will have more than one boss • Some will have more than one employer • More of us will work remotely

Careers in the future • The end of a ‘job for life’ • Start later, end later • Most will have several careers • Many graduates will go into ‘non-graduate’ jobs • Flatter structures, fewer promotions • More flexibility and less certainty

The new language of careers FROM TO Clarity Fog Ladders Bridges Employer Customer Career Portfolio Progression Personal growth Rising income and security Remaining employable Training Life long learning Bosses / self employed Time spent Results Job description Project working

“No such thing as a career path. It’s crazy paving and you have to lay it yourself!” If Only I’d Known

“A degree is merely a license to hunt” If Only I’d Known

Recruitment in the future • Much of it online – marketing, applications, selection • Borderless • Competition is the name of the game • Employer expectations will continue to rise • Qualifications will open the door to opportunities • Skills will let you in

What will employers look for in graduates? • Some jobs will demand specific degrees, many won’t • A good degree plus • Skills (technical/generic) • Personal attributes • Work experience • Impressive applications

“Hire for attitude first, and specific skills second” Jonathan Winter and Tony Di. Ronualdo Manifesto for the New Age Workforce

Which generic skills? § § § § § Team working Oral communication Computer literacy Flexibility Problem solving Risk taking/enterprise Numeracy Commercial awareness Analysis and decision making skills § § § § Planning and organisation Leadership Cultural sensitivity Managed own learning Project management Written communication skills Second language Customer Focus

“Have you got Oomph? ”

The key challenges ahead • Managing expectations • Mismatch between what is on offer and what is sought • Comparability of qualifications • Mobility • Work/life balance • The desire to succeed • Global competition

“The labour market has changed beyond recognition in the last decade; in a word it has gone global. If businesses can’t find the skills or work attitudes that they need in a national workplace, they can perfectly well recruit elsewhere. They don’t have to hire people from the UK education system. And they don’t have to locate their activities in the UK. ” Richard Lambert Director General of the CBI

The current graduate employment scene – first the good news Graduate Vacancies – trends (2000 -2008) 14. 7% 2000 2001 2002 2003 14. 6% -6. 5% -3. 4% 2004 15. 5% 5. 1% 2005 2006 5. 2% 12. 7% 2007 16. 4% 2008 -10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Applications per graduate vacancy received by AGR employers in 2007 More than 150 applications per graduate vacancy 101 -150 applications per graduate vacancy 4% Mean: 29. 2 applications 6% 51 -100 applications per graduate vacancy 20% 25% 26 -50 applications per graduate vacancy 11 -25 applications per graduate vacancy 29% 17% 1 -10 applications per graduate vacancy 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Then the not so good news Recruitment shortfall in 2007 Yes 43. 5% 60% Average - 14. 2 vacancies per company that experienced 51. 1% a recruitment shortfall were left unfilled 50% 40% 30% 24. 4% 20% 8. 8% 7. 7% 10% 3. 3% 2. 2% 51 -100 vacancies More than 100 vacancies 0% 1 -5 vacancies 6 -10 vacancies 11 -15 vacancies 21 -30 vacancies 31 -50 vacancies No 56. 5%

And even worse news Potential shortfalls in 2008 Graduates' perceptions of the industry sector 55. 9% Not enough applicants with the right skills 55. 9% Challenges in specific geographical regions 52. 4% Not enough applicants with the right qualifications Yes 67. 1% 43. 4% Limited resources to market graduate vacancies properly 33. 8% Late change in the business's requirements Yes 29. 4% 25. 5% Graduate starting salaries not competitive enough No 32. 9% 16. 5% Candidate drop-out because No selection and assessment 75. 1% Graduate training and development programme 70. 6% 13. 8% 0. 7% 21. 4% Other 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Some final thoughts What do you do with a BA in English? What is my life going to be? Four years at college And plenty of knowledge Have earned me this useless degree. I can’t pay the bills yet Cause I have no skills yet The world is a big scary place. But somehow I can’t shake The feeling I might make A difference to the human race. Avenue Q

“To be employed is to be at risk To be employable is to be secure”

A practical definition of employability • The ability to get a job Requiring a set of skills specific to applying for and succeeding in securing a job/career (research, making choices, self-marketing, communicating, convincing) • To do it well The skills to succeed in a job (self-efficacy, technical skills, soft skills, flexibility, willingness to learn and take control) • Then to get another job Moving on when the time is right or managing change when the time is wrong (career management, decision making, positioning, networking, coping with change, self-efficacy) • And another Understanding that change is the only constant and seeing change as an opportunity rather than a threat (career management, positive attitude, including I CAN)

QUESTIONS?