It's good to employ graduates. We should know - we do. Every member of the Graduates Yorkshire team has a university degree and we find that it makes the Graduates Yorkshire office a bright and dynamic place to work.
But don't just take our word for it, over a third of employers recruiting through us believe that employing graduates help their business grow. We asked a few of our regular users to tell us why employing graduates is great and we found that there were a few attributes that were stated universally.
Enthusiasm was top of the list, with many companies saying that graduates bring to the workplace a lot of energy and forward thinking.
They also found graduates to be good team players with the ability to learn quickly.
Our clients also told us that graduates brought new skills to their business, which helped increase productivity.
More degree courses than ever before now include a period of work placement, and with the majority of students having to supplement their income with part-time work, graduates are entering the workplace with a good level of practical and commercial experience to enhance their academic knowledge.
Graduates also bring a high level of skills that are essential to compete in business. Ever-evolving information, engineering and scientific technology requires the latest skills, research and knowledge. Globalisation of markets requires a high level of strategic skills, including planning, negotiation, communication and languages.
By improving graduate retention in the region we are retaining the knowledge and skills of graduates to contribute to the success of our local economy. Companies who take on graduates through Graduates Yorkshire have identified clear business benefits in terms of:
Growth
New skills
Staff capacity
Productivity
Diversification
Read about how recruiting graduates has benefited local businesses:
Case Studies
The Knowledge Economy
Britain is moving towards becoming a knowledge economy. This means that in the future knowledge, expertise and intellectual property will be a key factor in determining how companies compete and grow. We believe that graduates play a key role within this. We were keen to find out more about the role that graduates play in our knowledge economy so we commissioned the Geoeconomics report, "Graduate Economies in Britain".
For the Yorkshire region the report suggests a mixed picture in terms of active engagement with the knowledge economy. We have some great success stories in cities like Leeds and Sheffield but significant ground to make up in other areas.
The report reminds us of the growing significance of the knowledge economy and the fact that global competitiveness will be, in part, defined by the strength of our knowledge economy.
Read the full 'Graduate Economies in Britain' report.
