Graduate Market Survey 2020 - ASSOCIATION of HIGHER EDUCATION CAREERS SERVICES - ahecs
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Graduate
Market Survey
2020
ASSOCIATION of HIGHER
EDUCATION CAREERS SERVICES
The Association of Higher Education
Careers Services also known as AHECS is
a recognised authority on graduate career
development, learning and employability.
AHECS is the voice of higher education
careers and employability professionals
across Ireland.
Representing over 27 Universities and
Institutes of Technology, we enable careers
teams to develop their own skills and share
best practice approaches and resources.
Together, our members and partners are
helping over 300,000 students to get
ahead.
2Contents Welcome 6 Sectors Surveyed 8 Location of Graduate Vacancies 10 Number of Graduate Vacancies 11 Recruitment Levels 12 Salary Range 13 Who Should Apply? 14 Application and Recruitment Process 15 Summer Internships & Placements 16 Covid-19 17 Graduate Recruitment Challenges 18 Demand Vs. Supply 19 Global Technical Skills 20 Global Soft Skills 21 Sector Analysis -Construction 22 -Financial and Insurance Activities 24 -Information and Communication 26 -Manufacturing 28 -Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities 30
Graduate Market Survey 2020
Welcome to the
AHECS Graduate
Market Survey 2020
190
graduate employers
participated in the
Research results compiled by AHECS represent an annual snapshot of
graduate recruitment across Ireland. Participants of this survey are graduate
employers who have engaged with AHECS in 2020. These include local, national
and global companies, multinational and SMEs, from all sectors and disciplines.
190 graduate employers participated in this year’s survey, the first year of the
survey
survey.
• Recruitment processes
• Top technical and soft skills, ranked by employers
AHECS surveyed graduate employers between June and July 2020. Feedback
• Recruiter challenges
from the organisations proves to be highly beneficial in preparing our graduates
• Covid -19 impact
for their future careers. The 2020 survey captures graduate recruitment trends
• Employment sectors - overview of top five
including graduate:
• Employment by sector
The Graduate Market Survey 2020 provides
• Employment by location
employer participants and AHECS with
• Job vacancies
invaluable insights into the graduate recruitment
• Recruitment levels
market. We would like to thank everyone who
• Disciplines in demand
took part in the survey. We invite you to view the
results and trends, as part of your ongoing
exploration of the graduate recruitment market
6 7Graduate Market Survey 2020
Sectors
Surveyed 19% 19% 14%
The Graduate Market Survey uses NACE, which is also used by the Central
Statistics Office (CSO) and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to ensure the
standard classification of economic activity. NACE is an acronym derived from Manufacturing Professional, Information &
the French title Nomenclature générale des Activités économiques dans les Scientific & Communication
Communautés européennes. NACE is the statistical classification of human
Technical Activities
health and social activities in the EU. For NACE classifications go to CSO.ie
11% 10% 7%
Construction Financial & Education
Insurance
Activities
8 9Graduate Market Survey 2020
Location of
Graduate Vacancies
8%
NORTHERN
IRELAND
23%
BORDER
REGION
12%
WEST
7% 43% Number of
Graduate Vacancies
MIDLANDS EAST
13%
MID Location of graduate Expected number of gradu-
WEST
vacancies ate vacancies: 2020 results
11% Results for the jobs available in the graduate
SOUTH Q. How many graduate vacancies does your organ-
EAST market in 2020 reveal the highest percentage
19%
isation expect to have for 2020/21, and how does
of jobs available is in the East region at 43%,
this compare with 2019/20?
SOUTH the Border region at 23%, and the South-West
WEST at 19%. This reflects the national trend of strong
Overall, 46% of respondents indicate they will
economic growth in the east of the country. 12%
recruit approximately the same number of gradu-
of the jobs are national and 33% are global.
12% 33%
ates as last year, and possibly more, 17% will recruit
less than 2019 and 6% are planning to cancel their
graduate recruitment plans for 2020. A third of em-
National Global ployers don’t know how their graduate recruitment
numbers will change for 2020 yet which reflects the
current uncertainty in the market at the moment
due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
10 11Recruitment Salary Range
Level Q. What do you expect the graduate entry salary to be in your organisation
for 2020/21?
Postgraduate Postgraduate
Undergraduate
Masters PhD
€17,000 - €20,999 14% 0% 0%
€21,000 - €24,999 19% 10% 9%
€25,000 - €28,999 23% 28% 27%
€29,000 - €32,999 24% 25% 18%
12% 34% 17%
€33,000 - €36,999 13% 23% 27%
€37,000 - €40,999 3% 7% 6%
We will recruit We will recruit We will recruit €41,000 + 4% 7% 12%
more than last year. about the same less graduates
as last year. this year.
This table presents the average starting salaries on offer to graduates,
based on their level of educational qualifications. It clearly illustrates the
correlation between a graduate’s level of education and the starting sala-
ry they can command in the market. Average salary for Undergraduates is
€28,045, for Postgraduate Master’s degrees is €31,254 and for Postgradu-
ate PhDs is €43,958.
6%
We are planning to
cancel our graduate
30%We don’t know
how numbers will
recruitment plans. change yet.
12 13Graduate Market Survey 2020
Who Application &
should Selection Tools
apply?
Application Stage
Results highlight the importance of having an excellent CV and cover letter with 83% of respondent
employers indicating the requirement for a CV and cover letter at the application stage. Online
applications are popular, used by 40% of the organisations surveyed. 38% of respondents are now using
pre-screening questions at application stage.
Results for 2020 indicate that
17%
All Disciplines
Selection Stage
The 2020 survey examined the most widely used selection methods. Survey participants could select
17% of respondent employers are more than one method from the list. The survey results reveal 56% of the organisations use competency/
looking for graduate applicants behavioural-based interviews. Virtual and telephone interviews remain popular with 56% and 52%
from all disciplines. This highlights
the general aim of many employ-
42%
Engineering
33%
Business
of companies surveyed using this method in their recruitment process. 34 % of respondents use
presentations, and 18% of respondents use assessment centres. 32% of organisations use strengths-
ers to diversify their talent pool. based interviews. Other recruitment screening methods include reference checking (54%) and social
Of the companies surveyed, 42% media checks (13%).
are looking for engineering grad-
uates, 33% for business gradu- Application Process
ates, and 30% for informatics and
electronics graduates.
30%
ICT & Electronics
19%
Science
83% 40% 38%
8% 7% CV & Cover Application
Pre-Screening
Letter Form Questionnaire
Health Sciences Creative
26% 24% 12% 6%
5% 5%
Application Aptitude Personality Video
Tracking Testing Questionnaire Application
14
Humanities Law System 15Graduate Market Survey 2020
Interview Process
Covid-19 Results for 2020 indicate that
56% 56% Have you withdrawn any offers already 63% of respondent employers
Competency Based Virtual 52% made due to Covid-19? were going to continue with
Interviews Interviews Telephone
their graduate offers with 14%
Interviews
Graduate Offers: withdrawing their graduate
offers; there was a more signif-
Yes No Unsure icant impact on placement and
35% 34% 32% 18% 14% 63% 6% summer internships with 31% of
offers withdrawn. The dichotomy
Video Presentations Strengths Assessment
Interviews Based Centres Placement/Summer Internship Offers: between graduate offers and
Interviews placements/summer internships
Yes No
would be because of the timeline
Unsure
Pre-Employment Process 31% 33% 3%
of the COVID impact, i.e. gradu-
ate roles to commence in Sept/
Oct, and placement students
would have been in situ at the
time of the lockdown.
Do you anticipate starting graduate hires
remotely?
A significant amount (46%) of
those proceeding with their
54%
References
13%
Social Media
Yes
46%
No
22%
Unsure
23%
graduate offers will be starting
their graduate hires remotely
Checks
with 42% planning on continuing
with their original start date.
Summer Internships
Do you anticipate deferring the start date
YES NO of graduate hires in 2020?
58% 42%
Q. Does your organisation offer summer internships?
Yes No Unsure
Work Placements YES
75%
NO
25%
24% 42% 20%
Q. Does your organisation offer 6-12 month work placements?
16 17Graduate Market Survey 2020
Graduate Demand Vs.
recruitment Supply
challenges
Q. Did you recruit the number of graduates in 2019/20 that you had hoped in the following areas?
The below table shows how companies hoping to recruit graduates in certain sectors did or didn’t
fill these positions. Healthcare, leisure & tourism, recruitment and retail all failed to fill the graduate
positions available.
Yes No
Q. Please rank the challenges you Audit and Accountancy 53% 47%
face in your graduate recruitment Banking, investment banking, financial 50% 50%
1 2
services
this year
Construction, built environment 39% 61%
2020 survey results reveal the Consulting 34% 66%
number of available graduates Engineering 74% 26%
from specific degrees/skillsets
Food and drink industry 42% 58%
is the most significant recruit-
Number of available Graduates expectations at
ment challenge for employer graduates from specific entry level stage. Healthcare 27% 73%
degrees/skillsets.
3 4
respondents. The next challenge Human Resources 53% 47%
is the expectations of graduates
IT and Technology 65% 35%
at entry-level stage, and their
work-readiness levels. This calls Law 33% 37%
for a greater partnership between
Leisure and tourism 26% 74%
employers and universities when
Work readiness level of Managing your Logistics and transport 42% 58%
it comes to preparing students for
graduates. on-campus profile.
the working world. Marketing and Digital media 46% 54%
5 6
Public sector 21% 79%
Recruitment Consultancy 26% 74%
Research and development 71% 59%
Retail 26% 74%
Setting and achieving Managing the employer - Sales / Account Management 47% 53%
18
diversity targets. university relationship. 19Global Technical Skills Global Soft Skills
Respondent employers Respondent employers
were asked to rank 12 were asked to rank
global technical skills, 12 global soft skills,
according to the value according to the value
of those skills to their of those skills to their
organisation. organisation.
1 1
2 2
Analytical thinking Economic and technological changes Organisations are challenging the Positive attitude
and energy
are facilitating an internationalisation national expectations of the graduate
3 3
Self-motivated of business. Many companies, workforce. As the requirements of Work ethic
large and small, have international employers for their global workforce
4
Flexibility customers/operations and international continue to change, graduates and
4
Ability to cope
recruitment patterns. The jobs market providers of higher education must with pressure
for highly-skilled graduates is becoming adapt to succeed.
5 5
Collaborative Open to new ideas
increasingly global. /ways of thinking
Top five global
6 6
Seeks opportunity for
Top five global soft skills 2020:
continuous learning
technical skills 2020:
7
Commercial
7
Reliability
awareness 1. Positive attitude and energy
1. Analytical thinking 2. Work ethic
8 8
IT Skills Listens/observes to
2. Self-motivation 3. Ability to cope with pressure deepen understanding
9 9
3. Flexibility 4. Open to new ideas/ways of thinking
Time Management Demonstrates
4. Collaborative 5. Seeks opportunity for continuous respect for others
5. Qualifications related to job learning
10 10
Comfortable with
complex situations
Creativity
11 Top five global
technical skills 2019:
Top five global soft
skills 2019:
Builds trust
11
12 12
Strong leadership
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreunership 1. Flexibility 1. Open to new ideas/ways of thinking skills
2. Self-motivation 2. Seeks opportunities for continuous
Communicates in 3. Analytical thinking learning
other languages 4. Qualifications related to job 3. Demonstrates respect for others
5. Collaborative 4. Listens/observes to deepen
understanding
5. Works effectively in diverse teams
20 21Graduate Market Survey 2020
Sector Analysis
Construction Construction
Technical Skills
Construction
Soft Skills
Ranked 1 – 12 Ranked 1 – 12
Survey results reveal the East and Border Region as the primary location for jobs
in the construction sector with 24% of jobs on offer in each region, followed by the
South-West at 14%, and the South-East and Mid-West at 10% each. The 2020
results reveal that 40% of companies will hire the same number of graduates as
they did in 2019, and 7% of companies will hire more. 47% currently don’t know the
impact to their recruitment activities. The top three Technical Skills are Commercial 1 1
2 2
Commercial awareness Ability to cope
awareness, Flexibility and Self-motivation. The top three Soft skills are Ability to with pressure
3 3
cope with pressure, Listens/observes for deeper understanding and Positive atti- Flexibility Listens/observes to
deepen understanding
tude and energy.
4
Self-motivation
4
Positive attitude
and energy
5 5
Analytical thinking Wor k ethic
12%
Global
7% 6 6
7
Time management
7
Many more graduate Reliability
vacancies than last year
8 8
Collaborative Builds trust
3% 7%
NORTHERN
IRELAND
Graduate recruitment plans
cancelled
Time Management
IT Skills
9 Open to new ideas
/ways of thinking
9
10 10
Seeks opportunities
24% Comfortable with
complex situations for continuous
continuiouslearning
learning
40%
BORDER
11 11
REGION
Creativity
10% 3%
About the same graduate
24% vacancies as last year
12 12
WEST Demonstrates respect
MIDLANDS EAST Entrepreneurship
Entrepreunership for others
0%
0% Communicates in Strong leadership skills
MID
Slightly fewer graduate other languages
WEST vacancies than last year
10%
SOUTH
14%
EAST
47%
SOUTH Don’t know yet
WEST
22 23Graduate Market Survey 2020
Sector Analysis
Finance & Finance & Insurance
Technical Skills
Finance & Insurance
Soft Skills
Insurance Ranked 1 – 12 Ranked 1 – 12
Survey results reveal the East as the primary location for jobs in the finance and
insurance activities sector with 53% of jobs on offer in this region, followed by the
Border Region at 20%, and the South-West, South-East and Mid- West at 7% each.
The 2020 results reveal that 31% of companies will hire the same number of gradu-
ates as they did in 2019, 23% slighter less than last year. 38% currently don’t know
the impact to their recruitment activities. The top three Technical Skills are Analyt- 1 1
2 2
Analytical thinking Seeks opportunities
ical, Self-motivation and Collaboration skills. The top three Soft skills are Seeking continuous learning
for continuious learning
opportunity for continuous learning, positive attitude and energy and Listens/ob-
serves for deepen understanding.
Self-motivation
3 Positive attitude
and energy 3
4 4
Collaborative Listens/observes to
deepen understanding
5 5
Time management Open to new ideas
/ways of thinking
6 6
IT skills Reliability
6%
7 7
Flexibility
Global
0%
8
Many more graduate
vacancies than last year
8
0% 8%
Comfortable with
complex situations 9 Demonstrates respect
for others
9
10 10
NORTHERN Graduate recruitment plans Commercial awareness Work ethic
IRELAND cancelled
11
20%
BORDER
REGION
31%
Communicates in
Communications
other
in
languages
other languages
Ability to cope
with pressure 11
7%
WEST
0% 53%
About the same graduate
vacancies as last year 12 Creativity
12
Builds trust
MIDLANDS EAST Entrpreunership
Entrepreneurship
7%
23%
Slightly fewer graduate
MID
WEST vacancies than last year
0%
SOUTH
7%
EAST
38%
SOUTH Don’t know yet
WEST
24 25Graduate Market Survey 2020
Sector Analysis
Information &
Information & Information &
Communications Communications
Communications
Technical Skills Soft Skills
Ranked 1 – 12 Ranked 1 – 12
Survey results reveal the East as the primary location for jobs in the information
and communication activities sector with 43% of jobs on offer in this region, fol-
lowed by the Northern Ireland and the South-West at 14%, the Border Region at
10% and Mid-West and West at 5% each. The 2020 results reveal that 31% of com-
panies will hire the same number of graduates as they did in 2019, 23% slighter less
than last year. 38% currently don’t know the impact to their recruitment activities. 1 1
2 2
Analytical thinking Positive attitude
The top three Technical Skills are Analytical, Collaboration and IT skills. The top and energy
three Soft skills are Positive Energy, works effectively in diverse teams and demon-
strating respect for others.
Collaborative
3 3
4 4
IT skills Demonstrates respect
for others
5 5
Creativity Open to new ideas
/ways of thinking
6 6
Flexibility Able to cope
with pressure
5%
7 7
Self motivation
Global
22% Builds Trust
Buidls trust
Many more graduate
8
Reliability
8
vacancies than last year Comfortable with
complex situations
14% 0%
Entrpreunership
Entrepreneurship
9 Seeks opportunities
for continuous learning
9
10 10
NORTHERN Graduate recruitment plans Work ethic
IRELAND cancelled
10%
BORDER
REGION
39%
Commercial Awareness
Comercial awareness
11 Strong leadership skills
11
12 12
Tolerates ambiguity
5% 0%
About the same graduate Communicates
Communicationsinin
WEST
MIDLANDS
43% vacancies as last year other languages
EAST Time management
5%
17%
Slightly fewer graduate
MID
WEST vacancies than last year
0%
SOUTH
14%
EAST
22%
SOUTH Don’t know yet
WEST
26 27Graduate Market Survey 2020
Sector Analysis
Manufacturing Manufacturing
Technical Skills
Manufacturing
Soft Skills
Ranked 1 – 12 Ranked 1 – 12
Survey results reveal the Border Region as the primary location for jobs in the
manufacturing sector with 26% of jobs on offer in this region, followed by the
South-West at 23%. The East and the Mid-West at 19% and 16% respectively The
2020 results reveal that 28% of companies will hire the same number of graduates
as they did in 2019, 28% more graduates than last year. 28% currently don’t know
the impact to their recruitment activities. The top three Technical Skills are Analyti- 1 1
2 2
Analytical thinking Positive attitude
cal thinking, Flexibility and Qualification related to the job. The top three Soft skills and energy
are Positive Energy, Ability to cope with pressure and Open to new ideas/ways of
thinking.
Flexibility
3 Ability to cope
with pressure 3
4 4
Open to new ideas
/ways of thinking
5 5
Self motivated Work ethic
6 6
Collaberative
o Seeks opportunities
for continuous learning
28%
7 7
Comfortable with
Global
20% complex solutions
Reliability
Many more graduate
8 8
vacancies than last year Commercial awareness
6% 4%
Creativity
9 Strong leadership skills
9
10 10
NORTHERN Graduate recruitment plans Entrepreneurship
Entrpreunership Builds trust
IRELAND cancelled
11
2%
11
26% IT skills Demonstrates respect
for others
28%
BORDER
REGION
12 12
Tolerates ambiguity
Time management
3% 0%
About the same graduate
WEST 19% vacancies as last year
MIDLANDS EAST Communicates in
Communications Listens/observes to
deepen understanding
other languages
16%
20%
Slightly fewer graduate
MID
WEST vacancies than last year
3%
SOUTH
23%
EAST
28%
SOUTH Don’t know yet
WEST
28 29Graduate Market Survey 2020
Sector Analysis
Professional, Scientific
Professional, Scientific Professional, Scientific
& Technical Activities & Technical Activities
& Technical Activities
Technical Skills Soft Skills
Ranked 1 – 12 Ranked 1 – 12
Survey results reveal the East as the primary location for jobs in the professional,
scientific and technical activities sector with 38% of jobs on offer in this region,
followed by the Border Region at 15%. The South-East at 12% and the South-West,
West and Mid-West at 9% each. The 2020 results reveal that 40% of companies
will hire the same number of graduates as they did in 2019. 32% currently don’t
know the impact to their recruitment activities. The top three Technical Skills are 1 1
2 2
Analytical thinking Work ethic
Analytical thinking, Collaborative and Self-motivation. The top three Soft skills are
Work ethic, Positive Energy, and Open to new ideas/ways of thinking. Collaberative
o
3 Positive attitude
and energy 3
4 4
Self motivated Open to new ideas
/ways of thinking
5 5
IT skills Ability to cope
with pressure
6 6
Flexibility Seeks opportunities
8% 4% for continuous learning
7
Global
7
Many more graduate Commercial awareness Demonstrates respect
vacancies than last year for others
8
Builds trust
8
Comfortable with
16% complex solutions
9
3%
9
Graduate recruitment plans
Creativity Listens/observes to
NORTHERN
deepen understanding
IRELAND cancelled
10 10
related Reliability
15%
40%
BORDER
11 11
REGION
Time management
9% 3%
About the same graduate
38% vacancies as last year
12 12
WEST
MIDLANDS EAST Communicates in
other languages
9%
8% Entrpreunership
Entrepreneurship Strong leadership skills
Slightly fewer graduate
MID
WEST vacancies than last year
12%
SOUTH
9%
EAST
32%
SOUTH Don’t know yet
WEST
30 31Graduate Market Survey 2020
Notes
32 33ASSOCIATION of HIGHER EDUCATION CAREERS SERVICES Cooperative Education & Careers Division, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX, Ireland
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