AUSTRALIAN employers will increase their overall graduate intake by almost 17 per cent, when compared with 2004, according to recent research from the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE)
AUSTRALIAN employers will increase their overall graduate intake by almost 17 per cent, when compared with 2004, according to recent research from the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE).
The legal and professional services and communications industries were increasing their graduate intakes largely due to market forces, expansion of operations, low graduate retention and a shortage of new blood coming in, the research found.
For some employers, the growth in the number of graduate vacancies meant increased competition for high quality graduates and potential shortages in some areas, according to Ben Reeves, executive director for AAGE.
“This may lead to pressure to increase the value of remuneration packages for some sectors,” he said, citing results which found that the average graduate salary package increased by almost 10 per cent in 2004.
Commissioned by AAGE together with Pinpoint HRM, the survey found that the average graduate salary package in 2004 was $47,801. The mining sector offering the highest average salary package of $61,927, while the wholesale trade sector offered the lowest at $37,500.
While graduate retention rates fell to 92 per cent in 2004 from 98 per cent in 2003, the average cost per graduate hire fell by 6 per cent to $4,750.
Overall time spent on the graduate recruitment process had also increased, with workload spread more evenly across a 12-month period and a reduction in the peaks and troughs of graduate recruitment work.
“For HR professionals involved in the graduate recruitment process, we foresee a challenging year ahead with the increase in vacancies leading to a tougher recruitment market,” said Reeves.
“Recruiters will have to work much harder this year to fill their vacancies with good quality graduates.”
The 2005 Australasian Graduate Recruitment Benchmarking Study also found that 71 per cent of employers offered pre-graduate programs (including vacation, co-operative/industry based learning and undergraduates) –an increase of 29 per cent over the past 12 months.
Additionally, formal training, networking and mentoring systems were offered by over 90 per cent of graduate employers while the average acceptance rate of graduate roles stood at 78 per cent.
“Graduates look for a variety of things depending upon the sector that they are focused upon,” said Reeves.
