Nearly a quarter of graduates are unemployed in the first year of leaving university according to the latest report from the Office for National Statistics. The majority of those graduates, 16.1% are still unemployed a year later, which leading graduate internship provider Inspiring Interns believes clearly demonstrates the importance of internships that lead into meaningful work.
The ONS report found that the average rate of unemployment among 21-24 year olds with degrees is 13.6%; well above the national average of 8.9%. It is not until two years after graduating that the rate of unemployment amongst graduates drops below 8.9%, suggesting that in the current climate many graduates spent up to two years looking for work and gaining experience before they find a job.
In light of these statistics the importance of internships to gain experience and work towards earning a graduate job becomes even clearer. Inspiring Interns Communications Director Andrew Scherer, who began his working life as an intern for Inspiring Interns and is the author of Brilliant Intern, believes that internships are the ideal model for graduates to develop skills and earn meaningful graduate-level work.
“Recent graduates struggle to compete in the current saturated employment market and as such remain unemployed or find menial work that does not make best use of their education. Opportunities in the form of internships offer a vocational learning experience for them to develop skills, make a valuable contribution that more often than not will lead to a graduate job.”
Since being founded in 2009, London’s leading internship provider has placed over 1,400 graduates into internships with SMEs that have offered real hands-on experience, 65% of whom secured full-time work with their host company.