University of Birmingham second in UK for graduate high fliers

The University of Birmingham is the second most frequently targeted UK university for the country’s top employers looking for graduate recruits, according to a newly published report.

The Graduate Market in 2018, produced by High Fliers Research, is the annual review of graduate vacancies and starting salaries at Britain’s leading employers.

In the report, Birmingham has risen from sixth to second place in the table of universities targeted by the largest number of top employers in 2017-2018.

The new rankings come at a time graduate recruitment was substantially lower than expected at the beginning of the 2016-2017 recruitment season, with graduate vacancy targets downgraded twice during the year, amidst widespread uncertainty about the impact of Brexit.

The report’s key findings include:

• The number of graduates hired by organisations featured in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers fell by 4.9% in 2017, the first drop in graduate recruitment for five years and the biggest annual fall recorded since 2009.
• Employers in eight out of thirteen key industries and employment areas hired fewer graduates in 2017 than the year before.
• Private sector employers cut their graduate recruitment by an average of 10.3% compared with their intake in 2016.
• The outlook for 2018 is cautiously optimistic, with graduate recruitment at the country’s top employers expected to increase by 3.6% this year.
• The biggest growth in vacancies is expected at public sector organisations, accounting & professional services firms and engineering & industrial companieswhich together intend to recruit over 750 extra graduates in 2018.

Eluned Jones, Director of Student Employability at the University of Birmingham commented: “We value our employer relationships very highly and take great pride in the University of Birmingham’s increase in the High Fliers ranking.

“This reflects our strong partnerships with a range of employers. As a University we are producing highly employable graduates so it is very gratifying to see this reflected in our ever-growing reputation with a range of top graduate recruiters.”

The ten universities whose graduates are most in demand by leading UK companies are named as: Manchester Birmingham Warwick Bristol London University College Cambridge Leeds Nottingham Oxford and Durham.

For more information please contact the Press Office, University of Birmingham or call  +(44) 0121 415 8134.

The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 5,000 international students from over 150 countries.