AGR 2015 Annual Survey - FINAL

Graduate
Recruitment
2015
The AGR
Annual Survey
Produced for AGR by
The AGR Annual Survey 2015
Annual Survey 2015
Association of Graduate Recruiters

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Annual Survey 2015
Contents
Foreword ................................................................................................................................... 7
Executive summary .................................................................................................................... 9
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 12
Graduate vacancies.................................................................................................................. 14
Graduate vacancies in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 ....................................................................................................... 14
Vacancy changes by sector from 2013-2014 to 2014 to 2015 ..................................................................................... 15
Vacancies in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 by size of firm ............................................................................................... 16
Vacancies in 2014-2015 by geographical area .............................................................................................................. 17
Vacancies in 2014-2015 by career area ........................................................................................................................ 18
Diversity of graduate recruits in 2013-2014 ................................................................................................................. 19
Monitoring and improving the diversity of graduate recruits ...................................................................................... 20
Graduate salaries ..................................................................................................................... 23

Graduate salaries in 2014-2015 .................................................................................................................................... 23
Graduate salaries in 2014-2015 by geographical area ................................................................................................. 24
Salaries for retained graduates..................................................................................................................................... 24
Student placements and internships ........................................................................................ 26

Provision of placement and internship programmes in 2013-2014 ............................................................................. 26
Salaries for placement students and interns ................................................................................................................ 27
Applications and selection ....................................................................................................... 30

Cost per hire estimates recruitment .......................................................................................................................... 30
Graduate applications in 2014-2015 ............................................................................................................................ 32
Time to offer in 2014-2015 ........................................................................................................................................... 33
Offers and acceptances 2014-2015 .............................................................................................................................. 34
Selection criteria ........................................................................................................................................................... 35
Selection methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 36
Monitoring the selection process ................................................................................................................................. 38
Graduate development and retention ...................................................................................... 41

Cost per hire estimates development ....................................................................................................................... 41
Graduate employment contracts in 2014-2015 ........................................................................................................... 42
Ownership of headcount and funding .......................................................................................................................... 43
Graduate development programmes in 2014-2015 ..................................................................................................... 44
Financial support for graduate development ............................................................................................................... 46
Assessment of graduates and development programmes ........................................................................................... 47
Graduate retention ....................................................................................................................................................... 48
Annual Survey 2015
Appendix 1 .............................................................................................................................. 50
Methodology and respondent profile.......................................................................................................................... 51
Annual Survey 2015
Foreword
Our employer members graduate vacancies have risen by 13.2% compared to 2014, meaning that total
vacancies have reached the highest ever level on our records and exceeding the predictions made at the
start of the season. Median graduate salaries have risen by 3.7% and the average salary paid to an intern is
now 317 per week.
Yet despite this buoyant graduate market the number of female graduates joining AGR employer
programmes averages only 41.6%, even though 58.7% of graduates are women. So diversity in our
graduate workforce remains a challenge. Whats more, the overall share of females has not improved in the
last five years despite 62.8% of firms currently having a strategy to improve their gender balance. This is an
issue which requires more of our attention.
This year, AGR is also pleased to be able to share the first industry-wide benchmarks of how much
graduates cost to recruit and develop. By using your total recruitment and development budgets and
dividing these by the number of your graduate vacancies, we can state that graduates cost an average of
3,396 to recruit and 2,693 to develop. The average for law firms is much higher and so is listed
separately. These figures once again reflect the level of investment that our industry is making to attract
and nurture graduate talent.
Employers are also retaining their graduates. Despite a commentary that all graduates are job-hoppers,
graduates stay with our employer members for a median period of 5 years. Whats more, only 5% leave in
their first year on the job and just 12% leave before the end of two years. We have gathered a wealth of
insight into the financing and support in graduate development programmes and we encourage you to
delve into the report to find out more.
Our findings also highlight some gaps in data that are holding improvements. For example, 86.4% of
employers dont know the socio-economic background of their hires, 72.2% dont know their 5-year
retention rates, and 40.4% dont calculate the value that graduates bring to their business. Making better
use of data will be essential to help us to best manage our talent in future.
To help you make good use of these benchmarks in your work, you can interact with our data once again
on AGRs website. Be sure to log into our Data Dashboard and explore the numbers most relevant to you.
Our research also continues to evolve and we value your feedback. Enjoy the report and we look forward to
your continued engagement with AGR and our analysis.
Stephen Isherwood
Chief Executive, AGR
Samuel Gordon
Research Analyst, AGR
Annual Survey 2015
Annual Survey 2015
Executive summary
Graduate vacancies
Employers are offering 13.2% more graduate vacancies than last year with a predicted 24,126 vacancies for
the 2014-15 season. The sectors with the largest number of vacancies are Accounting and professional
services (23.0%), the Public sector (14.6%), and Engineering and industrial firms (12.1%). 54.1% of vacancies
are outside London, with the top two regions being the West Midlands (7.7%) and the South East (6.9%).
Four in five employers (78.4%) have at least one targeted strategy to improve diversity. The most common
focus is on gender diversity, with 62.8% of firms working to increase their share of female hires. However,
the average share of female hires is currently 41.6%, compared to 58.7% of university graduates. The
average share of Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) hires is 15.6%, compared to 18.6% of university
graduates. Only 25.8% of employers monitor the socio-economic background of their hires.
Graduates cost an estimated 3,396 to recruit on average, excluding the legal sector where the average
cost per hire is 12,682. These costs also exhibit economies of scale, with firms employing less than 25
graduates averaging 5,632 to recruit each hire and those employing more than 250 graduates only
averaging 2,0891.
Graduate salaries
Median graduate salaries have risen. Starting salaries now stand at 28,000, up 3.7% from 27,000 a year
ago. Median salaries at 1, 3 and 5 years are 28,000, 35,000 and 45,000 respectively. These changes
reflect the increasing competitiveness of the market.
Student placements and internships

Employers are investing more in their interns. 72.6% of respondents offered internships in 2013-14, with
7,195 places offered and the typical length of an internship being 11 weeks. On average, employers are
converting 44.5% of their interns into graduate hires. The median salary for interns in 2013-14 was 317
per week, up 3.3% from the year before.
56.3% of employers offered sandwich/industrial placement years in 2013-14. The median salary for these
opportunities has also risen by 1.6% to 326 per week.
These figures exclude Law firms.
Annual Survey 2015
Graduate applications and selection

Applications per vacancy continue to drop and now stand at 65 compared to 69 in 2013-14. Employers are
planning to make 10.9% more offers than vacancies available and the average time between a graduate
applying for and receiving an offer is 11 weeks. 8.2% of offers are reneged upon.
Selection methods remain largely static compared to last year. 77.0% of employers use a 2:1 degree entry
standards (74.2% last year), 33.3% use UCAS tariffs (38.2% last year), and only 29.1% have entry cut-offs
based on specific subjects (30.3% last year). However, use of video interviewing continues to rise, with
29.8% of employers now using this technology versus 21.2% last year and just 6.3% using it three years ago.
Employers are also taking steps to measure whether their selection process is working. 72.8% of employers
monitor candidate feedback on the selection process. Two thirds of employers (66.3%) use the on-the-job
performance of graduates to check whether their selection process is bringing in the best performers.
Graduate development and retention

Graduate development programmes are typically 24 months long as well as being centrally funded and with
a centrally held headcount. 76.0% of graduates are employed on permanent contracts, although this
proportion varies by the size of firm. Graduates on these programmes receive an average of 12.6 days of
technical training and 7.8 days of soft skills training, both off-the-job.
The support offered by these programmes varies significantly. While 99.3% include an induction at the
start, just 60.0% include an event to mark the end. Half of employers (50.8%) pay travel expenses to help
graduates relocate during rotations, and three quarters (76.7%) of employers pay all of the fees for
professional qualifications. Around a third of employers (35.6%) also run compulsory training for their
managers on how to manage graduates. The best structure seems to be very specific to the firm.
Employers investment in graduate development seems to be paying off. The average length of time that
graduates stay with one employer is 5 years. On average, just 6% of graduates leave their employer in their
first year on the job, with just 11% leaving their employer before the end of their second year. The 1, 2 and
3 year retention rates are 93.8%, 88.6% and 79.2% respectively.
Graduates cost an estimated 2,963 to develop over the course of a graduate development programme2.
This cost exhibits economies of scale, with firms employing less than 25 graduates investing 4,246 per
hire, while firms that hire more than 250 graduates just 736. Despite this level of investment in graduate
hires, just 40.9% of employers know what methods are used to calculate the value that graduates bring to
their business and 40.4% do not calculate the value graduates add.
This figure excludes Law firms.
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Annual Survey 2015
Introduction
11
Annual Survey 2015
Introduction
Welcome to the AGR Annual Survey 2015.
The AGR Annual Survey is the definitive study of AGR employer members and their recruitment and
development practices. It provides the latest insights on conditions and trends in the graduate recruitment
and development market, as well as regular benchmarking of key market indicators including vacancy and
salary levels.
As the leading survey of graduate recruitment practices, spanning the longest continuous series of
recruitment seasons, the survey previously referred to as the Summer Survey is the primary source of
information on graduate recruitment levels, methods and practices amongst AGR members. It is an
invaluable tool for assessing, organising and optimising graduate recruitment and development activities.
Undertaken on behalf of AGR by CFE Research, this Annual Survey explores:
Chapter 1: Predicted graduate vacancy levels for the 2014-2015 recruitment season split by
business sector, geographical area and career area, and changes observed since 2013-2014.
Chapter 2: Predicted graduate starting salaries in 2013-2014 by business sector, geographical area
and career area.
Chapter 3: The use of placement and internship programmes amongst AGR employers and their
role and contribution to graduate recruitment.
Chapter 4: The volume of applications submitted to AGR members for positions on graduate
programmes and selection methods as well as the new calculation of the total cost to recruit a
graduate.
Chapter 5: The extent and cost per hire of graduate development programmes amongst AGR
members and the features of the programmes, and levels of retention and progression amongst
graduate recruits.
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Annual Survey 2015
Chapter 1
Graduate vacancies
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Annual Survey 2015
Graduate vacancies
This chapter presents AGR members graduate vacancy levels for the 2014-2015 recruitment season by
business sector, size and geographical area, and compares these to the year-end graduate vacancy levels
observed for 2013-2014.
Graduate vacancies in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015

AGR members are offering 13.2%3 more graduate vacancies in the 2014-15 season. Figure 1.1 presents
year-on-year changes in vacancies since 2000 and shows that the market is now in a period of sustained
growth. Employer members offered 24,126 graduate vacancies in 2014-15 overall.
2000
14.7%
2001
14.6%
2002
-6.5%
2003
-3.4%
2004
15.5%
2005
5.1%
2006
5.1%
2007
12.7%
2008
2009
0.6%
-8.9%
2010
8.9%
2011
2012
1.7%
-8.2%
2013
4.3%
2014
4.3%
2015 (predicted)
13.2%
Figure 1.1:
Graduate vacancy changes at AGR employers from 1999-2000 to 2014-2015 Percentage increase or decrease on
previous year - Varying bases
This is based on predictions as of July 2015.
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Annual Survey 2015
Vacancy changes by sector from 2013-2014 to 2014 to 2015

Vacancies have increased in almost all sectors. Consulting and business services firms had the largest
increase in vacancies since 2013-14, at 47.8%, although the largest growth by volume is in Accountancy and
professional services and the Public sector. The changing dynamics of the market are represented in Table
1.2 below4.
Overall, employers in the Accountancy or professional services firms sector continue to offer the highest
proportion of vacancies at 23.0%. The Public sector offers the second highest proportion at 14.6% followed
by Engineering or industrial companies (12.1%).
Three sectors have experienced a decrease in the number of vacancies. Energy, water or utility firms had a
9.5% drop in vacancies compared to 2013-14, and transport and logistics companies this year experienced a
15.1% reduction in their already small numbers. Vacancies at Law firms dropped slightly (1.1%), compared
to last years 3.3% increase as captured in the AGR 2015 Winter Review.
Table 1.2: Vacancies in 2014-2015 by sector
Change in total vacancies
% of 24,126 vacancies
2013-14 2014-15
Accountancy or professional service firm
23.0%
18.4%
Public sector
14.6%
17.1%
Engineering or industrial company
12.1%
5.9%
Retail
10.1%
12.7%
Banking or financial services
9.6%
7.3%
IT & Telecommunications
9.1%
16.4%
Construction company or consultancy
5.4%
19.8%
Law firm
5.1%
-1.1%
Consulting or business service firm
4.5%
47.8%
FMCG company
1.9%
7.3%
Energy, water or utility company
1.0%
-9.5%
Insurance company
0.5%
21.5%
Transport or logistics company
0.5%
-15.1%
Other
0.6%
24.6%
The following sectors are not reported in our analysis as the small number of respondents may jeopardise their
anonymity: chemical or pharmaceutical companies, investment bank or fund managers, motor manufacturing and oil
companies.
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Annual Survey 2015
Vacancies in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 by size of firm

Figure 1.3 shows that the proportion of graduates in firms of different sizes is broadly the same as last year,
indicating that vacancies are growing across the board. Firms with more than 5,000 employees account for
60.9% of vacancies in 2014-15.
31.3%
20,000 employees or more
32.3%
29.6%
5,000-19,999 employees
28.0%
15.8%
17.1%
10.8%
10.5%
10.9%
250-999 employees
10.8%
1-249 employees
1.7%
1.2%
2014-2015
2013-2014
Figure 1.3:
Graduate vacancies for AGR employers in 2013-14 and 2014-2015 (predicted) by size of firm Base = 197
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Annual Survey 2015
Vacancies in 2014-2015 by geographical area

Table 1.4 summarises the proportion of 2014-15 vacancies by region. Not surprisingly, London continues to
attract large numbers of candidates with 45.9% of vacancies. The next largest regions are West Midlands
(7.7%) and the South East (6.9%). The share of vacancies in the South East appear to have dropped when
compared to the 8.9% reported for 2013-14 in the AGR 2015 Winter Review.
Table 1.4: Vacancies in 2014-2015 by geographical area
London
45.9%
West Midlands
7.7%
South East
6.9%
South West
6.2%
North West
6.2%
Yorkshire and Humberside
5.6%
Scotland
5.1%
East Midlands
3.9%
North East
3.8%
East of England
3.0%
Wales
2.3%
Northern Ireland
1.6%
EMEA
1.1%
Americas
0.3%
Rest of World
0.4%
*The base appears 18,930 instead of 24,126 because some responding organisations
failed to provide information about the geographical areas in which they recruit. Please
note recruiters may be offering vacancies in more than one geographical area
simultaneously.
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Annual Survey 2015
Vacancies in 2014-2015 by career area

Table 1.5 shows the proportion of graduate vacancies by career area. Excluding the Other category which
accounted for 16.6% of total predicted vacancies, Accountancy continues to attract the highest proportion
of vacancies at 16.1%. Consulting and IT were the second most popular career areas at 12.1%, mirroring the
findings from the Winter 2015 Review.
Table 1.5: Vacancies in 2014-2015 by career area
Accountancy
16.1%
Consulting
12.1%
IT
12.1%
Legal
5.4%
Retail management
5.2%
General management
4.8%
Financial management
4.4%
Civil engineering
3.9%
Mechanical engineering
3.5%
Sales
2.8%
Investment
2.7%
Electrical/ electronic engineering
2.2%
Actuarial
1.5%
HR
1.3%
Marketing
1.2%
Science
1.2%
Purchasing
0.9%
Manufacturing
0.8%
Research
0.8%
Logistics
0.6%
All other career areas
16.6%
*The vacancies base appears 20,343 instead of 24,126 because some responding
organisations failed to provide information about the career areas in which they recruit.
Recruiters may be offering vacancies in more than one career area simultaneously.
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Annual Survey 2015
Diversity of graduate recruits in 2013-2014

The proportion of female hires averaged 41.6% per employer in 2013-14. This is relatively low. According to
the UKs Higher Education Statistics Agency, 58.7% of all university graduates are female, representing a
mismatch of more than 15%. While the reasons for this mismatch are still unclear, it appears that more
could be done to attract female candidates to graduate recruitment programmes.
This gender balance varies by sector. For example, females made up the largest share of graduate recruits
in the Public (59.4%) and Retail sectors (56.8%) in 2013-14. Both of these sectors have overtaken Law firms,
which had held the largest proportion of female graduates in 2009-2010 (54.6%). The lowest share of
female hires is in Engineering and Industrial companies (23.8%) and Construction companies/consultancies
(27.5%).
Campaigns to attract more female candidates do seem to be having an effect. Over the last five years, the
largest increases in females joining appear to have been in the Public sector (9.8%) and Engineering and
industrial companies (8.0%), reflecting their sustained focus on diversity. Most of the increases and changes
in other sectors have been small suggesting a need for industry-wide attention to address the gender gap.
39.0%
41.6%
All respondents
54.6%
53.8%
Law firm
53.5%
56.8%
Retail
50.0%
53.2%
FMCG company
49.6%
Public sector
59.4%
38.3%
40.0%
Accountancy or professional services firm
35.2%
40.9%
34.7%
30.3%
28.4%
IT/Telecommunications company
34.8%
26.7%
27.5%

15.8%
23.8%
2009-2010
2013-2014
Figure 1.6:
Average proportion of female graduates AGR employers recruited in 2009-2010 compared to 2013-2014 by sector
5
Varying bases
5
Please note that the outliers in the 2013-2014 have been removed, but a similar methodology was not adopted in
2009-2010. In addition the AGR membership base per sector between the two periods examined may have changed
which could account for some of the changes witnessed.
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Annual Survey 2015
The proportion of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) hires averaged 15.6% per employer in 20132014. This proportion compares well with the graduate talent pool: according to HESA data, 18.6% of
university graduates are BAME. In other words, fewer BAME candidates are joining the graduate
programmes of AGR members than leaving university, but the gap is small.
The share of BAME hires per employer also varies by sector. Figure 1.7 indicates that Banking or financial
services firms (20.1%) and Public sector firms (19.1%) have a higher proportion of BAME hires than in the
graduate talent pool, whilst BAME graduates are least likely to join FMCG (9.7%) and Retail firms (11.5%) .
All respondents
15.6%
20.1%
Public sector
19.1%
Law firm
18.1%
18.0%
12.8%
12.4%
Retail
FMCG company
Other
11.5%
9.7%
8.0%
Figure 1.7:
Average proportion of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic graduates AGR employers recruited in 2013-2014 by sector
Base = 91
Monitoring and improving the diversity of graduate recruits

Employers are capturing a range of diversity data about their graduates and to different extents. For
example, while 91.2% knew the proportion of females they had hired in 2013-14, only 60.6% knew their
proportion of BAME hires. Employers were least likely to know the share of 2013-14 graduates who were
from low socio-economic backgrounds or who were lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). 91.6% of
employers and 81.7% did not know these figures respectively.
The overwhelming majority of AGR members (88.7%) monitored at least one aspect of diversity in 2014-15.
Gender is the most likely characteristic to be monitored (88.1%), followed by ethnicity (68.6%) and
disability (47.2%). The share monitoring socio-economic diversity is also up slightly and now at 25.8%
compared to 24.3%.
Nearly four-fifths of employers (78.4%) also have a strategy to improve diversity amongst their graduate
recruits. Just over three-fifths of AGR employers (62.8%) have targeted strategies to improve their gender
balance, with strategies to improve ethnicity being the next most common (43.9%).
Encouragingly, 36.5% of employers have a strategy to improve socio-economic diversity, slightly up from
the 34.1% recorded last year in the 2014 AGR Summer Review. Intriguingly, more employers are trying to
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Annual Survey 2015
improve social mobility than are monitoring it. As more employers start initiatives to address social
mobility, monitoring is going to be increasingly important in order to evaluate their success.
88.1%
Gender
62.8%
68.6%
Ethnicity
43.9%
47.2%
Disability
29.1%
31.4%
Sexuality
23.0%
25.8%
Socio-economic background
Other
None
36.5%
3.8%
1.4%
Monitor (n=159)
11.3%
Strategy to address (n=148)

21.6%
Figure 1.8:
Comparison of proportion of AGR employers who monitor versus have targeted strategies to improve diversity in
2014-2015
Employers use more than one metric to capture socio-economic background. The most widely-used metric
is whether an applicant is a first generation graduate (95.0%), followed by their type of schooling (82.5%)
and whether they had been in receipt of free school meals (62.5%). This varying use of metrics means that
progress on social mobility is more complicated to track than the progress on gender or ethnicity.
First generation graduate
95.0%
State or private schooling
82.5%
Whether they claimed Free Meals at school
Parent's occupation
Other
62.5%
10.0%
5.0%
Figure 1.9:
Type of socio-economic data collected by AGR employers in 2014-2015 Base = 40, multiple responses possible (this
question is answered only by those who collect data)
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Annual Survey 2015
Chapter 2
Graduate salaries
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Annual Survey 2015
Graduate salaries
This chapter looks at predicted starting salaries for the 2014-2015 recruitment season by business sector
and geographical area.
Graduate salaries in 2014-2015

The median starting salary for graduates in 2014-2015 is 28,000. This represents a 3.7% increase from the
27,000 reported for 2013-14 in the AGR 2014 Summer Review and a continuation of the steady increase
from 25,000 in 2010-2011, 26,000 in 2011-2012 and 26,500 in 2012-2013.
Table 2.1 indicates that the median starting salary for graduates recruited in 2014-2015 varies across
sector6. Law firms offered the highest starting salaries at a median of 37,0007. Banking or financial services
firms continue to occupy second place but at a slightly lower starting salary of 31,250 (down from the
33,000 predicted in 2013-2014). Consulting or business services, FMCG companies and IT &
Telecommunications companies are the next highest with median starting salaries of 28,500.
Table 2.1: Median graduate starting salary by sector in 2014-2015
Median
Law firm
37,000
31,250
Consulting or business services
28,500
FMCG company
28,500
IT & Telecommunication
28,500
Accountancy or professional service firm
28,000
26,750
25,750
25,500
Public sector
23,750
Retail
21,500
Other
22,000
The following sectors are not reported in our analysis as the small number of respondents within the sector may jeopardise their
anonymity: chemical or pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, investment bank or fund managers, oil companies and
transport or logistics companies.
7
The highest starting salaries have historically been offered to investment bank or fund managers however due to low bases
cannot be reported in this review.
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Annual Survey 2015
Graduate salaries in 2014-2015 by geographical area

Table 2.2 shows the median expected starting salary by region. Graduate vacancies in London continue to
attract the highest starting salaries in the UK at 28,500, followed by the South East at 25,500. Both of
these values are slightly lower than last year, with the 2014 Summer Review listing 29,250 and 26,000
respectively. However, this is more reflective of the lower number of survey respondents from the
investment banking sector than an industry-scale change.
Table 2.2: Median graduate starting salaries by region in 2014-2015
London
28,500
South East
25,500
South West
25,000
East of England
25,000
East Midlands
25,000
West Midlands
25,000
North West
25,000
Yorkshire and Humberside
25,000
Scotland
25,000
North East
24,750
Wales
24,500
Northern Ireland
23,000
EMEA
28,000
Americas
25,000
Salaries for retained graduates

Table 2.3 compares the salary progression of retained graduates. Those recruited one year ago had a
median salary of 28,000, matching that currently expected for new graduates. After three years the
median salary had increased to 35,000, a 4.5% increase on the 33,500 reported last year. After five years
in a job the median salary is 45,000 although rates of progression will vary between sectors.
Table 2.3: Median salary of those previously recruited

Those recruited one year ago
28,000
Those recruited three years ago
35,000
Those recruited five years ago
45,000
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Annual Survey 2015
Chapter 3
Student placements and
internships
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Annual Survey 2015
Student placements and

internships
This chapter examines placement and internship programmes that AGR members provide for
undergraduates and graduates. Figures reported in this chapter represent actual year-end figures for the
2013-2014 recruitment season.
Provision of placement and internship programmes in 2013-2014

72.6% of employers offered internships to students in 2013-14 with 7,195 internship opportunities in total.
Over half of employers (56.3%) offered one or more sandwich/industrial placements with employers
reporting a total of 2,676 opportunities. The average length of an internship was nearly 11 weeks (10.9
weeks), while the average length of a sandwich placement was around one year (50.1 weeks).
An average of 44.5% of interns were converted into graduate hires for 2014-15, while only 36.8% of
previous placement students were converted into graduates. Amongst those employers who offered
internships and placement opportunites, the average number of internships offered was 52 and the
average number of placements was 28.
Table 3.1:Internship, placement and
graduate vacancies in 2013-2014 by
sector
Internships
Graduate
% of 7,195
% of 21,3568
Law firm
20.8%
5.8%
18.8%
21.9%
16.2%
10.1%
14.5%
12.9%
Public sector
6.1%
14.1%
3.3%
5.1%
FMCG company
3.1%
2.0%
2.9%
1.3%
Retail
2.5%
10.4%
1.8%
8.8%
Only those sectors which are also represented for internships are included here.
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Annual Survey 2015
Table 3.1 represents the spread of internship, placement and graduate vacancies by sector. One-fifth of
internship places were in Law firms (20.8%), which is not surprising given these vacation schemes can be as
short as 1-2 weeks and are heavily relied upon as a source of future hires. The sectors with the next highest
number of interns are Accountancy or professional services firms (18.8%) and Banking and financial
services (16.2%).
Use of Sandwich or industrial placements also varies by sector. The largest share of placement vacancies is
in Engineering or industrial companies (19.8%), Retail companies (12.9%), and Banking and financial
services firms (11.0%)9. Employers reported offering 2,676 placement opportunities in 2013-14.
More than half (62.1%) of employers with internships made them available to graduates as well as
students. On average, 90.6% of the internship places were open to graduates. Almost three-quarters of all
employers (70.9%) also recruited graduates and interns using the same selection instruments (Figure 3.2).
This shows that employers are standardising their approach to these two forms of entry-level talent.
Yes
70.9%
No
Don't know
21.8%
7.3%
Figure 3.2:
Whether selection instruments used for placement/intern programmes mirror those for recruiting graduates 20142015 Base= 179
Salaries for placement students and interns

All employers paid their placement students and only 1.8% of employers did not pay their interns. The
average weekly salary for interns rose by 3.3% to 317, up from 307 in 2012-13. The average weekly salary
for a sandwich/placement student rose 1.6% to 326, up from 321 in 2012-13.
Figure 3.3 shows the variation in the salaries offered. Half of interns (50.0%) were paid more than 300 a
week. A higher share of sandwich or industrial placements students (57.2%) were paid more than 300 a
week, reflecting the higher level of investment from employers to fill these opportunities. However, this
may be influenced by a higher proportion of employers who were unable to state the average weekly salary
paid to sandwich or industrial placement students.
The following sectors are not reported in our analysis as the small number of respondents may jeopardise their anonymity:
chemical or pharmaceutical companies, consulting or business services firms, insurance companies, investment bank or fund
managers, motor manufacturing, oil companies, and transport or logistics companies.
27
Annual Survey 2015
Up to 250
7.0%
2.4%
30.7%
251-300
20.2%
23.7%
301-350
39.3%
11.4%
13.1%
351-400
401 or more
Prefer not to say
14.9%
4.8%
4.4%
4.8%
6.1%
Don't know
15.5%
Interns (114)
Didn't pay them
1.8%
0.0%
Sandwich placements (84)
Figure 3.3:
Average weekly salary paid to interns and sandwich placements at AGR employers in 2012-2013 (these questions
are answered only by those who offer internships and sandwich placements)
28
Annual Survey 2015
Chapter 4
Applications and selection
29
Annual Survey 2015
Applications and selection

This section examines AGR members financial investment in recruiting graduates. It goes on to explore the
volume of applications received by AGR employers and the methods as well as criteria they use to select
graduates.
Cost per hire estimates recruitment

This year marks a new milestone for the AGR. For the first time, we have calculated the total cost to recruit
a graduate. This average was calculated by taking total graduate recruitment budgets in the last financial
year and dividing these by the predicted number of hires in 2014-15. Using this method, the average cost to
recruit a graduate is 4,859 including Law firms and 3,396 without. The average budget for graduate
recruitment was 327,00010.
There are some caveats with these estimates and they should be used with care. Different firms include
different activities in their budget: for example, Figure 4.1 shows that while almost all employers (98.1%)
include marketing costs, only around half include outsourced activities (51.9%), and a third include the
internal salary costs of the recruitment team as well. This means that the costs in different sectors are not
directly comparable. However, the estimates provide a holistic benchmark that can be used to secure
resources internally and to drive debate.
Attraction e.g. marketing
98.1%
Selection e.g. assessments, interviews
92.6%
Outsourced services
51.9%
Graduate recruitment team salary costs
Other
33.3%
18.5%
Figure 4.1:
Activities included in AGR employers recruitment budgets Base = 162, multiple responses possible
The average cost to recruit a graduates varies by sector. Figure 4.2 indicates that Law firms have the
highest cost per hire (12,682) followed by Energy, water or utility companies (8,085). Retail firms have
the lowest cost per hire at just 1,252.
10
Trimmed mean used
30
Annual Survey 2015
All respondents (excluding Law firms)
3,396
8,085
FMCG company
6,144
Public sector
3,324
2,985

Retail
2,573
2,281
2,000
1,252
Law firm
12,682
Figure 4.2:
Recruitment cost per hire of AGR employers by sector - Varying bases
These costs are also influenced by economies of scale. Employers planning to recruit only 1-25 graduates
have the highest recruitment cost per hire (5,632) whilst firms expecting to recruit more than 250
graduates have the lowest cost per hire at 2,08911.
1-25 graduates
5,632
26-50 graduates
4,117
51-100 graduates
101-250 graduates
251 or more
4,910
2,220
2,089
Figure 4.3:
Recruitment cost per hire of AGR employers (excluding Law firms) by size of intake Base = 96
11
This recruitment cost per hire analysis by size of intake excludes Law firms.
31
Annual Survey 2015
Graduate applications in 2014-2015

Employers received an average of 65 applications per graduate vacancy in 2014-15. This represents a drop
on previous years, as shown in Figure 4.412, although it is also worth pointing out that previous surveys
have been captured at a slightly earlier point in the year (May/June rather than July). Employers received
an average of 4,522 applications in 2014-15, compared to 4,690 in the last season. The drop in applications
reflects the increasingly buoyant market.
1999-2000
35
2000-2001
39
2001-2002
38
2002-2003
42
2003-2004
38
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
33
28
29
31
49
2009-2010
69
2010-2011
83
2011-2012
73
2012-2013
85
2013-2014
2014-2015*
69
65
Figure 4.4:
Number of applications per vacancy received by AGR employers between 1999 and 2015 Varying bases
Figure 4.5 shows the averages for 2014-15 split out by sector. FMCG firms have the highest number of
applications per vacancy at 109. The only sectors to record an increase in applications per vacancy
compared to 2013-14 were the Energy, water or utility sector (from 51 applications per vacancy to 99) and
Retailers (from 68 applications per vacancy to 76), although the two numbers are not directly comparable
as the 2014 Summer Survey was carried out earlier in the year.
12
The 2014-2015 predicted results were captured at a slightly later point in the year (June/July) than previous AGR
Reviews (May/June).
32
Annual Survey 2015
All respondents
65
FMCG company
109
99
78
Retail
76
72
46
Public sector
44
Law firm
42

35
22
Other
82
Figure 4.5:
Average number of applications per vacancy to date 2014-15 by sector Varying bases
Figure 4.5 also shows that the number of applications per vacancy appears to reduce as the size of graduate
intake increases. Firms with an intake of 1-25 graduates have received 94 applications per vacancy to date
compared to just 20 for those employers recruiting more than 500 graduates.
1-25 graduates
94
26-50 graduates
76
51-75 graduates
76-100 graduates
55
22
101-250 graduates
38
251-500 graduates
501 or more graduates
32
20
Figure 4.5:
Average number of applicants to date per predicted vacancy 2014-15 By size of graduate intake 2014-2015
Varying bases
Time to offer in 2014-2015

The average time between an applicant applying for a graduate position and receiving an offer is 11 weeks.
Figure 4.6 shows that on average the Public sector has the longest time to offer (15.5 weeks) whilst the IT &
Telecommunications sector has the shortest (6.8 weeks). Some sectors are more efficient than others
although the length of the process will also be affected by application volumes.
33
Annual Survey 2015
All respondents
11.0
Public sector
15.5
14.0
Law firm
12.3
12.3
FMCG company
11.3
11.2
9.8
Retail
8.1
6.8
Other
11.6
Figure 4.6:
Average time to offer for graduate places by sector Varying bases
Offers and acceptances 2014-2015

Employers plan to over-offer this year to account for offers being declined. On average, they plan to make
111 offers for every 100 vacancies available13. At the time of gathering these results in July 2015 employers
had made an average of 79.1% of the offers they planned to make and 89.6% of these offers had already
been accepted. 8.2% of offers had been reneged upon i.e. accepted and subsequently declined.
Figure 4.7 and Figure 4.8 show the trends by sector. Engineering or industrial companies make the highest
proportion of over-offers, with 118 for every 100 vacancies.
All respondents
110.9%
118.3%
Public sector
115.0%
113.8%
Law firm
112.4%
111.6%

Retail
111.0%
106.9%
105.9%
105.1%
FMCG company
104.0%
Other
104.0%
Figure 4.7:
Proportion of offers employers plan to make to vacancies in 2014-2015 by sector - Varying bases
13
This over-offer calculation and the analysis by sectors in Figure 4.7 are based on the proportion of offers employers
plan to make compared to the exact number of graduates they plan to recruit in 2014-2015. However, where the
number of offers made to date exceeds those which they planned to make, the latter figure has been updated with
the former higher number to calculate the proportion of over-offers.
34
Annual Survey 2015
The challenge of reneged offers varies considerably by sector. Accountancy or professional services firms
and Banking or financial services face the biggest challenges, with 12.9% and 12.8% of reneged offers
respectively. This challenge is much smaller for Law firms, with only 1.3% of offers reneged upon.
All respondents
8.2%
12.9%
12.8%
12.2%
11.8%
Public sector
9.8%
6.7%
Retail
6.5%
5.8%
FMCG company
Law firm
4.0%
1.3%
Other
4.3%
Figure 4.8:
Offers accepted then declined as a proportion of offers made by AGR employers in 2014-15 to date by sector
Varying bases
Selection criteria
Employers use many approaches to their selection process. Nine out of ten employers (91.9%) include a
competency-based approach, with one-third of firms (33.7%) relying solely on a competency-based
approach. Around one in four firms (26.7%) used both competency and technical approaches, with only one
in six firms (15.1%) using a combination of competency, strengths and technical approaches.
Competency only
33.7%
Competency and technical
26.7%
Competency, strength and technical

Competency and strength
Other combination
15.1%
13.4%
11.0%
Figure 4.9:
AGR employers approaches to graduate selection Base = 172
The most common entry cut-off is a 2:1 degree, with 77.0% of AGR employers using this as an entry criteria
for their selection process and one-fifth (20.0%) require a minimum of a 2.2 degree classification. The
second-most popular entry criteria was use of UCAS tariffs (33.3%), with 306 UCAS points being the average
35
Annual Survey 2015
number of points used. The use of UCAS tariffs has decreased slightly from 38.2% in 2013-201414. Only
21.2% of employers use work experience as minimum selection criteria, down from 29.2% in 2012-13.
Minimum 2.1 degree classification
77.0%
UCAS tariff
33.3%
Specific degree subjects
29.1%
Relevant work experience
21.2%
Minimum 2.2 degree classifiaction

Tier 2 Visa
GPA (grad point average) scores
20.0%
5.5%
3.0%
Minimum 1st degree classification
1.8%
Applications only from specific universities
1.8%
Other
7.3%
Figure 4.10:
Minimum entry standards at AGR employers in 2014-2015 Base = 165, multiple responses possible
Selection methods
AGR members are employing a range of selection instruments to recruit graduates in the 2014-2015
season15. Figure 4.11 shows that assessment centre or group selection events (91.8%) are the most
popular, followed by face-to-face interviews (74.3%). Almost one in three (29.8%) AGR employers now use
video interviewing compared to 21.2% in 2013-2014.
Assessment centre/group selection event
91.8%
Face-to-face interviews
74.3%
Psychometric testing (including online)
71.3%
Telephone interviews
42.7%
Online selection/deselection excercises
32.2%
Video interviews
Other
29.8%
2.9%
Figure 4.11:
Graduate selection instruments at AGR employers in 2014-2015 Base = 171, multiple responses possible
14
Please note, the response options included in this survey question altered slightly from the AGR Summer Survey
2014.
15
Please note, the response options included in this survey question altered slightly from the AGR Summer Survey
2014.
36
Annual Survey 2015
Figure 4.12 shows that for those employers who use psychometric tests in their selection process, numeric
reasoning tests remain the most popular (77.9%) with verbal reasoning tests as the second most popular
(68.9%). The proportion of firms using verbal reasoning tests has decreased slighty from 75.6% (in 20132014) to 68.9%. Conversely, situational judgement tests are more common in 2014-2015 than the previous
recruitment season (37.7% compared to 30.1%).
Numeric reasoning tests
77.9%
Verbal reasoning tests
68.9%
Situational Judgement test
37.7%
Personality and interest tests/questionnaires
31.1%
Abstract/Spatial reasoning tests
Other
22.1%
10.7%
Figure 4.12:
Types of psychometric testing used or plan to use by AGR employers in 2014-2015 Base =122, multiple responses
possible (this question is answered only by those who use psychometric testing)
Nine out of ten (90.8%) employers cover at least one form of expense incurred by applicants related to
assessment centres or group selection events. As Figure 4.13 shows, the most common expenses covered
are travel and accommodation, both at a capped amount (63.8% and 40.8% respectively).
Travel - capped maximum
63.8%
Accommodation - capped maximum
40.8%
Travel - all
24.3%
Food - all
24.3%
Accommodation - all
Food - capped maximum
Don't cover any expenses
23.0%
13.8%
9.2%
Figure 4.13:
Type of expenses paid by AGR employers for candidates to attend assessment events Base=152, multiple
responses possible
37
Annual Survey 2015
Monitoring the selection process

Three-quarters (72.8%) of employers monitored their selection process using candidate feedback. They are
most likely to monitor feedback from successful candidates (66.5%), although more than half (51.4%)
monitor feedback from assessors as well (Figure 4.14).
Yes - from successful candidates
66.5%
Yes - from unsuccessful candidates
56.1%
Yes - from assessors
No
51.4%
27.2%
Figure 4.14:
AGR employers that monitor feedback on the candidate experience during selection process Base=173, multiple
responses possible
Some sectors are much more likely to capture candidate feedback than others, as in Figure 4.15. 100% of
Accountancy or professional services firms monitored this, with Public sector and IT & Telecommunications
companies the next most likely sectors to monitor feedback (84.6% and 83.3% respectively). Retail firms
were the least likely to capture candidate feedback on their selection process (58.3% of employers).
All respondents
66.5%
100.0%
Public sector
84.6%
83.3%
Transport and logistic
80.0%
Consulting or business
80.0%
FMCG company
Retail
72.7%
66.7%
64.3%
62.5%
58.3%
Figure 4.15:
AGR employers that monitor feedback from successful candidates about their experience during selection process
by sector Varying bases
38
Annual Survey 2015
Two-thirds of AGR members (66.3%) also benchmark the on-the-job-performance of graduates to check
whether their selection process is bringing in high performers. As shown in Figure 4.16, more than fourfifths of Law, Retail and FMCG companies do this (84.6%, 83.3% and 81.8% respectively), whist Engineering
or industrial companies are least likely to do this type of benchmarking (39.1%).
All respondents
66.3%
Law firm
84.6%
Retail
83.3%
FMCG company
81.8%
78.6%
Public sector
76.9%
75.0%
72.7%
57.1%
45.5%
Insurance company
40.0%
39.1%
Other
16.7%
Figure 4.16:
AGR employers who do benchmark on-the-job performance of recruited graduates to check if the selection process
is working by sector - Varying bases
39
Annual Survey 2015
Chapter 5
Graduate development and
retention
40
Annual Survey 2015
Graduate development and

retention
This chapter looks at the processes AGR members put in place to facilitate the professional development of
graduate recruits. It investigates graduate contracts, development and induction programmes and reports
on financial support available to the new graduate hires. It reports on who holds responsibility for the new
hires and how companies evaluate the impact of their new graduates and the graduate development
programmes. Graduate retention rates are explored.
Cost per hire estimates development

This year we have also calculated the first industry-wide benchmarks of the average cost to develop a
graduate. These cost per hire estimates were calculated by taking total graduate development budgets in
the last financial year, and dividing these by the total number of graduate hires in 2013-14.
The average cost to develop one graduate across a development programme is 2,963. Given that most
graduate programmes are two years long (see later in the report), this equates to 1,482 per year. Law
firms, with their high spending on professional qualifications, have a much higher cost at 16,975.
There are caveats with these benchmarks and they should be used with care. The budgets for each
employer includes the money spent on all graduate development programmes and all forms of support but
exclude the cost of supporting professional qualifications (except in the case of Law) and also excludes the
cost of staff time. In cases where employers were not able to supply an exact budget, the midpoint of a
banded range e.g. 25,000 to 50,000 was also used in the calculations. However, the estimates provide a
holistic benchmark that can be used to secure resources internally and to drive debate.
The cost to develop a graduate varies by sector and also exhibits economies of scale. Ignoring Law firms,
Figure 5.1 shows that Public sector employers invest the most in development (3,139) whilst Retail firms
invest the least (1,054). Figure 5.2 shows that this cost per hires ranges from 4,246 for an intake of 1-25
graduates to 736 for graduate intakes of more than 25016.
Law firms spend far more than other sectors to develop their trainees, with an average cost to develop one
graduate at 16,975. The main reason for this difference is the inclusion of fees for professional
qualifications: Legal Practice Courses (LPCs) and Graduate Diplomas in Law (GDL) as well as maintenance
grants. This effect is also made larger by the relatively small volume of hires that Law firms take on.
16
This development cost per hire analysis by size of intake excludes Law firms.
41
Annual Survey 2015
All respondents (excluding Law firms)
2,963
Public sector
3,139
FMCG company
2,924
2,861
2,544
2,367
2,262
Retail
1,054
Law firm
16,975
Figure 5.1:
AGR employers average (trimmed mean) development cost per graduate - by sector - Varying bases
1-25 graduates
4,246
26-50 graduates
2,884
51-100 graduates
2,687
101-250 graduates
251 or more
3,454
736
Figure 5.2:
AGR employers average (trimmed mean) development cost per hire (excluding Law firms) - by size of graduate
intake Varying bases
Graduate employment contracts in 2014-2015

Three quarters of employers (76.0%)17 are appointing graduates on permanent contracts in 2014-15. A
further quarter (26.9%) are offering fixed-term contracts. Both of these figures are broadly consistent with
last years Summer 2014 Review (76.6% and 26.6% respectively). Figure 5.3 reveals that a higher proportion
of large firms rely on permanent contracts when compared to smaller firms.
17
Based on 171 responses
42
Annual Survey 2015
1-249 employees
250-999 employees
40.0%
38.5%
63.0%
87.1%
87.2%
100.0%
Figure 5.3:
Proportion of graduates on permanent contracts by size of employer - Varying bases
Ownership of headcount and funding

The most common organisational support for graduate development programme is that graduate
headcount is held centrally and the source of funding comes from a central budget. However, a
departmental headcount with a central budget is the next most common and is used in around a fifth of
cases (18.4%). This suggests that devolution of responsibility is common.
Central headcount with central budget
28.2%
Departmental headcount with

department budget
18.4%
Departmental headcount with mixture

of central & department budgets
Departmental headcount with central

budget
Mixture of central & department
headcount with mixture of central &
department budgets
17.8%
10.4%
9.2%
Figure 5.4:
Top 5 combinations amongst AGR members for where headcount responsibility and source of graduate
development programme funding sits within their organisation Base = 163
Table 5.5 shows how the use of a centrally held headcount varies by the size of firm. Smaller firms are much
more likely rely on a central headcount than larger firms. The responses showed no clear trend in terms of
the share of employers that chose a mixture of central and departmental headcount versus those who
opted for headcount to only be held in departments.
43
Annual Survey 2015
Table 5.5: Departments who own

the headcount of graduate hires
Central
headcount
All respondents
36.0%
1-249 employees
63.6%
250-999 employees
58.3%
44.4%
23.3%
24.4%
29.0%
Base
164
Graduate development programmes in 2014-2015

Graduate development programmes in 2014-15 are typically two years long. 67.9% of employers have a
programme of this length. Firms with larger intakes are also more likely to have longer programmes, with
companies that hire more than 500 graduates having 29 month programmes on average.
The number of programmes appears to increase with the size of graduate intakes. Employers recruiting 125 graduates have the lowest number of programmes (2.2) while employers recruiting more than 500
graduates have the most (8.3). Individual employers ran an average of 4.2 structured programmes in 201415.
Support for graduates varies widely by programme (Figure 5.6). 99.3% have a formal induction, which is
typically followed by off-the-job soft skill training (92.7%), peer coaching/buddying (87.3%) and off-the-job
technical training (86.7%). Assigning a senior mentor to new starters was also common (78.7%). Over threequarters of respondents also offered financial support for professional qualifications (76.0%).
Induction
99.3%
Soft skills training - off-the-job
92.7%
Graduates assigned a peer coach/buddy
87.3%
Technical training - off-the-job
86.7%
Rotation Placement
81.3%
Graduate assigned a senior mentor
78.7%
Financial support for professional qualifications
76.0%
End-of-programme events
Other
60.0%
8.7%
Figure 5.6:
Type of development activities offered to graduates by AGR employers in 2014-2015 Base = 150, multiple
responses possible
44
Annual Survey 2015
The least commonly used form of support were end-of-programme events (60.0%) although with nearly
two thirds of employers offering these it is still a common form of development (Figure 5.7). End-ofprogramme events were most common in Engineering and industrial companies (72.2%) and least common
in Accountancy and professional services firms (37.5%).
All respondents
60.0%
72.2%
71.4%
FMCG company
70.0%
66.7%
Law firm
55.6%
54.5%
53.8%
Public sector
50.0%
Retail
50.0%
37.5%
Figure 5.7:
End of programme events run by AGR employers in 2014-2015 by sector - Varying bases
Graduates typically received 20.3 days of off-the-job training, with averages of 12.6 days of technical
training and 7.8 days of soft skills training respectively. As shown in Figure 5.8 two in five firms (44.2%)
offered optional training for their managers on how to manage graduates, with over a third of companies
offering compulsory training (35.6%). This share of employers training their managers is surprisingly low
given that manager engagement is a hot topic amongst graduate employers.
Optional training for managers of graduates
44.2%
Complulsory training for managers of graduates
Other
Don't know
35.6%
9.2%
14.7%
Figure 5.8:
Percentage of managers of graduates receiving training in 2014-2015-Base=163
45
Annual Survey 2015
Financial support for graduate development

Where employers offered financial support, 94.5% of employers offer some form of financial support for
professional qualifications, with over three quarters (76.7%) of employers paying all of the fees. One-fifth
(19.9%) of employers cover other expenses, a small percentage of companies also placed a cap on the
maximum amount that could be claimed for fees (13.7%) and other expenses (17.8%). Over half (54.1%) of
AGR employers provide paid study leave and a minority 5.5% offered no financial support at all (Figure 5.9).
Course fees - all
76.7%
Paid study leave
54.1%
Other expenses - all
19.9%
Other expenses-capped maximum amount
17.8%
Course fees-capped maximum amount
13.7%
Other
No financial support offered
11.0%
5.5%
Figure 5.9:
Types of financial support AGR employers provide for graduates studying for a professional qualification -Base=146,
multiple responses possible
84.6% of employers offer financial support for graduates who relocate offices during their graduate
development programmes. The most commonly covered cost is travel, with around half (50.8%) of
employers covering the travel costs of relocation and only 16.2% covering the travel costs of the daily
commute. One-quarter (27.7%) of employers cover the cost of accommodation albeit capped at a
maximum amount (Figure 5.10).
Travel costs - for relocation only
50.8%
Accommodation costs - capped maximum amount
27.7%
Accommodation costs - all
20.0%
Paid training courses
20.0%
Travel costs - for daily commute
16.2%
Other
16.9%
Don't know
None
11.5%
15.4%
Figure 5.10:
Types of financial support AGR employers provide for graduates who relocate Base=130, multiple responses
possible
46
Annual Survey 2015
Assessment of graduates and development programmes

Employers who calculate this monetary value of their graduates do so using a variety of metrics. The most
common metrics were the hours billed to clients (21.7%), assessing the indirect cost savings of growing
their own talent (19.9%) and the costs of training (13.3%). Using sales or revenue generated by the
graduate either directly (7.2%) or indirectly (2.4%) were much less common, which could reflect a low
number of graduates in sales roles. Two-fifths (40.4%) of employers do not calculate the monetary value
that graduates bring to their business, which is somewhat surprising given the level of investment made in
graduates. Of those employers who assess the monetary value that graduates add to their business, on
average they use just over two methods of measurement (Figure 5.11).
Hours billed to clients
21.7%
Indirect cost savings
19.9%
Training costs
13.3%
Salary
12.7%
Time to return the cost invested
10.2%
Sales/revenue generated directly the graduate
7.2%
Direct cost savings

Sales/revenue generated indirectly
Other
6.6%
2.4%
1.2%
Don't know
18.7%
N/A - We don't calculate the value they add
40.4%
Figure 5.11:
Methods used by AGR employers to assess the monetary value that graduates add to the business Base = 166,
multiple responses possible
93.5% of employers intend to assess the performance of their graduate development programmes. Almost
all review performance ratings (92.8%) and around two thirds (67.3%) look at levels of retention. Two-fifths
(39.9%) review the time to promotion. Less common methods include comparing graduate performance
relative to direct hire peers (15.7%) and school leaver peers (1.3%) (Figure 5.12).
Performance ratings
92.8%
Retention
67.3%
Time to promotion
39.9%
Performance relative to direct hire peers

Performance relative to school leavers peers
Other
15.7%
1.3%
2.6%
Figure 5.12:
18
Methods used by AGR employers to assess the performance of graduates in 2014-2015 Base = 153 , multiple
responses possible
18
Multiple responses were possible and this question was answered only by those who assess their graduate
development programmes.
47
Annual Survey 2015
Some sectors are also more likely to assess graduate retention than others (Figure 5.13). Assessing
retention was most common in the three sectors of Construction companies/consultancies (88.9%),
Banking and financial services (84.6%), and Retail (81.8%).
All respondents
67.3%
88.9%
84.6%
Retail
81.8%
Insurance company
80.0%
80.0%
72.7%
Law firm
71.4%
Public sector
66.7%
FMCG company
60.0%
57.1%
55.6%

Other
52.9%
33.3%
Figure 5.13:
AGR employers who assess graduate retention - by sector Base = 153
Graduate retention
Less than half of employers (40.5%) were able to report on the average number of years that graduates
stay within their organisation. Of those who did know, the average length of stay was 4.9 years. Smaller
firms have the lowest retention rates (3.9 years) when compared to the overall average (Table 5.14).
Table 5.14: Average length of stay by size of
employer
Mean years
1-249 employees
3.9
250-999 employees
5.4
4.6
4.6
5.2
5.5
48
Annual Survey 2015
Employers are also retaining their graduate hires. Almost all graduates (93.8%) were still in post within a
year of joining. This drops to 88.6% for those recruited 1 to 2 years ago and to three quarters (79.2%) for
those recruited 2 to 3 years ago. These findings mirror those of the Summer 2014 Review where the
average retention rate for graduates recruited one year ago was 94.8%; after three years this had dropped
to 79.0%. This suggests that overall retention rates appear to be stable.
Joined less than one year ago (113)
93.8%
Joined one to two years ago (103)
Joined two to three years ago (80)
88.6%
79.2%
Figure 5.15:
Average proportion of graduates recruited by AGR members still working for their organisations after particular
lengths of time
Overall, employers are not keeping good records of the share of graduates they retain. One-third (31.5%) of
respondents did not know the retention rate for graduates who joined less than one year ago and almost
three-quarters (72.2%) did not know the retention rates for those who joined 4-5 years ago. Given the
significant investment made to attract and develop great candidates, this lack of good records is an issue
worth further attention.
49
Annual Survey 2015
Appendix 1
Methodology and
respondent profile
50
Annual Survey 2015
Methodology and respondent profile

Method
Information was captured through an online survey that was hosted on the CFE Research website for four
weeks in June and July 201519. The link to the survey was sent to the total population of AGR members
(n=310) via email.
Analysis
Statistical software was used to generate a variety of statistics including frequencies, means and medians20.
For each chart or table featuring in the Summer 2015 Review, we report the number of organisations
whose responses inform the findings as the base. Bases vary throughout the report as not all participants
responded to the same questions due to the routing applied. If bases are too low to ensure the reliability of
the findings or to maintain the anonymity of respondents, figures are not reported.
The 2015 Annual Survey includes comparisons between the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 recruitment
seasons. Data for the 2013-2014 recruitment season relates to members year-end figures whilst figures for
2014-2015 refer to AGR members predictions as of June-July 2015 and so reflect a forecast, albeit a figure
which will be very close to the year-end figures. Comparisons between recruitment seasons are reported as
percentage increases or decreases. It is also important to understand that the graduate recruitment
practices of AGR members vary widely from sector to sector. Law firms provide a case in point
recruitment lead times of two years are standard as graduates are often sponsored to complete postgraduate law courses prior to the commencement of their Training Contract. The vacancy levels reported
for the 2014-2015 recruitment season, therefore, relate to vacancies for which law firms are recruiting,
although graduates will not typically commence employment until 2016-2017.
19
Please note that previous AGR Summer Surveys have been conducted slightly earlier between May and June.
A frequency reports the proportion of respondents giving a specific answer. A mean (average) is calculated by
adding together all of our results and then dividing it by the total number of respondents. A median is the number we
obtain by placing all of the responses to a given question together in order of their value and selecting the middle
value. Where there is no single middle value, the two middle values are added together and divided by two.
20
51
Annual Survey 2015
Profile of respondents
A total of 205 AGR employers took part in the survey which represents a 66% response rate. It is estimated
that in 2014-2015 responding AGR members expect to offer a total of 24,126 graduate vacancies.
Two-thirds (69.1%) of AGR employers report recruiting just one intake of graduates per year; 16.7% of AGR
employers recruit more than one intake and one-tenth (10.3%) having a rolling programme of recruitment.
A small minority of AGR members (1.5%) recruit graduates on an ad hoc basis (Figure 6.1).
Rolling programme
of recruitment,
10.3%
Ad hoc recruitment,
1.5%
Other, 2.5%
More than one

intake of graduates
per year, 16.7%
One intake of
graduates per year ,
69.1%
Figure 6.1:
Recruitment methods of responding organisations Base = 204
A variety of business sectors responded to the survey ensuring that findings are representative of AGR
employer membership. Consistent with last years results the largest proportion of responses to the survey
came from Law firms (17.1%). This was again followed by Engineering or industrial companies (13.2%). This
year saw the proportion of companies from Banking or financial services increase (from 5.8% to 9.3%). This
was then followed by Retailers (7.3%) and Construction companies or consultancies (6.8%) (Figure 6.2).
52
Annual Survey 2015
Law firm
17.1%
13.2%
9.3%
Retail
7.3%
6.8%
IT hardware/telecommunication company
6.8%
Public sector
6.3%
FMCG company
5.4%
4.9%
4.4%
Consulting or business services firm
2.9%
Insurance company
2.4%
Investment bank or fund managers
2.4%
2.4%
Oil company
Chemical or pharmaceutical company
Motor manufacturer
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
Other
5.4%
Figure 6.2:
Business sector of responding organisations Base = 205
The majority (93.5%) of participating AGR members are large organisations with more than 250 employees.
Around one-fifth (19%) employ 20,000 staff or more (Figure 6.3).
19.0%
5,000-19,999
23.5%
2,500-4,999
17.5%
1,000-2,499
17.5%
250-999
1-249
16.0%
6.5%
Figure 6.3:
Business size sector of responding organisations Base = 200
53
Annual Survey 2015
In terms of the size of the graduate intake, just under one-third of participating AGR members (31.7%)
expect to recruit between 1 and 25 new graduates. 70% expect to recruit a maximum of 100 graduates in
2014-2015. Around a quarter (24.4%) intended to recruit more than 100 graduates. Only 3.9% of AGR
members expect to recruit no graduates (Figure 6.4).
No graduates expected to be recruited
3.9%
1-25 graduates
31.7%
26-50 graduates
18.5%
51-75 graduates
13.7%
76-100 graduates
6.3%
101-250 graduates
13.7%
251-500 graduates
501 or more graduates
Dont know
6.3%
4.4%
1.5%
Figure 6.4:
Size of graduate intake Base = 205
The length of time that respondents had been running a structured graduate development programme also
varied. Of those AGR members who responded to the survey, around a third (32.7%) had been running a
graduate programme for over 16 years.
0-2
5.3%
3-4
11.3%
5-10
26.7%
11-15
16.0%
16+
Dont know
32.7%
8.0%
Figure 6.5:
Duration of graduate programmes running at AGR employers Base = 150
54
The Association of Graduate Recruiters

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Graduate

Produced for AGR by

The AGR Annual Survey 2015

Annual Survey 2015

Association of Graduate Recruiters

Survey produced for AGR by

CFE Research and the Association of Graduate Recruiters

Annual Survey 2015

Graduate salaries ..................................................................................................................... 23

Student placements and internships ........................................................................................ 26

Applications and selection ....................................................................................................... 30

Graduate development and retention ...................................................................................... 41

Annual Survey 2015

Annual Survey 2015

Annual Survey 2015

Annual Survey 2015

Student placements and internships

These figures exclude Law firms.

Annual Survey 2015

Graduate applications and selection

Graduate development and retention

This figure excludes Law firms.

Annual Survey 2015

Annual Survey 2015

Annual Survey 2015

Annual Survey 2015

Graduate vacancies in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015

This is based on predictions as of July 2015.

Annual Survey 2015

Vacancy changes by sector from 2013-2014 to 2014 to 2015

Change in total vacancies

Accountancy or professional service firm

Engineering or industrial company

Banking or financial services

Construction company or consultancy

Consulting or business service firm

Energy, water or utility company

Transport or logistics company

Annual Survey 2015

Vacancies in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 by size of firm

20,000 employees or more

Annual Survey 2015

Vacancies in 2014-2015 by geographical area

Yorkshire and Humberside

Annual Survey 2015

Vacancies in 2014-2015 by career area

Electrical/ electronic engineering

All other career areas

Annual Survey 2015

Diversity of graduate recruits in 2013-2014

Accountancy or professional services firm

Banking or financial services

Energy, water or utility company

Construction company or consultancy

Annual Survey 2015

Banking or financial services

Energy, water or utility company

Engineering or industrial company

Construction company or consultancy

Monitoring and improving the diversity of graduate recruits

Annual Survey 2015

Strategy to address (n=148)

First generation graduate