Demand for tech graduates still strong

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

Graduates

NEWS

The UK economy may be shivering in chill winds from across the pond, but demand for IT graduates is still strong, a survey has found.

Recent turbulence in the banking sector has not affected graduate hiring plans in the financial services industry, according to a poll conducted by technology graduate recruitment site the IT Job Board.

The survey of 50 UK organisations found the vast majority (94 percent) are not planning to change their hiring plans in light of the credit crunch in the banking sector. And more than half (56 percent) said they are planning to increase the number of graduates they hire next year.

Just over a third (36 percent) said hiring levels will be unchanged next year, while a marginal eight percent said they plan to decrease hires, according to the recruitment company's survey.

Alex Farrell, director of the company, said in a statement: "The results of this survey confirm our beliefs that it's still a strong sector from an IT perspective and graduates are still very much in demand."

Talkback

I am sorry to see that graduate hiring plans are unaffected by the recent turbulence in financial markets.

Organisations would be more effective if they hired and promoted people with practical experience. For example, an MBA graduate does far more harm to organisations than a trade union member.

When I recently undertook an assignment in central government I was struck by the lack of understanding of the real world - what is a prison like, who is in prison, how does a drug addict fill their day, what's it like to raise children on your own, why can't I get tax credits owed to me, why do the police come the next day instead of now?

Northern Rock, lost data, central government IT projects, NHS targets and any other number of recent failures are caused by a lack of connection. It is embarrassing to acknowledge that the only person in recent politics who ever actually had a proper job was John Prescott.

I don't know what we can do about incompetence in government but we might have some influence on incompetence in organisations.

My first step would be to ban all formal graduate recruitment by organisations with over 100 staff and all salaries dependent on practical achievement and community work.

You may have already recognised the major flaw in my argument - these plans would be managed by the HR department.

Mike Westwood

Mike Westwood 25 November, 2007 14:25
Reply

I forgot to mention Steve McClaren.

Most reports claim he was sacked because England failed to beat Croatia and qualify for the European championships.

That is not correct.

He was sacked because he was the wrong person. And the blame for that lies with Steve Barwick and the FA.

Mike Westwood

Mike Westwood 26 November, 2007 08:58
Reply

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

BrownieBoy

@Jack, > Works really well for thieves.... Nice attempt to deflect the argument by tossing in a point that's totally irrelevant, even it were...

8 hours ago by BrownieBoy on AMD Ultrathins to challenge Intel Ultrabooks
bootlegger

Make that 13 people now - I got refused today at Manchester airport. I thought I was up to date on this legislation - I knew of the EU ruling from...

11 hours ago by bootlegger on UK airport body scans will not be opt out
tinycg

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

13 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move
TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

18 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

1 day ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

2 days ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

2 days ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

2 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

2 days ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

2 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

2 days ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

2 days ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

2 days ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint