60% of people with degrees are open to new job opportunities, according to Gallup. That’s a huge amount of jobseekers, but studies show many are finding it hard to secure employment in Australia.
During the 1990s, 80% of graduates with Bachelor’s degrees who were available for full-time work were able to enter the labour force on a full-time basis within four months of graduating. In 2017, just 70% of graduates achieved this, according to a new Reserve Bank study.
Recent studies have also revealed that the last decade has seen a 17% increase in the number of university leavers in part-time employment, while the number of recent graduates in full-time work remains below the levels of the global financial crisis.
Furthermore, between 2008 and 2017 the proportion of employed graduates working part-time increased from 21% to 38% of all graduates.
These worrying numbers are leading to a huge gap in graduates entering the workforce of the future. In this blog, we look at the benefits of hiring millennials and mature graduates and why employers shouldn’t turn a blind eye to these people who could be contributing so much to Australian businesses.
Employers have a responsibility
Firstly, employer’s need to take responsibility for this crisis, and work together to close the gap. Yes, it’s true that graduates require extra supervision, mentoring and in many cases, further learning, but they are investing in.
75% of new joiners leave a company due to lack of career progression or training programs. This proves how much graduates want to learn, develop and make a difference in their workplace. If employers listened to their needs, dedicated budget to resources and gave them a chance, this startling number would begin to decrease.
One such company that makes a big effort to offer graduate opportunities is professional services company, Deloitte. For example, they offer programs in the tech fields of cyber security, DevOps, digital forensics, platform engineering and front-end development, as well as in the sales fields of marketing analytics, product development and project management. As a result, they were announced “Graduate Employer of the Year” at the 2018 Gradireland Awards. Other companies in Australia that have similar programs include Optus, Freelancer.com, Tyro Payments, Google, Dropbox and Optimizely.
But let’s move on and delve into the benefits of hiring millennial graduates, shall we?
Fresh Perspectives and Cultural Shifts
Millennials bring with them fresh perspectives on the idea of a ‘healthy workplace” and they can help employers build retention strategies that work. In an era where diverse workplaces, staff happiness and Employer Value Propositions are at the core of every recruitment strategy, millennials are the best people to have on your team.
As many haven’t yet experienced a professional workplace, graduates are the key to figuring out exactly how to retain new hires in their age group. When a new graduate comes on onboard, ask them for feedback on how the business is ran, how staff are treated and find out what they would like to see the company do differently in relation to staff culture, incentives and social events. Encourage them to be honest and their answers will most likely surprise you.
Tailoring your onboard strategy with tips from millennials, could cost you the price of losing a quality new hire and will pave the way for future newcomers of the same age group.
Millennials are Innovative Digital Natives
46% of the workforce will be millennials by 2020, which should come as good news to employers.
Millennial graduates are naturally innovative and tech savvy. In fact, digital is their second language. Remember, this age group has grown up learning how to use tech devices and digital channels that many older generations haven’t even heard of. For example, 80% of millennials own a smartphone, versus just 66% of the generation older than them. In fact, millennials can switch their attention between media platforms like laptops, phones, TV and tablets 27 times per hour on average compared to 17 times for older generations.
This is especially beneficial to employers if in an industry that requires mobile apps or cutting-edge technology. Recent college grads may already know the apps and tech you’re thinking of training long-timers on and older workers are more likely to resist new technology whereas younger workers will embrace it.
Industries such as Digital Marketing, IT, Software Development and Cyber Security can all expect to benefit majorly from hiring millennial graduates.
The Benefits of Hiring Mature Graduates
It wouldn’t be fair to focus just on millennials and ignore mature-age graduates. Although older generations may not be as tech savvy as younger people, they do offer a different set of skills that millennials are not all equipped with.
Mature graduates usually bring with them breadth and depth of experience, confidence and commitment. More importantly, they are loyal employees and are less likely to leave because career progression isn’t their top concern.
For the most part, this group of people are in a life stage where family and financial commitments are driving their decision-making. A recent SEEK study found that the top drivers for older graduates were job security (14.8%) and work-life balance (14.5%).
So, what industries have the most opportunities for millennial and mature graduates?
Top Graduate Jobs of 2018
Indeed.com conducted a study last year which looked at the top growing jobs for graduates in Australia. The occupations with the highest annual projected growth were Computer Programmers, Software Engineers and Civil Engineers. Teachers, architects and civil drafters weren’t too far behind and the demand for nurses, sales people and accountants has seemingly declined.
Hopefully, when employers open their doors and job vacancies to more graduates, we will witness more of a variety in job growth across different industries. In particular to the FMCG industry, we have noticed a distinct lack of talent at the mid-management level which is mainly due to people leaving the industry in search of better opportunities elsewhere. As a result, employers are now battling each other to attract the best talent from an increasingly drier talent pool. This is not the best foot forward in the quest to create the workforce of the future!
Clear Search is dedicated to finding opportunities that speak to graduates and give them a chance to enter the workforce. If you have open vacancies suitable for graduates and need an expert in talent acquisition to find a genuine match, don’t hesitate to contact us. Email us on enquiries@clearsearch.com.au or call 02 9231 0560.
