Author Archives: Alan Muhammed

“Government to delude graduates over employment prospects.” As if you would ever read a headline like that. But seeing through government spin concerning how it attempts to deal with the uncertain prospects for 300,000 students graduating this year, you should certainly think it.

The government has apparently been attempting to encourage blue-chip firms to provide low-paid internships, in exchange for CV-padding spiel for graduates, to aid them in an increasingly competitive and internationalised job market. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7821629.stm

There are many problems with this. Not least, the implication that UK students have no relevant, valuable work experience upon graduation in the first place. As a recruit to a graduate scheme in a major auditing firm, I know how even reputable, well-managed organisations can initially struggle to find meaningful work for graduates beyond photocopying and filing, despite their glossy recruitment brochures assuring you that you will experience real responsibility from day one.

No doubt the government is used to the creation of bureaucracy and waste through hiring people for the purpose of job creation alone, it therefore seems preposterous that it should attempt to be didactic towards the private sector, which currently for some reason decides to hire people in order to add value and maximise shareholder returns. Admittedly, in terms of public relations, it is cheaper and provides just as much in the way of column inches for a bank to switch from sponsoring a local charity to recruiting more interns, not least because of the free word of mouth it generates.

Yet, it is hardly as though in a time when firms have downsized operations as a consequence of market freefall, that any meaningful work will be delegated to interns anyhow, therefore it is a complete fallacy that this dilemma is being either mitigated or solved.

The economic problem is being ignored: the supply of graduates exceeds the jobs available to them.

So what is the solution?