Available Graduates - Is there anybody out there?

Available Graduates - Is there anybody out there?

Despite recent claims there are 83 graduates for every one job, a top consultancy firm has spent the last three months seeking to fill 50 positions and has only secured five suitable recruits.
 
InterQuest Group PLC has been seeking 50 graduates for trainee I.T. recruitment consultant roles and to date has only filled 10 per cent of the vacancies.
 
Gary Ashworth, executive chairman of InterQuest, comments: "The calibre of recent graduates is consistently poor and I'm gravely concerned about the lack of skills graduates are leaving university."
 
"The awkward gulf between a graduate's theoretical knowledge and the practical experience required to survive in today's working environment is increasing and the majority are leaving university with few 'real life' skills.
 
“Further education is designed to help graduates; however from recent experience it appears to be proving a hindrance and as tuition fees rise in some cases to £9,000 a year, it's worth asking "is it really worth attending at all?"
 
After interviewing hundreds of graduates, the general consensus from InterQuest Group PLC is that students are proving to be unmotivated, unenthusiastic and unprepared for the work place.
 
Gary Ashworth continues: "It is not just the fault of the graduates; the needs of a business are a stark contrast from the teachings of a university professor. How do we expect our younger generations to learn how to survive the real world when they receive no useful practical experience during their university career?
 
"Those in further education must ensure they gain work experience. Across Britain we have a diverse selection of exciting industries; graduates need to be 'baked and groomed' to assimilate into the society they will end up in.
 
“In addition, learning interview skills from mastering a handshake, maintaining eye contact to asking sensible questions and building rapport are essential!  Many graduates have absolutely no idea how to write a basic CV or arrive on time.
 
“Many graduates do not bother to find out what a company does and do not come prepared with questions to ask. They don't have to necessarily wear a tie but don't young people clean their shoes or shave any more?”
 
InterQuest Group developed iQad, which stands for InterQuest Accelerated Development, a revolutionary 17 week training programme designed to provide graduates entering the recruitment sector with the hands-on skills and knowledge they need for a successful career.
 
Gary Ashworth concludes: "Why isn't there a university of people skills? In this present economic climate, we are not helping the future generation with such 'Mickey-Mouse' courses such as ‘The science of super-hero's’ and we've noticed at one university you can take a course in ‘The Vampire in Literature and Cinema’.
 
“The tables have turned and it can now be beneficial to not attend university. Instead individuals could have a three year start in the work place with invaluable hands-on experience, they will not be crippled with debt and perhaps get their all important start on the housing ladder much sooner than their graduate friends.
 
"At InterQuest we want passionate and enthusiastic consultants and we're tired of interviewing clueless and unmotivated graduates who are unconcerned with any sort of career progression and fear to look too far into their own future."
 
Gary Ashworth remembers InterQuest's Top Ten worst interviews:
 
1. A candidate once told an interviewer the reason why he had to leave his previous role was because he had beaten up his manager whom he hated
 
2. On two separate occasions graduates have been accompanied into the interview with their Mum and Granddad respectively. The Mum insisted on answering all the questions on behalf of the graduate and the Granddad interrupted halfway through the interview to see how long the process would take
 
3. A candidate received a text from their girlfriend during the interview, and then asked the interviewer if he minded if he sent a reply
 
4. During an interview a candidate faked a phone-call from an overly keen potential employer
 
5. One candidate came to an interview in the depths of mid-winter wearing sunglasses which they refused to remove
 
6. One candidate had been drinking the night before his interview to celebrate his graduation and didn't realise that one of his eyebrows had been shaved off
 
7. One thoughtless candidate flushed the toilet during a telephone interview
 
8.  A candidate turned up to the interview with their weekly food shopping, and then continued to complain about carrying the bags on the bus journey home
 
9. An extremely vain candidate brushed her hair at several points throughout an interview, and then sprayed it with hairspray
 
10. When offered a biscuit during an interview, one candidate refused saying that she didn't want to line her stomach with "carbs" before she went out on a drinking session