Top 100 UK employers increasingly target students from our University

The UK’s 100 best-known graduate employers are increasingly targeting students from our University according to a major new report on the graduate job market. Leicester has risen to its highest ever ranking - 23rd - among UK universities with the most sought-after students.

The Graduate Market in 2018 is a study of the latest graduate vacancies and starting salaries at the UK’s one hundred best-known and most successful employers, conducted by High Fliers Research during December 2017. Our University is ranked in the top  25 most targeted universities by the Times 100 Graduate Employers.

Many top employers are unable to visit all UK universities to promote their graduate and internship opportunities and therefore focus their resource at a selected number of institutions. In an ever competitive graduate recruitment market, more emphasis is placed on return on investment and the universities in the top 25 offer the best opportunity to do that.

As a target university it means Leicester students benefit from more opportunities to meet face-to-face with top employers. And not just to learn more about these employers’ roles, but to gain a valuable insight into what will help them stand out during the recruitment process.

President & Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle said: “We are delighted that the UK’s  leading graduate employers are recruiting from the University of Leicester. The fact that we have risen to our highest-ever ranking is a testament to the quality of our students and our award-winning approach to developing skills that has led to an employability rate of 95% as we continue to successfully prepare our students for professional careers.”

Rob Fryer, Director of Career Development at the University of Leicester, added: “This is further evidence that our award winning employer engagement strategy -  we won the 2017 AGCAS award for excellence in employer engagement - is paying dividends. A lot of work has taken place with employers locally, nationally and internationally to get us to this point. The fact so many of our students participate in the Leicester Award is a big attraction for employers to come here and the skills development students gain though our curriculum and Leicester Award programmes, as well as our one-to-one careers support, has put students in a stronger position to compete for these roles. It means our students not only have more opportunities to meet top employers, but the right preparation and support to secure employment with them.”