Businesses urged to view graduates as an investment

Now is the right time for businesses to 'invest' in graduate talent, Paul Farrar, Chairman of pfj, has claimed.

Commenting on the current uncertain economic climate, he noted that when finances are stretched companies traditionally cut back on their recruitment of graduates.

There are signs of this happening at the moment, with the Chief Executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters warning recently that the summer job hunt for graduates leaving university this year is likely to be harder than usual.

Carl Gilleard told The Guardian that graduates should widen their search net and look for jobs outside the big London financial firms, many of whom are cutting back on their training schemes.

However, Mr Farrar argued that these companies will suffer from a shortage of talent in a few years time.

Any business with a 'long-term strategy … should invest in graduate schemes when times get tough because then you are going to have very loyal workforce coming through when things get better,' he said.