Graduates able to choose from more jobs

Graduates are finding their options are widening in the workplace as the number of vacancies for degree holders has increased, a new survey has discovered.

According to the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), graduate vacancies have risen by 16.4% against last year's figures.

However, the number of entrants to universities is also increasing, with recent UCAS figures finding 413,430 people were accepted onto undergraduate courses in 2007 - a boost of 5.8%.

Furthermore, many graduate employers are looking to recruit overseas as they are unhappy with the quality of some UK university leavers.

The report stated: 'A quarter of employers praised the strong work ethic and desire to succeed of overseas graduates, presumably as opposed to those from the UK.

'This impression might be confirmed by the 22.4% of respondents who bemoan a lack of UK candidates with the right qualifications and the 16.3% who cannot find enough UK graduates with the right skills.'

Questioning over 200 top employers, AGR revealed that 24.9% have marketed their graduate vacancies abroad.

AGR Chief Executive, Carl Gilleard, said that this had worrying implications for the long-term outlook of the economy.