IT specialists top list of unemployed grads

Recent IT graduates have found it harder to get a job related to their degree than other university leavers, according to a new report.

One in six people who received an IT-related degree in 2009 remained unemployed six months after graduation, the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (Hecsu) said in the report published on Monday (PDF). That ratio gives technology specialists the highest unemployment rates for recent graduates, the recruitment charity said.

"In 2009, graduate recruiters in the IT and telecommunications sector reduced the number of available graduate vacancies dramatically," Hecsu said in the report. "This was reflected in the number of unemployed IT and computing graduates, as the figure rose to 16.3 percent (an increase of 2.6 percent)."

The study found that more sports science graduates (59.6 percent) than IT graduates (57.4 percent) found work. Of the remaining IT graduates who did not enter the workplace, 11.3 percent said they were beginning further study or travelling, 5.5 percent were working and studying, while 8.3 percent were classed as 'other'.

Part of the problem is the sheer number trying to find jobs, according to Hecsu's deputy research director Charlie Ball.

"We have a great many IT graduates in this country," Ball told ZDNet UK. "IT graduates seem more keen to try to get a job directly related to their degree, and if they can't get a job straight away, they will wait."

By contrast, the British Computing Society (BCS) has suggested in the past that British companies will soon see a shortfall in graduates with technology skills. In July it called for the government to make computing and IT skills a top priority when considering university cuts.

"For the IT industry in particular, universities are vital to ensuring there are high-calibre computer science graduates with the right professional skills to fill its massive recruitment needs in the years to come," the BCS said in a statement at the time.

For now, the ongoing recession has had an adverse affect on graduates finding employment, according to recruitment consultancy and IT outsourcing company Harvey Nash.

"The recession is hitting graduates across disciplines," said Lisa Jobson, director of talent at Harvey Nash. "Information technology is a very popular course, and that lends itself to a higher proportion of graduates being out of work than in other disciplines."

Despite the effects of the recession on demand for people with IT degrees, there is still a shortage of people with the necessary skills sets, said Jobson.

"Lots of companies use IT as a differentiator," said Jobson. "As we see recruitment freezes thawing, and confidence creeping back into the market, the ability for graduates to secure roles within IT organisations will become a lot easier."

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should also have a positive effect on graduate employment, said Jobson. The coalition government has announced efforts to boost SMEs, including awarding a higher proportion of government contracts to smaller IT companies.

Long-term projections for technology and engineering graduates finding employment remain positive. The Hecsu report said that employment projections from the Council for Industry and Higher Education "suggest that the demand for graduates from most science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects will grow significantly faster than the average for all subject groups".