From a degree to the dole queue

By Shola Adenekan

Memories of graduation ceremonies can fade as reality takes hold

As the recession in the graduate jobs market bites harder, some unemployed graduates are turning to their local Job Centres for help.

Many are surprised to find there are no tailor-made schemes for them.

Chris Hopkins, 25, graduated last year with a computing degree from Wales' Glamorgan University and has since become frustrated with the service provided by his local Job Centre.

He was told that he could only be put on a work experience placement after 18 months on the New Deal scheme.

'Bizarre notion'

Because he did not have special needs and had not been released from prison, he could not be fast-tracked onto it.

Mr Hopkins said: "It seems the government has this bizarre notion that graduates don't need any help and that we all get jobs in the end."

In the past, a graduate with a technical degree would probably have walked into a lucrative career in IT.

But a hiring slump in the industry means many young people like Mr Hopkins may have to join the dole queue.

Something like a New Deal for graduates scheme would be very useful, especially if it was tied in with university careers services Chris Hopkins, graduate

The increase in the numbers of graduate job-seekers is presenting Job Centres with new challenges, for which they are not equipped or prepared.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), which runs UK Job Centres, has no official figures for the number of graduates on the dole.

It also lacks any special careers scheme for them.

The DWP says graduates who have made a claim for Job Seekers' Allowance have access to the same help and support as all other unemployed customers.

They get a copy of the booklet Job Hunting - a guide for Managers, Executives, Professionals and New Graduates.

So, how can graduates benefit from the services provided by Job Centres?

Stop-gaps

Margaret Dane, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (Agcas), says Job Centres are not geared up to helping new graduates find their first post and have few vacancies of this sort.

But she added: "Graduates can tap into the Job Centres' vacancy networks across the UK and also access information about jobs abroad through the employment services in other European countries."

Liz Hagger, a career agony aunt for Prospects Today - the graduate careers magazine published by the Higher Education Career Service Unit (CSU) - says Job Centres handle lots of vacancies that are useful to graduates who want a stop-gap job to pay off immediate debts.

They can earn money for travelling or try out different types of work while deciding on a long-term career plan.

Ms Hagger said: "For some professions, graduates need to show evidence of relevant experience.

"For instance, to go into social work, graduates must show that they have worked with relevant client groups.

"The local Job Centre could be a good place to find vacancies in residential homes, social services administration and after-school clubs.

'Heads out of the sand'

"Graduate training programmes with blue-chip nationals are for the minority of graduates.

"Some graduates will gain jobs through the Job Centres, working their way onwards through their careers by gaining experience."

However, Ms Dane says higher education careers services based in every university in the UK are specifically aimed at helping graduates plan their careers and support their job hunting."

Despite this, Chris Hopkins has some words of advice.

He said: "The government should take its head out of the sand and recognise that there is a serious problem in graduate unemployment.

"Once it begins to realise that there is a problem, hopefully more graduate-specific job creation schemes with input from universities and employers will be put in place.

"Something like a New Deal for graduates scheme would be very useful, especially if it was tied in with university careers services."