Birmingham City University (BCU) is piloting collaborative partnerships with other regional players to support graduate long-term employment outcomes whilst simplifying how employers engage with higher education, explains Project Manager Robyn Fisher-Payne.
In the ISE Student Recruitment Survey 2024, more than half of employers reported difficulty recruiting to at least one of their graduate roles. In technical and numerate disciplines, employers report particular difficulties in finding graduates with the right skills to match their business-need.
Interestingly, the same survey found that on average, employers received 140 applications per graduate job vacancy. That’s up 59% compared to the previous year. In the same period, there were around 1.2 million applications submitted for just under 17,000 graduate vacancies.
With more than 100 applications for many graduate roles, it becomes much harder for any one applicant to stand out. Couple this with the increasing ease of applying, sometimes aided by automation or artificial intelligence, means many applicants may apply broadly, even to roles where they're less suited.
This can push up application counts but doesn't always mean more good matches for employers looking to hire the right candidate. This combination of factors means employers are experiencing a surge in resource needed to sift through many applications, raising costs and reducing time.
‘Plus’ model simplifies employer/university partnerships
In response to these challenges, BCU partnered with the University of Birmingham, University College Birmingham and Aston University to develop an innovative pilot model to simplify the experience for both employers and graduates alike.
We intentionally bridge university careers provision with Jobcentre Plus, local employers and regional economic strategy so graduates’ benefit from coordinated support and employers get talent that’s job-ready whilst reducing the resource required traditionally.
Through funds provided by Birmingham City Council Enterprise Zone, the Higher Level Skills Match Plus (Plus) service provides a free end-to-end graduate recruitment and retention service to employers in Birmingham.
Employers that join the service are appointed a personal Account Manager that represents all four institutions to support their recruitment for graduate level job vacancies, work placements and internship opportunities.
The Plus team takes care of advertising, shortlisting, preparing candidates and providing feedback. Employers can also benefit from ongoing wraparound support provided to the graduate after they are hired to increase their chances of retention and eventual progression.
Regional partners
Plus is also partnered with the Department for Work and Pensions, Birmingham and Solihull Jobcentre Plus District, and the National Careers Service, to identify graduates that are accessing welfare benefits and bring them onto Plus caseload.
When graduates join, they work with a personal Graduate Consultant to carry out a skills assessment and initial careers appointment.
They then have access to a range of careers advice and guidance including 1-2-1’s, workshops, webinars and job fairs to prepare them for graduate level employment.
When an opportunity becomes available that suits their skills and preferences, we support them through the entire recruitment process. Plus is looking for more employers in Birmingham to get involved.
‘Plus’ in practice
Plus has supported 53 previously unemployed or underemployed graduates into a positive destination, and 249 employers have engaged with the service.
Director of Lapworth Architects, Mike Kalam, hired two graduates and said “The Plus team have been instrumental in helping us connect with a wide range of talented graduates. The breadth of skills and enthusiasm they bring has been a real asset to our practice. Their professional and proactive approach to recruitment has made the process smooth and effective, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration.”
Learn more about Plus, and our other partnership graduate support service, Graduate Re-Tune, at the upcoming ISE HE Conference in December.