Our Student Recruitment Survey 2025 is full of interesting trends and data on the evolving landscape of early careers in the UK. ISE’s Head of Insights, Claire Tyler, unpacks five top trends everyone should know.
1. Graduate vacancies are under pressure
Despite a sluggish economy and frequent headlines warning of a squeeze on graduate jobs, our Student Recruitment Survey 2025 survey shows a mix of patterns in the student labour market.
Graduate hiring has fallen by 8% year-on-year, yet school and college leaver hiring increased by 8%. Graduates still outnumber apprentices and therefore the overall entry-level job market is down 5%.
However, this trend varies from sector to sector and employer to employer. Whilst 42% of employers reduced graduate hiring and 40% reduced school/college leaver hiring, over a third of employers increased hiring volumes across both recruitment pathways. Students should therefore remain cautious about their prospects in their chosen career.
Some larger employers also appear to be rebalancing early talent pipelines, increasing their emphasis on school and college leaver recruitment relative to graduates.
The ratio of graduates to school-college leaver hiring (which is mostly apprenticeships) amongst ISE members who recruit students onto both pathways is 1.8 graduates for every school/college leaver hire (down from 2.3 last year).
However, graduates still outnumber school and college leavers, and they remain a core element of early talent strategies.
Our conclusion is that the jobs market remains challenging, especially for graduates, however no one is telling us that AI is replacing entry level jobs (yet).
2. Competition for jobs remains high
Competition for jobs remains at a historic high. Two decades ago in 2002/3, employers received an average of 38 applications per graduate vacancy. By 2022/3, that figure had more than doubled to 86 per vacancy and for the last two years has been at 140 per vacancy - the highest recorded in the three decades since the ISE began collecting the data in 1991. Competition for roles in retail, FMCG and tourism were the highest at 290 applications for every graduate role.
Competition for internships and placements has therefore also risen amongst undergraduates keen to enhance their CVs and secure permanent roles well in advance of graduation. In the search for a job, some graduates are also applying to school/college leaver roles in greater volumes – 40% of employers reported an increase.
But what is driving these record high application volumes? It is likely that the ever-increasing level of competition is driving anxious students to apply for more roles, while online technology has made it easier for students to make an initial application. The significant reduction in minimum academic requirements over time also means more students are eligible to apply for more roles.
However, despite the pressures of managing these volumes, employers continue to report high satisfaction rates with their hires – 93% of employers are ‘almost always’ or ‘often’ able to recruit the quality of graduate hire they need.
Looking ahead to 2025/26, we expect competition to remain high as employers forecast an overall 7% reduction in graduate hiring, driven by sharp declines for a small number of large employers. For the rest of our members, graduate hiring is forecast to grow by only 1%.
3. Half of employers allow applicants to use AI, but authenticity is a growing concern.
Half (49%) of employers have no problem with candidates using AI during the recruitment process, with its use largely restricted to drafting covering letters and CVs or completing online application questions. Only a small proportion of employers (10%) have banned the use of AI or introduced technical measures to prevent its use.
However, the authenticity of applications from ‘AI enabled’ candidates has emerged as a key concern. There is some evidence of an arms race underway: only 15% of employers said they never suspected or identified candidates cheating in assessments; and 79% of employers are redesigning or reviewing their recruitment processes in response to AI developments.
Using AI during interviews without disclosure or permission was the most commonly reported form of misconduct (61% of employers reported this).
Our data also shows that 45% of employers have not provided applicants with any guidance on when it is or is not appropriate to use AI. This guidance may support students navigate their transition into a graduate role and help employers manage their application volumes. Read how to guide candidate use of AI and how Shoosmiths are navigating this area.
But while students are embracing AI in their job search, the use of AI by recruiters is currently limited (but likely to grow). Employers are increasingly recognising AI’s potential to help manage the growing volume of applications and reduce costs, however AI isn’t yet widely adopted by employers to recruit students.
Whilst over half of employers use automated systems to fully manage some aspects of testing, use of AI exclusively at any stage of recruitment is very rare. Employers are most likely to use AI exclusively in gamified assessments, but even here the adoption rate is only 15%.
However, AI adoption by employers is likely to increase, particularly as students continue to make greater use of technology in the application process. In the next five years, more than half of employers (62%) expect to use AI in their recruitment processes, and 70% anticipate increasing their use of automation.
4. Apprenticeships remain central to early talent recruitment
This year, 81% of employers recruited apprentices, broadly consistent with last year (82%). Most apprenticeships were offered to school and college leavers (77%), with smaller proportions being graduates (16%) and experienced professionals (5%).
In response to changes in the UK apprenticeship regime, 80% of employers expect to maintain current apprenticeship levels. However, 42% anticipate reducing recruitment at Level 7, suggesting a particular impact of government policy on higher-level apprenticeships.
Some employers are rebalancing their early career programmes towards apprentices. Among the 55 employers in our survey who recruit both graduates and school/college leavers (and who provided prior and current year hiring data), 60% (33) show some evidence of this rebalancing:
- 18% are making a direct switch - reducing graduate hiring whilst increasing school and college leaver hiring.
- 25% are reducing both routes, but they are reducing school and college leavers at a slower rate.
- 7% are growing both routes, but they are increasing graduate hiring at a slower rate.
- 9% are maintaining their school and college leaver hiring, while reducing graduate hiring.
The extent of the rebalancing varies employer to employer. On average, these rebalancing employers reported a 21% reduction in graduate hiring and a 12% increase in school and college leaver hiring.
5. Employers remain committed to EDI
Despite the heightened public debate about EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) initiatives and changes in policy from the US government, 92% of ISE employer members remain committed to EDI.
Two thirds (66%) report no change in their commitment. A further 13% are maintaining their commitment but reviewing certain practices (e.g. levels of reporting), while another 13% are increasing their commitment.
Meanwhile, 7% are actively reassessing their stance on EDI, and just 1% have reduced their commitments.
These results indicate that developments in the US have had limited impact on UK student recruiters’ overall commitment to EDI, despite some wider reports that UK businesses would follow the shift in US policy, especially those with US operations.
The majority of respondents to the survey therefore remain steadfast in their commitment, and a notable proportion are either reinforcing or fine-tuning their approach. The small minority reducing commitments suggests that, while some employers are adapting to changing contexts, EDI remains a core priority across much of the UK employment landscape.