A third of retailers are considering school leavers for graduate roles - SHL

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SHL, the talent management services provider, reveals that a third (33%) of retailers are considering school leavers for graduate roles and 47% expect to consider them in the future, but the majority (61%) do not have any specific programme in place yet to recruit this demographic.

Statistics suggest that an increasing number of students could turn their backs on university in the face of rising fees, so retailers need to be prepared for an influx of applications from non-graduates. SHL polled 1,000 recent graduates and 350 graduate recruiters, which revealed that 40% (up to 407,788) of graduates would not have gone to university if they had to pay 9k fees each year.

Sean Howard, SHL comments "It's encouraging that retailers are considering school leavers for graduate roles, as this means that talented students, who perhaps cannot afford 9k per annum for three or four years, won't be priced out of the top retail jobs. However it is concerning that nearly two thirds of retailers don't have any specific programmes in place to recruit non-graduates and school leavers. I expect this to change quickly."

Sean continues: "In order for retailers to ensure they have a steady pool of talent coming in, they need to encourage talented school leavers and non graduates into their organisations, but also need the right processes in place to attract and retain that talent. Retailers need to look beyond university records and consider the candidate's aptitude, experience and motivation for a specific role."