Manchester remains top of graduate employer list for second year in a row

The University of Manchester has recently announced that it has held on to its title as the top university targeted by graduate employers.

High Fliers Research, an independent market research company, published a report which saw the UoM outperform over 140 other universities in the UK. The data was compiled from the most current vacancies and starting salaries for graduates at some of the most prestigious and established employers in the country.

Manchester beat Bristol, Birmingham, Warwick, and University College London (UCL) with Oxford and Cambridge being listed at sixth and tenth, respectively.

This continues the trend of the University being one of the leading British universities for setting the standard for graduate employment after it was named 5^th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings at the beginning of the academic year.

The rankings took into consideration factors such as involvement of students in campus events hosted by employers in addition to how graduate positions were advertised by the university.

The University of Manchester suggested that the list of universities featured was streamlined due to limited resources meaning that not all educational institutions could be targeted in the same way. This subsequently meant that a smaller number of universities were focused on.

High Fliers Research’s report, The Graduate Market in 2019, stated that opportunities are predicted to improve tremendously in the coming year, as recruiters in 11 out of 15 key business sectors aim to offer 2019 graduates a role at the end of their studies. Vacancies are set to increase by 9.1% in total, which is the sharpest increase since 2010.

Public sector, accounting and professional service roles, and engineering and industrial companies aim to be three of the largest employers, planning to collectively open more than 1,500 roles to graduates.

Tammy Goldfeld, Head of the Careers Service at the University of Manchester, provided a statement in which she said: “We’re delighted to be the top destination for graduate employers for a second year running.

“It’s testament to how closely we work with employers and students to ensure that careers fairs and workshops are busy and offer high quality jobs, internships, and talks, so it is really good news that we’ve topped the list in this report.

“The Careers Service isn’t just about job fairs: we offer training, networking, and volunteering opportunities that, combined with teaching, helps our students realise their potential and become attractive to employers.

“The results show that Manchester really is a great place to study if you want to make a success of your career.”