Unfit to work
Students lack social skills
Leading graduate recruiters warn that students lack the social skills needed for employment. Nearly half of all firms said they did not expect to receive "sufficient applications from graduates with the correct skills". The news comes as little surprise to Andy Sykes, a fourth year Chemist, who told Felix "it's hardly surprising, nearly all students at Imperial are socially inept. College needs to address this - students won't get jobs no matter how clever they are if they can't make eye contact."
The warning from recruiters comes as a result of a survey carried out by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) who interviewed managers from 222 of Britain's leading companies. Bosses criticised graduates for spending too much time working on degrees and not enough joining clubs and societies.
Recruiters lamented the fact that many graduates are incapable of communicating ideas in the work place and blamed universities for not giving students enough presentation experience. Graduates were also said to have poor spelling, grammar and mathematical ability, meaning they need constant supervision.
The survey predicts that there will be a big increase in the number of vacancies this year. The number of vacant posts will increase by 14.6% to 19,496; this compares to an increase of only 5.1% last year. Most of the vacancies will be in London and the south-east, with the majority of openings in accountancy, investment banking and law firms, although the fastest growing areas are manufacturing, engineering, sales research and development and IT.
The AGR predicts that although salaries will rise, it will be the lowest rise in the last five years. The predicted median salary for 2006 is £23,000, a 2.3% rise compared to 7.1% last year. Employers said that they did not think the small increase would put people off applying.
The Chief Executive of the AGR, Carl Gilleard, said the rise in vacancies "was good news for the class of 2006", but warned students "that nearly half of recruiters expect to face difficulties in fulfilling recruitment objectives - with the largest factor being a lack of applicants with the right skills.
"Employers are likely to be looking to graduates who can demonstrate softer skills, such as teamwork, cultural awareness, leadership and communication skills, as well as academic achievement."
Felix asked College to comment, but they have not yet responded.
Rupert Neate, Editor
Felix's View:
This can hardly come as a surprise to us at Imperial! You could not come across a more socially inept bunch than the students that attend this university.
Felix has long wondered how typical Imperial students manage to get jobs when they are incapable of maintaining eye contact, never mind holding a conversation.
Equipping young people with social skills does not really come under a university's remit, but it is something Imperial should seriously consider. The academic reputation of Imperial will suffer if students fail to get jobs due to social incompetence.
If one becomes too immersed in the Imperial way of life, one may fail to notice the severity of the problem. Take a wander out of the back of the Union and mingle with students from the Royal College of Art - the contrast will hit you like a sledgehammer.
It is about time employers came public on this issue, it's all very well being an IT genius but if you're incapable of talking to your customers, you'll never make it.
It is unfortunate for the minority of `normal' students that Imperial has this geekiness reputation. We are aware that making these statements in this newspaper will only make the situation worse, but it's about time someone said something rather than bickering about it in the pub.
The Editor of this newspaper wishes he had been made aware of Imperial's reputation before he sent off his UCAS form.
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