One in six drop out of graduate work programmes, research shows

AROUND ONE in six university leavers drops out of graduate work programmes, research suggests.

Employers are finding it increasingly difficult to hold on to graduates with rising numbers leaving before the end of their scheme, according to a study.

It found that last year, firms typically lost 16 per cent of these workers during their graduate programme, compared with nine per cent the year before. Almost half had left after five years, compared with 39 per cent in 2015.

Graduate programmes in the legal, utility, construction, engineering and industrial sectors all saw a drop in retention rates, while financial services saw a slight increase.

The second Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) development survey was based on responses from 174 firms, collectively representing 18,227 graduates and 2.8 million staff in the UK.

The findings show that these firms spent around £3,015 on average developing a worker they had recruited from university. It suggests that graduates leave programmes for a variety of reasons, with one in four (24 per cent) employers saying these workers leave for a career change, 19 per cent for better pay and 14 per cent because they are dissatisfied with how their career is progressing.

The vast majority (71 per cent) of graduate work schemes last two years, the study found, while 13 per cent are three years and five per cent last 12 months. Stephen Isherwood, chief executive of the AGR, said: “Over the last 10 years retention rates have remained relatively stable, so contrary to popular belief not all millennials are job-hoppers. Graduate expectations are changing and they are leaving for a myriad of reasons.”