Job Outlook for 1978/9

The general employment situation is worsening, and as has been observed by the media in recent months, graduates and professional groups are by no means immune from the vicissitudes of the labour market. Is it all gloom and doom, then for those completing tertiary studies over the next few months?

The answer has to be a qualified 'no'. The outlook particularly for those with accountancy and other commercial qualifications remains very buoyant. However there is no room for complacency, and many graduates - especially in the arts, social sciences, sciences and law - are likely to find stiffer competition this year for jobs which, if spread across an ever-widening range of occupational catagories, are unlikely to be more numerous than in previous years.

In my contact with employers over the last four months, I have noticed a growing interest among personnel staff in the "broadly-educated" graduate- ie a feeling that for many posts a graduate in HIST, SOSC or Math (given the appropriate motivation and interest) would be as suitable as the ubiquitous ACCY/BUAD. But in some cases this is strongly counterbalanced by the view that "in the present economic climate" one is "better off with a BCA" or "a good, practical CIT or Polytechnic Diploma".

The graduate is sometimes reckoned to combine low practical ability with high expectations...and recent ministerial offerings on this subject have hindered, not helped the slow process of acceptance of arts, social science (etc) graduates into a wider sphere of occupations.

In this situation students are well advised to look carefully at both what is available to them, and at themselves as applicants. The level of utilization of the Careers Advisory Service is lower than might be expected in a difficult situation, and students are reminded that we are not simply here as an employment (or unemployment?) facility.

The commercial students are, it's true, in a relatively comfortable position - though for the rest, neither "Teaching" nor "State Services" is a bottomless pit. Those limiting their occupational perspectives to these worthy employers are perhaps being unrealistic, particularly if the idea is based on the assumption that this is "all you can do with a BA"...It is not.

One measure of the interest in graduates as employees is the number and range of employers each year who accept the invitation to carry out preliminary recruitment interviews on campus - "the Milkround", as it is affectionately known in the UK. This year a reassuring number of employers will be returning to meet students of all disciplines. One or two have declined — others a-e coming for the first time. A list of employers booked to date appears below: fuller details of their requirements, and arrangements for booking interviews, will appear in the 4 July edition of Salient, after Mid-Year Break.

In the meantime, students wishing to get the ball rolling - particularly for CA Week (applications due immediately after the Break) - are welcome to call in to 6 Kelburn Parade now to collect forms; many employers have already supplied their recruitment information booklets. During the course of "the Milkround" the Careers Advisory Service will be at full stretch coping with 400-plus employer interviews, so if you are undecided about career direction or have any other query about employers, interviews, postgraduate courses, etc - please don't leave it until the last minute!

Roger Bartley Careers Adviser