Foreword By Martin Birchall Editor, The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers
W elcome to the twenty-sixth edition of The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers , your annual guide to the UK’s most prestigious and sought-after graduate employers. When Sir Kier Starmer swept into power in this summer’s General Election, he become the UK’s fifth Prime Minister in five years. As well as promising a new period of stability in British
Half began researching their career options in their first year, almost as soon as they arrived at university – and two-fifths completed an internship or work placement with a graduate employer at the end of their second year. By their final year, a record number of students took part in university careers fairs, employers’ on-campus recruitment presentations,
skills workshops, and other careers promotions during their search for a graduate job.
politics, he and his new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, pledged that boosting the country’s economic growth would be at the heart of the Government’s priorities.
And when it came to applying for jobs, those graduating in the summer of 2024 applied earlier than usual to employers they were interested in, and completed an unprecedented number of applications – averaging sixteen applications per graduate, a quarter more than the previous year. Despite all of this preparation
“ Few of the country’s top employers recruit graduates based on their academic record – or the content of their university degree. ”
This renewed focus on growth, if it is successful, should be good news for graduate employment and the wider job market in the medium-term. But it’s unlikely to make a significant difference to students who are due to graduate from university in 2025.
and engagement with employers, the number of graduates from the ‘Class of 2024’ who received a definite job offer before leaving university actually dropped by ten per cent, compared with 2023. This means the proportion of new graduates who achieved a job offer was the second-lowest of the past decade – only the 2021 pandemic year led to a lower rate of graduate job offers. This is a timely reminder of just how much competition there is currently for graduate-level opportunities. Employers featured in The Times
Having bounced-back convincingly from the Coronavirus pandemic, growth in the graduate job market stalled in 2023 and there are few signs that it is likely to improve in the year ahead. Since its first edition in 1999, The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers has tracked university students’ success in the graduate job market. Our latest research with new graduates from the ‘Class of 2024’ reveals that they worked harder than any of the previous cohorts of university-leavers to secure their first graduate job.
TOP 100 GRADUATE EMPLOYERS 5
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