UK Training Industry Press Releases

Association of Graduate Recruiters Annual Conference

4-6 July 2010

Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales

Summer Graduate Recruitment Survey - 6 July 2010

The 2010 Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) annual conference, the highlight of the graduate recruitment calendar, will take place this year at the Celtic Manor Resort from 4-6 July.  The conference, which is expected to attract more than 500 graduate recruiters and HR professionals, will provide the most up-to-date picture yet of the state of the graduate recruitment market; is the worst really over or is there more bad news still to come? The conference will give graduate recruiters of all levels the opportunity to learn the very latest techniques for success in a rapidly changing landscape.

The hotly-anticipated results of the summer edition of the AGR's Bi-annual  survey will be announced on Tuesday 6 July. The AGR's survey is the definitive barometer for the graduate recruitment market and provides the most accurate assessment available of current trends in the graduate jobs market. It will cover the average graduate starting salary (which last year froze at £25,000), the number of job vacancies available, and the number of applications per vacancy which last year soared to a record 48.

Key speakers at this year's conference include Howard Davies and Penny de Valk. Howard Davies is Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and was previously Chairman of the Financial Services Authority. He will be talking on ‘Bye now "while stocks last" - Higher Education in the Age of Austerity'.  

Penny de Valk is the Chief Executive of ILM (the Institute of Leadership & Management), and will be speaking on ‘Leadership in Challenging Times - Getting More from Less'. 

Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the AGR, said: "We all operate in a fast moving, ever-changing world where new challenges are routine, and the only constant in our working world is change itself. This year's theme, ‘Success in a rapidly changing landscape', is highly relevant, encapsulating the environment we work in."

Other highlights of the conference include:

• ‘What makes a ‘top' university?' - a seminar exploring what exactly people mean when they talk about ‘top' universities, whether the notion is still valid in 2010, and if employers' pre-conceived ideas of where to look for the best recruits actually hampers or hinders their search.

Mary Curnock Cook, the Chief Executive of UCAS will be speaking alongside Johnny Rich, the publisher of Real World Magazine and Push.co.uk. They will be joined by Professor Janice Kay, the Chair of the 1994 Group's Student Experience Policy Group and Ryan Wain, the President of Kings College London Students' Union.

• Global Connections - this seminar will see HR experts from across the world debating international trends in graduate recruitment and development. The USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong will all be represented by members from INGRADA (The International Network of Graduate Recruitment and Development Associations).

• ‘All Graduate Research is Rubbish' - in this controversial workshop  Stephane le Camus, the Global HR Branding Director for Unilever, and Graeme Wright, the Head of Research for Work Communications, will be asking whether graduate research is so commonly misused that its validity as a decision making tool is being undermined. The workshop will examine some of the key global research of the last two years, and its flaws and strengths.

• A practical workshop on ‘Career Motivation - Helping graduates find direction and take career action'. When graduates are new to the world of work it's important they are made aware of all the opportunities an organisation has to offer. Anne Hamill and Scott Hobbs of Talent & Potential will discuss a new Career Motivation card sort exercise that is being used to help graduates to decide on their career priorities

The winners of the 2010 AGR Awards will be presented by comedian and author Dominic Holland. The categories are: ‘Graduate Development', ‘Graduate Selection & Assessment', ‘Graduate Integrated Marketing Campaign', ‘Literature', ‘Website', and ‘Best Employer Brand'. The winners of each category will also be nominated for the Blue Ribbon Award.

-ENDS-

For further information, interviews or for a press pass please contact Scarlett Yianni or Anya Matthews at Colman Getty on 020 7631 2666 or email firstname@colmangetty.co.uk

NOTES FOR EDITORS

For more information about the 2010 AGR Annual Conference please go to

http://www.agr.org.uk/Content/AGR-Annual-Conference-2010-Success-in-a-Rapidly-Changing-Landscape

To book your place, please go to https://www.eventsforce.net/conferencecare/frontend/reg/thome.csp?pageID=94595&eventID=311&eventID=311

Press passes cover all the seminars and speeches at the conference but journalists will need to pay for their own travel expenses and accommodation.

The AGR is the recognised national voice for all UK employers involved in graduate recruitment. The AGR has 750 members from both the public and private sectors. To find out more about AGR membership, visit www.agr.org.uk and click on ‘Join AGR' or call 01926 623 236