Top companies 'competing with universities for bright school leavers'

Up to 110 school leavers are applying for every job with Britain’s biggest companies amid warnings of a continuing backlash over university tuition fees, the Telegraph has learnt.

Figures suggest that many pupils who would have been previously expected to enter higher education may shun university altogether in favour of the workplace.

Just days before the publication of A-levels results, it emerged that tens of thousands of bright teenagers are preparing to shun £9,000-a-year degree courses in favour of the workplace.

Business leaders said top companies were now in direct competition with universities to recruit the most able 18-year-olds by providing specially-tailored training programmes.

Employers such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, British Airways, Network Rail, Vodafone, Unilever, Siemens and John Lewis confirmed they were taking on more school leavers this year compared with 2012.

Research by the Telegraph found that National Grid had received 16,500 applications for just 150 places on its school leaver training programme – equivalent to 110 people for each place.

Marks & Spencer revealed it had received 3,000 applications for just 30 jobs – leaving 100 teenagers to compete for every post.

The disclosure comes a week before hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland achieve their A-level results.

The publication is expected to trigger a rush for places in the traditional clearing system – when spare courses are matched to students – with evidence that an unprecedented number of leading universities were preparing to make courses available.

Applications are up this year compared with 2012 – when £9,000 fees were introduced – but still down on those registered in 2011.

However, figures suggest that many pupils who would have been previously expected to enter higher education may shun university altogether in favour of the workplace.

Last night, the website notgoingtouni.co.uk told how applications for non-graduate training programmes had doubled in the last year from 56,000 to 115,000, with the number of advertised roles on the site increasing by 30 per cent in 12 months.

Katja Hall, chief policy director for the Confederation of British Industry, said: “We need to tackle the outdated perception that A-levels and a three-year degree is the only route to a good career.

“Faced with the £30,000 debt and a tougher job market, sixth formers are much more savvy in shopping around for options which give them the edge. Top-quality training, a guaranteed job and avoiding tuition loans is a big carrot to dangle.

“Universities need to wake up to big employers now competing directly with them for the brightest students.

“While graduate recruitment is on the up, we’re seeing some blue chip firms in effect, moving the old ‘milk round’ forward three or four years to make sure talented young people don’t slip through the net.”

The Telegraph surveyed almost 50 of Britain’s biggest companies and found almost all now had some form of recruitment programme for school-leavers, typically those gaining at least two A-level grades.

Some of the largest recruiters include Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton, British Gas, Barclays, GlaxoSmithKline, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Santander, Deloitte, Nationwide and Procter & Gamble.

It emerged that:

• PWC, the accountants and auditors, said it was taking on 120 higher apprentices – up 10 per cent on last year – and expected to receive around 3,000 applications. It has extended its deadline to allow sixth-formers to consider applying after receiving their A-level results;

• Accountants KPMG said it was offering 147 places and had 1,887 applications to date, compared with 1,215 in 2012.

• Some 1,500 students are applying for 70 roles with healthcare firm GSK – up from 1,000 a year earlier.

• M&S has advertised 30 positions as trainee manages and received 3,000 applications from A-level students – a ratio of 100-to-one;

• Barclays suggested it was receiving 48 applications for each place on its 1,000-strong apprenticeship programme, which is open to all school-leavers irrespective of qualifications;

Ernst & Young, the accounting firm, said it had received 800 applications for its 80 places this, compared with 650 in 2012.

Julie Stanbridge, the company’s head of student recruitment, said: “The level of interest we have received in our school-leaver scheme has surpassed all our expectations. Applications are up by a quarter from last year, and we will be expanding the programme next year in order to meet the rising demand.

“It’s clear that, with rising tuition fees and living costs, students are considering their next move after A-levels much more carefully than they have done in previous years. It’s vital that we don’t miss out on this top talent, who are looking for a real alternative to university.”

Spencer Mehlman, managing director of notgoingtouni.co.uk, said: “There has been a huge drive towards seeing school-leavers as a viable pool for recruitment. A decade ago, these sorts of programmes were the exception rather than the rule, but the shift is happening.

“Young people are sensing that a degree can feasibly lead to debt and no guarantee of a job, and the advantage of school-leaver schemes is that it allows them to learn and earn.”