Graduate’s seeking employment this summer may not feel the pinch of the shrinking economy after all, thanks to the Universities Secretary, John Denham.

Plans for students to be offered a paid, three-month internship after university were suggested by John Denham and are being discussed in Parliament.

Graduates unable to find work after leaving university could be offered paid work with companies like Microsoft or Barclays, who have both pledged their support to the plans. Two other top UK firms are also in talks to take on up to 300,000 graduates.

With 1.25 million students expected to graduate this year, competition for jobs will be tough, especially in the current economic climate. HSBC, Marks & Spencer, Morgan Stanley and Rolls Royce have all cut their graduate intake by nearly a fifth in recent months.

It is hoped the new placement scheme will provide worthwhile experience and skills and may even lead to full-time work.

John Denham announced his proposal in an interview with the Daily Telegraph in January. He said: “In the end they [students] will be more employable and some of them will get jobs because employers won’t want to let good people go.”

But for the class of 2009, already burdened by an average £20,000 debt, the prospect of an internship which pays only slightly more than the student loan and grant, is decidedly grim.

The Conservatives have proposed their own version. Their ‘train-to-gain’ programme helps young people get an apprenticeship and they claim it would be more effective.
Shadow Skills Secretary, David Willetts said the graduate scheme was a positive start but did not match the scale of the crisis for young people trying to find jobs.

This latest news comes after a string of firms cancelled much of their annual ‘milk round’, visiting universities to recruit students. Instead they have chosen to focus on elite institutions, like Oxford and Cambridge.

UCLan SU Education Officer, Sarah Delli-Colli said: “If a graduate applies for a job and they’re against other candidates with degrees, three months experience will give them an edge and make them more employable.”

Graduate Sarah Tranter told The Independent there are so few opportunities for her in the UK, she is considering looking abroad. She has been unable to find a job in Britain, despite applying to around 100 companies and attending numerous recruitment fairs.

But it’s not all bad news and the prospect of a global recession does bring some positive aspects. Sectors like accountancy, teaching, health-care, law and the uniformed services continue to recruit and have seen renewed interest from job hunters.

Some speculators believe that many firms across the various industries will not stop recruiting completely. Yet with fewer graduate jobs and more graduates applying for them, it is undeniable that jobs will become increasingly harder to find.