UEA’s Student Newspaper
Issue 292 • Free • Tuesday 28 January
Keep an eye on social media for the Concrete Sex Survey! @Concrete_UEA /ConcreteNewspaper ConcreteUEA
Inside... The Holiday Hitlist
Substantial increase in graduate vacancies
The run down of the best places to escape to this year Travel P. 16
Interview: Peace We caught up with the four piece before their recent Waterfront show Music V. 5 • Largest number of jobs available since 2007 Andrew Ansell News Editor
Fabulous or Flawed?
Features considers whether Beyoncé’s feminism really is so flawless Features P. 11
The number of graduate jobs available at Britain’s top employers is set to surge this year, a major study has revealed. For those leaving university this summer, there will be more vacancies available than at any time since 2007. A study conducted by High Fliers last month found Britain’s 100 leading employers are increasing their graduate intake by almost 10% in 2014. It represents the biggest annual rise in recruitment for four years. The largest increases in recruitment have been predicted to
• UEA outside top 25 universities targeted by employers
come from public sector employers, accounting and professional services firms, City investment banks, retailers and engineering and industrial companies. Together these employers expect to hire over a thousand extra graduates. A quarter of the best graduate programmes will pay employees more than £35,000, with 10 organisations offering pay packages of at least £40,000 to this year’s graduates. Law firms and investment banks are among those offering the most generous salaries for graduates. The median starting salary for new graduates this year will remain unchanged for a fifth year at £29,000. Competition is still thought to remain
fierce. Applications for graduate positions at the country’s top employers have risen by nine per cent compared to last year’s recruitment round. It has also been confirmed that over a third of this year’ws graduate entry level positions will be filled by those who have completed a placement at the organisation. This is particularly prevalent among City investment banks and leading law firms, where the ‘Class of 2014’ who have no previous experience with the employers will find just over a quarter of their vacancies up for grabs. Students and graduates were issued a warning by over half of employers
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