Has consultancy lost its appeal? - 06/2001

COUNSULTANCY, once the Holy Grail for any high-flying graduate finally seems to be losing its appeal, according to leading undergraduate portal, UKplacements.

Over 10,000 of the countries top undergraduates have signed up since the website launched on February 3rd. To enable each student to get the best out of the services available to them, each candidate must fill in an individual profile, which enables UKplacements to take a snapshot of their career ambitions. This data has been analysed and the findings reveal very interesting shifts in the aspirations of undergraduates in the UK.

For the first time, ìIT & Internetî is the number one chosen career field for todayís top graduates taking a staggering 24.6% of the vote. ìMarketing, Advertising & PRî took the second spot with 14.2% of the vote.

What is surprising is ìConsultancyî, once the number one choice for the UKs leading graduates, has slipped back to number six, taking just 6.3% of the vote.

Adeel Quyoum, director of communications at UKplacements said: ìIt was no great surprise when it was revealed that IT careers have become the number one career choice for the next generation of graduates, as we have been inundated with undergraduates looking to be placed in that sector. Consultancy, however, has really taken a fall and it begs the question, has it finally lost its appeal amongst the graduate fraternity, with the top percentage of students looking to forge careers elsewhere?î

UKplacements is the brainchild of four young Asian men from Manchester, three of which have taken year out of University to set up the portal.
Supported by Caribiner Capital, UKplacements aims to match the most dynamic companies with the most talented students over the web for their all important placement year. Via the companyís unique profiling system, the website will secure for companies not only undergraduates with the relevant qualifications but also with the necessary people skills which are a pre-requisite in todayís business environment.

Complete results:

ìWhich sector would you most like to work in?î

Sector %
IT & Internet 24.6
Marketing, Advertising & PR Media 14.2
Banking, Finance, Insurance 12.6
Engineering, Manufacturing, Utilities 9.1
Any 6.5
Consultancy 6.3
Human Resources 4.8
New Media, Creative 4.5
Accountancy 3.6
Pharmaceuticals, Research 2.5
Public Sector & Services 1.9
Legal 1.8
Travel, Leisure, Tourism 1.7
Telecommunications 1.6
Transport, Logistics, Aerospace 1.6
Fashion, Graphic, Design 1.3
Retail, Wholesale 0.7
Catering & Hospitality 0.4
Education 0.3
100

Sample size: 10,000 undergraduate students

www.ukplacments.com