Early Careers Employer Survey Publication 2025

What type of graduate contract do you offer graduates? There is a strong alignment between employer contract offerings and student expectations regarding early career roles. • 81% of students say they prefer full time contracts, which aligns with the 79% of employers offering them. • Fixed-term contracts are offered by 35% of employers, but only 9% of students indicate this astheir preferred arrangement—suggesting that while accepted in structured programmes, they are not the ideal. • Part-time contracts appeal to 8% of students, with 7% of employers offering them. • Zero-hour (2%) and freelance contracts (1%) are minimally preferred and minimally offered by both groups, reflecting a shared preference for stability and structure. Key Insight: Students are clearly seeking secure, structured employment to launch their careers, and employers are largely meeting this expectation. While fixed term contracts are common in graduate programmes, ensuring these roles offer clear pathways to progression will help maintain graduate engagement and retention.

79%

35%

7%

<1% <2%

Freelance contract

Zero-hour contract

Part-time contract

Fixed-term contract

Full-time contract

81%

37%

9%

<1% <2%

Freelance contract

Zero-hour contract

Part-time contract

Fixed-term contract

Full-time contract

Student Voice

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