Manchester graduates most targeted by UK’s top employers

17 Feb 2022

The independent annual review of graduates' prospects is carried out by High Fliers Research

The University of Manchester has been named the most targeted university by the UK’s top 100 graduate employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022.

The Graduate Market is an independent annual review of graduate vacancies and starting salaries at the UK’s leading employers. It is carried out by High Fliers Research.

The top ten universities targeted by employers in 2021-2022 are Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Warwick, Cambridge, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Oxford.

The is the seventeenth year High Fliers Research has produced the independent assessment of the graduate job market. In that time, no other institution has been number one more frequently than The University of Manchester or ranked as consistently amongst the top three.

Professor April McMahon, Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, said: “I’m thrilled that the University has reclaimed top spot as the most popular destination for the UK’s biggest employers to find the best and brightest graduates.

“It is a testament to all the effort and hard work our students and graduates put into their studies and additional activities that gives them the edge over other graduates. I’d also like to thank our staff for their support and hard work.”

Anne Milligan, Employer Engagement Manager at The University, added: “This is a fantastic achievement, especially following the circumstances of the past two years. The pandemic has been an extremely challenging time for students, staff and employers.

“I’m truly appreciative of the all the hard work and energy our Employer Engagement Team have put in to supporting recruiters in the UK and globally for the benefit of our students and graduates throughout the pandemic.”

This latest report confirms that the number of graduate opportunities for final year university students from the ‘Class of 2022’ is now 11% higher than the pre-pandemic in graduate vacancies recorded in 2019. Graduate starting salaries at the UK’s top employers are rising too, for the first time in eight years, to a new median of £32,000.

Author of The Graduate Market in 2022 report and Managing Director of High Fliers Research, Martin Birchall, said: “It is very encouraging that the graduate job market has recovered so quickly from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, with more entry-level vacancies available for this year’s new graduates than there were in 2019 and higher graduate starting salaries too.

“Many of this year’s final year students had just one term of ‘normal’ life on campus before the onset of the pandemic and the huge disruption it brought to their studies and their university experience. Whilst nothing can compensate for this, it is welcome news that the ‘Class of 2022’ can look forward to a buoyant graduate job market when they leave university.”