Below are official policy statements from the AGR with links through to the relevant policy document
Equality and Diversity: Coming of Age - 14/10/2005
Foreword
The Association of Graduate Recruiters, AGR, was established in 1968 and are a not-for-profit business. We currently have a membership of more than 800 businesses with a shared interest and heavy investment in the recruitment and development of graduates, primarily through operating graduate schemes.
Our professional interest in the Coming of Age consultation exercise is therefore restricted to the graduate market and specifically the recruitment, selection and development of graduates on to graduate schemes. In 2005 our members recruited well in excess of 20,000 graduates into high quality programmes.
Because our interest is quite specific we felt that the response form was not the most appropriate way for us to respond to the consultation. Hence we have prepared a statement dealing directly with the issues that are of most concern to our members. In addition to holding numerous consultations with sector focus groups, we also organised a one day national conference in May 2005 on the proposed legislation with the title ‘Are You ready?’ Almost 200 people attended that event, suggesting a high level of interest in the proposed legislation. For the full policy please visit the
AGR Age Legislation Policy Statement.
The AGR Policy on Endorsements and Sponsorship
This paper explains AGR’s new policy on:
+ endorsement of external products and services
+ sponsorship of external products and services
+ endorsement of AGR products and services
+ sponsorship of AGR products and services
During its long history AGR has frequently been approached to endorse products and services operating within the graduate recruitment industry. The trend is for more requests and offers to be made and it is easy to see why. The AGR has developed a powerful brand over the years but the Association has, by and large, resisted such overtures. For the full policy please visit the AGR Policy on Endorsements and Sponsorship
AGR's response to the Government's limit on non-EU migration (introduced April 2011)
Background
The UK Coalition Government has been taking steps to reduce levels of immigration into the UK. Following the General Election it outlined a commitment to the introduction of an annual limit on non-EU migration, with the temporary immigration cap put into place on 19 July 2010 and a permanent limit to be introduced in April 2011, following a period of consultation.
The initial focus has been on capping the number of visas allocated to Tier 1 and Tier 2 migrants (the Sponsored Skilled Migrant Visa) — highly skilled and skilled workers who are in many cases key employees.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has also recommended reducing the number of occupations that are eligible for migration under Tier 2 of the points based immigration system by reducing the number of eligible occupations from 192 to 121. The permanent immigration cap will allow 20,700 visas under the Tier 2 (General) visa category. For Tier 2, only applicants of 'graduate level' will qualify.
AGR position
The introduction of an annual limit on non-EU migration has generated cause for concern among the AGR’s membership, which represents 750 leading graduate recruiters in the UK.
Ultimately AGR members want to be able to hire the best graduate talent for their business regardless of where the graduates come from, in a cost effective way and not falling foul of regulations, however they have raised concerns that instead these measures will negatively impact on the entire recruitment process.
In addition, many of the issues (set out below) are likely to become more challenging in future, as increasing numbers of students applying for university complete their courses and move into the job market. Because of this, selection procedures will need to become even more robust as employers have to consider applications from a larger number of students, exacerbating cost and time investment issues.
The main concerns of AGR members are set out below:
1) Inconsistency between immigration and discrimination law puts employers in an impossible position, meaning that it is difficult to be clear on what constitutes a fair and efficient process.
While low or zero visa allocation means that in many cases employers know that they are unable to hire international students, current employment law also mean that they still have to take all candidates right through the process to avoid the danger of being seen as discriminating, for example on the basis of race.
This requires a great deal of time and financial investment, and at the same time this continuing need to see this process through sets unrealistic expectations and raises false hopes for overseas students and graduates.
2) Businesses need confidence in the recruitment process to allow them to plan, however there is a great deal of uncertainty about how the process will work post April, when the monthly shared cap comes into force.
In many cases AGR members are unclear about how the shared cap will operate in September (when many graduate recruiters have their intake) and whether the number of visas available will be increased to reflect this.
This lack of clarity makes it frustrating not only for graduate employers but also for students and for the university careers services that advise them.
3) Uncertainty about future regulations will lead to loss of recruiter confidence and inability to engage with students earlier in the process.
The duration of many graduate schemes means employers need to know that they will continue to be able to employ overseas nationals to justify the considerable investments made in training.
The current two year post study visa is of limited use for employers, as many graduate programmes don’t show return on investment until a later date and there is little certainly that employees will be able to transfer onto a longer visa at the end of the two years.
The Legal sector, for example, makes extensive use of placements early in a student’s degree as part of their selection process. The sponsorship of placements for first or second years will become more difficult without the assurance that students will be able to remain in the UK and that significant investment that will be made in their training after they graduate will reap benefits in the long term.
4) Tier 2 sponsors will also have an added complication when it comes to graduate recruitment as a cap of 18,700 will be applied to Tier 2 migrants.
This figure is 5% lower than last year and appears to have been allocated based on 2009/10 recruitment levels, which were lower than previous years. The number of occupations eligible for migration under this category will also be reduced.
We are concerned that frequent changes to the process make it increasingly easy to make a genuine mistake, leading to the sponsor status of Tier 2 workers being revoked in error.
5) Restrictive and changing regulations will hamper universities’ ability to attract international students and research staff.
Ultimately this will make the UK an increasingly unattractive prospect for some of the world’s most talented students and researchers International students, whether they are researching or studying, contribute strongly to a university’s ability to deliver a multi-cultural learning experience for all students.If standards fall in this way, the UK’s international reputation in an increasingly competitive global market is sure to suffer and put overall economic recovery at risk.
The fees paid by international undergraduate and post graduate students form an important part of university income.