OPINION - Evening Standard Comment: Covid has made the transition from education to work harder still

That first job out of university is rarely the perfect one or even tangentially related to your degree. But the pandemic is making life even more challenging for graduates keen to get on with their careers.

Many companies have deferred graduate schemes, making the competition between new workers fiercer than ever. Those who have found roles have faced the challenge of starting a new job from their bedrooms during lockdown, unable to meet colleagues face-to-face and get to grips with their firm’s culture.

Meanwhile, as part of our special investigation into youth joblessness in the capital, we found reports of some unscrupulous employers who have even used Covid as an excuse not to pay their new employees.

Applicants from more disadvantaged backgrounds face the greatest hurdles. Interviews that are conducted online require personal laptops with cameras, a reliable internet connection and a quiet place to talk, a combination of which not everyone possesses.

This all comes after university students have been robbed of a proper “uni experience”, with freshers’ week cancelled and lectures taking place via Zoom.

Graduates have much to learn when they enter the workplace but they also have plenty to offer their new employers: fresh ideas, energy and enthusiasm for the new phase in their lives.

The transition from education to the workplace can be a tricky one. The pandemic has made it harder still.

Read More

The Wild West jobs market where graduates are told: we can’t pay you this month

FTSE 100 live: UK unemployment drops, Vodafone, Land Securities and Imperial Brands report

UK unemployment: Record high job vacancies make Bank of England rate rise likely

Do we have no one left to pull a pint? Record job availability but London unemployment highest in UK

Young and broke: the unemployment problem for under 25s in London