Graduates "value training above salary"

Graduates value training and development above salary and benefits when looking at potential employers, according to a recent poll.

The survey of 600 university leavers by professional services firm Ernst & Young found that 41 per cent believe assessing the scope for professional development should be the top priority when hunting for a job.

Only 21 per cent said that the salary and benefits on offer would be the most important factor in selecting a potential employer.

Salary and benefits had been the top priority when the firm carried out the poll in 2007, indicating that ongoing economic uncertainty and slow growth have led many graduates to prioritise long-term career development over short-term earnings.

Ernst & Young's head of graduate recruitment, Stephen Isherwood, said, "The poll raises interesting questions around the expectations of the post-recession class of 2011 versus those of 2007, who were graduating into an uncertain future.

"Despite the burden of university debts, today's graduates still see their first job as a prime opportunity to gain qualifications and skills which can benefit them long into the future."