Young jobseekers in the UK are facing one of the toughest employment environments in years. According to the latest figures from High Fliers Research Wholesale NFL Jerseys , leading graduate employers have cut their vacancies by nearly 28% in the last year. Add to this the fact that the downturn has seen a record number of school leavers chasing limited university places and it should come as no surprise that there has been a significant increase in the amount of young people taking time out before studying or finding a job.
In fact, some gap year travel firms are seeing as much as a 75% increase in those interested in taking a gap year, while inquiries to the travel industry as a whole are up by 20%, reports the Guardian.
Not all gap years are planned
A growing number of students are taking unexpected gap years due to fierce competition for university places.
According to the Guardian Wholesale Jerseys , an estimated 130,000 students were unable to secure a degree place this year. Fortunately, it seems as if many of them are choosing to use their time off constructively.
One such student is Will Pitt from Surrey. Despite completing his A-Levels with three As and a B in maths, further maths Cheap NFL Jerseys China , chemistry and economics; the young man learned that none of his university applications to read medicine had been accepted.
Instead of giving up on his career aspirations, Will decided to improve his chances of being accepted into medicine next year by signing up for the Medforce gap year scheme in India.
"I hadn't originally wanted to do a gap year, but now I've kind of been forced to, I'm going to use it to make sure I stand out as a candidate next year Cheap NFL Jerseys ," he said.
"I actually feel glad now that I wasn't awarded a place when I first applied," he added.
Enhancing your CV
Whether it is a matter of choice or necessity, a strategic gap year can help you gain transferable skills and experience that could enhance your future job or education prospects.
A number of employers share this viewpoint, reports Graduatecareer Cheap Jerseys From China , a supplement compiled by The Times and .
Claire Snell, graduate talent manager at Unilever, told the publication that around 50% of her firm's graduate trainees had taken gap years and added that time off could "significantly bolster a candidate's CV".
However, not all gap years are equal in the eye of the employer.
According to Marlon Lloyd Malcolm from the recruitment firm Graduate Fasttrack Cheap Jerseys , the growing popularity of gap years means employers now look for an experience that sets candidates apart.
He suggested a work placement in the UK, learning a foreign language or starting up a small business as constructive gap year options. Time out also gives young people a chance to learn soft skills such as teamwork, effective communication and resourcefulness - which are required in any workplace.
A recent survey conducted by youth and education charity Raleigh International found that almost 90% of recruiters took attributes like these into consideration when selecting which candidates to put forward for graduate jobs in 2009.
"In this job market, evidence of soft skills and the ability to show how you can add value to an organisation are going to be more important than ever," advised Raleigh's chief executive Stacey Adams.
"This can be really tough for new graduates when they don't have much previous work experience - although all of the graduate recruiters that we work with tell us that a well constructed gap year is a great way to develop these soft skills."
What are the options open to Gappers?
In keeping with the current economic climate, there certainly seems to be a move towards gap year schemes that pay or include qualifications. Roger Salwey, managing director of gap year provider Oyster Worldwide told the Guardian that his firm had experienced more demand for paid work than volunteer projects.
"In the last week I have noticed a 20% increase in phone calls and email inquiries about our paid work schemes - for example, working on farms in Australia or in Canadian ski resorts - but no change in thos ore.com/]Wholesale NFL Jerseys China[/url] Cheap Jerseys