Brexit: Three-quarters of graduates think EU departure will damage their careers

Half think leaving EU will make it harder to find graduate role; 78 per cent fear career prospects will be harmed, poll finds

The poll by graduate jobs board Milkround revealed several parallels between those who graduated in 2008 during the financial crisis and and the expectations of 2019 graduates

More than three quarters of this year's university graduates believe Brexit will have a negative impact on their careers, a survey has found.

The poll by graduate jobs board Milkround revealed several parallels between those who graduated in 2008 during the financial crisis and and the expectations of 2019 graduates.

Half of those that graduated in 2008 found it more difficult to secure a graduate role due to the crisis – taking an average of eight months to find their first career job.

Ten years on, 58 per cent say the 2008 crisis had a negative impact on their career.

This year’s graduates fear they will be subject to similar disadvantages as they look to enter the workforce with 78 per cent thinking Brexit will negatively impact their career and 52 per cent thinking it will be more difficult to secure a graduate role.

Jonathan Portes, Brexit and labour market economist at King’s College London, said: “Economic crises leave scars.

"More than a decade later, the British economy is still suffering from the after effects of the financial crisis.

This research shows that the impacts were particularly severe for those who entered the labour market at that time, who found it more difficult to find jobs and haven’t seen the career or pay progression that they expected.

“This has particular resonance today. Given the current healthy state of the UK labour market, it might seem surprising how pessimistic 2019’s prospective graduates are about the impact of Brexit.

"But history suggests that they are right be to be worried. Brexit may well prove not just to be a short-term economic shock, but to do long-lasting damage to young people’s career prospects.

"Given the uncertainties, new graduates will need to be flexible and adaptable; that may mean accepting jobs in a different sector or location to their first preference if it gives them a foot on the ladder.”