Older graduates lose out in hunt for jobs

GRADUATES in their later twenties are being told they are too old to be accepted on graduate recruitment and training schemes, says a report from the Employers' Forum on Age Today, writes Clifford German.

The forum says more than one in seven graduates is now aged 26 or over when they qualify. Many who began or completed their studies later than most students cannot find work or are forced to take clerical work or work for younger graduates, the report says.

A number of employers operate graduate recruitment schemes without age limits, and the EFS and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services are calling on all employers to follow suit.

"Some individuals are being led to believe they are `over the hill' by the time they are 29 - that is damaging for society as a whole," the report says.

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