The class of 2020: Finding a future in a pandemic
Life has changed for everyone amid the coronavirus pandemic, but for recent graduates the future is particularly uncertain.
Graduating from university under normal circumstances can be a scary transition for many students. It is a time where you leave the comfort of full-time education and are suddenly swept into the real world, in search of a career.
So, it is no wonder that graduating during a global pandemic is frightening. Along with the normal worries that come with adapting to a life outside of university, the class of 2020 face the pressure of rising unemployment rates and staggering levels of uncertainty for our economy.
For many graduates, life feels stalled as opportunities to get a foot in the door in their chosen career are limited. It is no surprise that many feel that their hopes and dreams are slipping away.
Aidan Snell, 21, graduated from Plymouth College of Arts this year, with a degree in Fashion, Media and Marketing.
In his second year at university he completed an internship at Pentland Brands in London and had planned to return there to work after graduating.
“When I finished uni I found out that they had made loads of people redundant, so that was kind of ruled it out and I couldn’t do that anymore. So even though I got this amazing opportunity, because of Covid, I couldn’t use it,” he said.
Aidan had to return to his family home in Portsmouth and look for work.
“Now, I work in retail. I got a really small part-time job at French Connection and that’s only 16 hours a week. It’s not enough for someone to live on. While I’m there I’m looking for something ‘real’ but it’s really difficult,” he said.
Like many graduates, he feels let down by the impact coronavirus has had on potential job prospects.
“You go to uni and you’re told that the outcome is you’re pretty much secure for entry into a career and that has not happened. I wanted to move somewhere straight away when I finished uni, carry on living independently and find a good job,” he said.
On spending three years studying for his degree he said: “It does feel a little bit wasted just because all the skills I’ve learnt, I can’t use them. So, does that really matter?”
Lauren Collins, 21, also graduated in 2020, with a degree in Early Childhood Studies from Oxford Brooks University.
Like Aidan, since graduating she has not been able to find full-time work.
She now works as a care worker at Hillcrest Denmead care homes for children but has only been able to secure a position as a bank worker.
“I originally applied for a full-time position but due to limited vacancies I only got offered bank. It’s hard because I’m not on a contract which means I’m not guaranteed work. It’s zero hours so if you don’t get any shifts you won’t get any pay,” she said.
Never knowing how much money is coming in each month has added a great deal of stress.
“There are other bank workers in the same position wanting hours which creates not many hours to pick up on. It’s then difficult to plan for the future and pay expenses.”
On how she feels about coronavirus affecting her job possibilities she added: “It’s just annoying. I’ve worked so hard for three years and then I wanted to come out and start a proper career. Now, I’m not being able to fulfil that and am just working as a bank worker.”
2020 graduate Amber Hall has been one of the lucky ones but still feels like the pandemic has had a disadvantage on her career.
She graduated from the University of Portsmouth in September with a Master’s in Law and two weeks ago started a job as a legal advisor at Simpson Solicitors. But the office job she had imagined when studying for her degree is now very much a work from home job.
“It’s been really difficult because the training is remote. I feel disadvantaged. All the resources are limited and it’s a lot harder to communicate with people,” she said.
Starting a new job from home has also made her feel quite isolated. “It’s a lot harder to build friendships and relationships when you’re across a computer screen. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet people face to face so I haven’t managed to build relationships with people in an office like you usually would,” she explained.
Training from home has made her feel at a disadvantage to graduates in previous years.
“I feel like I would be able to do the job much better already if I was based in an office. Training at home there’s constant distractions. It’s been hard to find a quiet area in my house, especially as I have a younger sibling. And if I do need help, I have to communicate via email or telephone instead of just asking someone across a desk,” she said.
Despite her concerns she feels very fortunate to of found a graduate position.
“I know for a lot of recent graduates it has been really hard to find a job, so I’ve been really lucky,” she said.
Guy Townsin, careers manager at the University of Portsmouth’s Careers Service advises graduates to contact their universities’ careers centre for help and guidance at this time.
“We’re (Portsmouth) doing virtual appointments through Google Meet or telephone. At the moment we still have 566 graduate scheme jobs and 213 general graduate jobs on the jobs board, and we’ve got our own graduate recruitment consultancy here at the uni. We’ve got a team that go out and try source local opportunities just for graduates,” he said.
The Office for National Statistics Labour market overview states as of October 2020 the economy is improving and for graduates the level of vacancies is running at just over 50% of normal rate and seems to be climbing slowly.
“It’s one of those ‘is your glass half full or half empty’,” said Guy. “For me I think, gosh that’s not bad, then, if we’re still able to produce 50% of all the graduate jobs we had last year when the economy was booming. We’ve just got to keep hoping really.”
