Don't cram degrees into 2 years, students warned

Students looking to speed up their degrees by condensing a 3 year course into a 2 year stint may be undermining their desire to enter the jobs market. Industry experts claim this haste leaves many students without the time to perform necessary extra-curricular activities and work placements that make candidates stand out.

Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the AGR, said: "Employers predict two-year degrees will prove popular with students. However, employers do value graduates who have work experience, and those students that have undertaken a year in industry as part of a four-year degree."

This warning comes as the graduate jobs sector is set to shrink to 1.2%, after years of stagnation. Better news comes as the average graduate salary is set to increase by 4% to a mean of £26000.

However, in another blow for the vaunted employability factor associated with the two-year degree, many employers polled in a recent survey said that they had not even heard of them.