Three quarters of UK graduates believe SMEs have a better work ethic than corporations, according to a survey.
The poll of 200 UK graduates by specialist SME graduate recruiter Give A Grad A Go also revealed that 82% expected greater job satisfaction working for a smaller firm and 92% felt they also foster greater creativity among their workforce.
However, 91% believe corporations pay better, 79% think they offer better job security and 74% believe they offer better career progression than SMEs.
Smaller businesses beat large companies on work-life balance, with 62% rating SMEs as superior.
74% of graduates believe corporations offer better career progression than SMEs
Cary Curtis, Give A Grad A Go founder and MD, said: “SMEs make up the backbone of British industry and will need to take advantage of the abundance of highly skilled graduates leaving university looking for work. Graduates that approach us are often unaware of the fantastic career opportunities that exist in SME organisations and certainly have no idea how to take advantage of them.
“The result is that smaller employers tend to struggle to source the best grads. We find those we place, excel in smaller companies, quickly progressing their careers as a consequence."
The results also revealed that 54% of graduates thought public sector pay was either 'low' or 'very low', in contrast to recent findings from centre-right think tank the Policy Exchange, which suggested that public sector workers earned over 30% more than their private-sector equivalents.
Curtis adds: "GAGAGO encourages all SMEs to treat graduates on work placements as real employees and offer a wage with any position. The highest tuition fees on record mean many graduates can't afford to work for free, and those that do are often demotivated due a lack of remuneration. Paid placements offer an affordable way to secure talented candidates and get the most out of them."
