The employment of graduates within small and medium sized firms in England

This paper reports a research study prompted by the uneven distribution of graduates between small and large businesses. In particular, it sought to understand the main drivers or impediments to recruitment of graduates by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through an in-depth study of a matched sample of small firms employing and not employing graduates. It also sought to understand the nature of the benefits which might accrue to an SME from employing graduates. While some of the barriers can be attributed to ‘market failure’ in the sense that there were gaps in information available to SMEs and deficiencies in recruitment processes, others are cultural and concerned with the nature of the small business model.