The first project will aim to encourage employers to make use of the Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) in the recruitment and selection of graduates. The HEAR is intended to supplement the degree classification system, by giving a far richer and broader picture of students’ achievements at university. A student’s degree class will be clearly stated in the HEAR, whilst also giving employers information about their extra-curricular activities, achievements, experiences and skills.

The AGR has long argued that the current system of degree classification is not sufficient to give recruiters a rounded picture of graduates in today's competitive labour market, and the organisation called for the HEAR to be introduced in its 2010 manifesto. More than 80 institutions are now operating or introducing the HEAR and the project is intended to raise awareness of its benefits amongst employers.

The second project is aimed at persuading employers to review their selection criteria, in order to ensure that they are not compromising the access that applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds have to internships and jobs. The issue of social mobility has been of increasing concern for the AGR; the organisation has recently begun to monitor its members’ about their collection of socio-economic data.

Both projects will be carried out in partnership with the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS).

Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), said: “We are delighted to have received this funding from BIS, which will enable us to continue raising awareness of important changes taking place in higher education and graduate recruitment.

“Whilst the HEAR is new territory for employers, it is one that the AGR believes will offer many benefits to recruiters and students. It is already acting as a catalyst for change, with students better equipped to consider the skills they have developed and to articulate their value to employers, and one of our projects will support this progress further. In addition, we will continue to call for understanding of the way in which outdated selection criteria can discriminate against those from disadvantaged backgrounds and stifle social mobility.”