Employers of finance graduates should be given tax breaks to encourage them to hire younger workers, it has been claimed.

The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) told Personnel Today that such a move would be seen as an incentive by many employers and therefore help open up more vacancies to graduates.

AGR chief executive Carl Gilleard told the news provider that at present the recruitment process is an expensive one, particularly if a firm intended to invest in development training.

"Many employers can find work for people to do but what prevents them going forward is the cost of hiring that individual," he said.

"We think if we could incentivise graduate recruitment in some way it would act as a catalyst for increasing the numbers of vacancies that graduates are recruited to."

Such an incentive should cover the first 12 months of the graduate’s employment, he added.

The proposal is included in the AGR’s new Talent, Opportunity, Prosperity manifesto, which sets out a series of recommendations for the future of UK higher education and the role of employers.

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