Employers could be missing out on talented candidates as a result of placing too much focus on degree or post-graduate qualifications when recruiting new staff.

As many university leavers look to take their first steps into the workplace, a recent CIPD survey revealed that good grades are a main requirement of over half (57 per cent) of employers looking to hire.

And despite focusing on university education, a third (33 per cent) of those surveyed said candidates from a higher education were either ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ poorly prepared for the workplace.

Recruitment partner Judith Broughton said: “Graduates have some incredible positives to offer the workplace. They are eager to start their first ‘proper’ job, have fresh ideas and new talents to offer an employer, come with a willingness to learn and are enthusiastic.

“By using education filters, employers could be unintentionally overlooking traits which would make a candidate the perfect fit for a particular job – something qualifications cannot reveal.

“Behaviour, personality, emotional intelligence, assertiveness and problem solving are key factors that could be assessed and matched to a candidate’s own aspirations and potential.”

The recruitment agency recently carried out its own online research, with employers saying they favour work ethic over work experience when looking for their next student recruit.

Almost three quarters (69 per cent) of respondents said work ethic and personal ability ranked way above work experience when it came to offering the job.

Transferable skills (31 per cent) were also favoured – with work experience scoring 0 in the online survey.

Judith added: “It is encouraging to see that employers are shifting the emphasis when it comes to traits they are looking for when recruiting for their next graduate role, which in turn will help with retaining enthusiastic young talent.”