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Graduates find grass is greener in the public sector     Graduates can expect to earn an average starting salary of around £20,300 this year, according to the latest First Rung: Graduate Pay Trends report from management consultancy Hay Group. The report, which is based on information from public and private sector employers throughout the UK, outlines a number of findings.       Public sector pay outstrips private sector    The Hay Group research reveals that for the first time, public sector starter salaries are above those being offered in the private sector.    The average salary for a graduate going into the public sector will be £21,445 this year – 7% above the average private sector wage of £20,035. Civil service pay is outpaced only by the lucrative oil industry, where graduates can hope to secure an average starting salary of over £25,300.    Rob McPherson, the pay analyst at Hay Group who conducted the study, commented: “The Class of 2006 can look forward to an average starting salary of around     to an overall wage inflation of 19%.       South West leaps ahead    London and the South East are predictably ahead in the regional graduate pay stakes, with starting salaries in inner London pegged at 12% above the national average at £22,737. However, this must be viewed alongside the substantially higher cost of living in the capital.    Starting salaries in the South West have leapt ahead during 2006 – the region is now the best-paid location for graduates outside the South East. Traditionally a low paid area, starter salaries in the South West will average £20,028 for university leavers this year.    Scotland remains a fertile job-hunting ground for graduates, with starting salaries pegged at an average £19,872, the second highest level outside the South East.       “Pay levels in the South West generally are on the rise, and this appears to be having an upward effect on starter salaries,” said McPherson. “Scotland     also offers attractive wages for university leavers. Graduates in these regions would be well advised to stay put.”    The North West, however, has fallen substantially down the graduate pay ladder since 2005, when the area was the highest paid for university leavers outside of the South East. The region now comes in at a poor seventh in the graduate pay table for 2006, with typical starting salaries 3.3% below the national average at £19,639.       Northern Ireland bottom of the pay league    East Anglia (£19,039), the West Midlands (£19,019) and Northern Ireland (£18,654) offer graduates the poorest salaries, with graduate pay pegged at 6%-8% below the national average – making Northern Ireland the UK’s lowest paying region for university leavers.       Engineers top of the class    Engineering again proves the most highly paid graduate profession, with an     average starting salary of £21,681 – 7% above average graduate pay.    Aspiring legal, IT and finance professionals will be disappointed that these careers do not offer graduates the huge starting salaries that might be expected. Legal wages are ranked third, IT fourth and finance sixth in the Hay Group graduate pay table – with starting salaries coming in at £20,618, £20,453 and £20,100 respectively, all below the national average.    Call centre and customer service employees remain the worst paid graduates, receiving 7.7% below the norm at £18,746, while graduates choosing a career in sales must rely on commission to make up for a 3.9% shortfall in basic salary (£19,514).    McPherson commented: “IT, law and finance professionals can expect to earn well during their careers, but starter salaries for these competitive professions are relatively low. Moderate pay in the IT sector, in particular, is due partly to a surplus of graduates entering the industry.”        £20,300. The real surprise for this year’s graduates is that public sector jobs are now paying more than the private sector.    “As we see a trend towards increasing professionalisation in the public sector, management training schemes in public bodies such as the NHS and the Civil Service are paying graduates very competitive wages.”       Graduate pay inflation falls behind    Wage inflation for university leavers is lagging behind national levels, the report finds. Ahead of the national average in 2004-5, this year graduate pay is up just 2.4% since 2005. This compares to a national wage inflation level of 3.2% over the last year. Initial post-degree pay levels have increased by 18% since 2000, compared

Rising numbers of workers doubt their bosses' leadership abilities     About a quarter of workers actively doubt senior management's leadership abilities and sense of strategic direction, according to a recent survey.    The Worker's Index, a bi-annual survey of employees' feelings and attitudes towards work, reveals that confidence in the leadership abilities of senior managers has declined since the start of 2005.    Jointly sponsored by The Work Foundation, the think tank and consultancy, and Ipsos MORI, the independent research organisation, the third wave of the survey confirms that a quarter of British workers do not believe their senior management     have a clear vision of where they are leading the organisation.    While 57% overall claimed they agree with the statement 'senior management have a clear vision of where this organisation is going' – exactly the same proportion as when the survey was last conducted in October 2005 – 24% disagree. When those who disagree are subtracted from those who agree, the 'net agrees' amount to just 33%.    Public sector workers have less faith in their leaders than private sector workers. Although this repeats a trend from each wave of The Worker’s Index, our latest data show that     net agreement with the statement 'senior management have a clear vision of where this organisation is going' has decreased significantly among public sector employees. On balance, 40% of public sector workers had confidence in their senior management in February 2005 and by May 2006 this had decreased to 17%. In the private sector, the balance of opinion has also decreased but at a slower rate from 55% in February 2005 to 44% in May 2006.    Following on from lower levels of confidence in senior management in the public sector, it is consistent that public service     workers also tend to be more critical of their organisation as an employer. Some 19% of public sector staff are critical of their organisation as an employer, compared with 11% in the private sector.    In the public sector, 63% agree with the statement 'my organisation puts the needs of its customers or service users first'. This compares with 79% in the private sector. Nearly one in five (19%) of public sector respondents do not think that their organisation puts customers first. This compares with just 6% in the private sector.    In addition to senior     management, faith in line management is also mixed. Just over half of all workers (54%) agree that 'my line manager inspires me to do a better job'.    Overall, however, The Worker's Index finds that workers remain committed to their jobs and to their employers. Workers who would naturally advocate their organisation as an employer outnumber those who criticise it – 60% to 14%. Slightly higher proportions (66%) of workers speak favourably about the services their organisation provides compared to just 10% who criticise them.

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