Leaving education and joining the world of work is a “jolt” for graduates. “They don’t know what employment is about,” says Chris Hirst, chief executive of the advertising agency Havas Creative. The challenge, he says — both for employers and the new employees themselves — is how quickly graduates can become “really useful” without the same level of “nurturing and structured learning” they received at university.

Graduates whose university education was disrupted by the pandemic, and whose only work experience might have been a remote “placement”, are about to enter workplaces that are grappling with hybrid work, as well as squeezed training budgets.

According to a report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), a human resources association, about a third of UK organisations reported reducing their learning and development budgets, their headcount, and their use of external consultants during the pandemic.