UK: Best Practice - University challenge.

Between 90-100 graduates apply for each job. That still doesn't make it any easier to hire the right ones.

The higher education landscape has changed markedly since 1992, when the old polytechnics were transformed into universities. For employers, finding the best graduates has become a task of needle-in-haystack proportions. Now with the introduction of tuition fees, the struggle to attract and retain looks set to intensify. A 1997 survey of the largest firms, commissioned by the Guardian from recruitment specialist Park Human Resources, shows that nearly half are devising remuneration packages incorporating so-called golden hellos to help graduates pay off their loans.