In the age of the broken ‘career ladder’, here’s how to zigzag towards the job you want | André Spicer

Young people may have fewer paths from shop floor to boardroom - but you can still find your way to a more fulfilling role

Recently, I sat in a lecture hall with a couple of hundred final-year undergraduate students. Looking around, I thought about my own uncertainty at their age. When I was about to graduate, the future seemed unclear. I didn't have a place on a company graduate programme like many of my classmates. Decades on, I realised that what seemed like obvious career ladders weren't so simple.

The job market for today's graduates seems good. The annual report by the Institute of Student Employers found that graduate recruitment is expected to increase by 5% in 2023-24. Companies continued to struggle to recruit in areas such as digital, engineering and finance. Despite this strong demand, each position was hotly contested - with an average of 86 applications for every opening.