Ernst & Young, has reported a surge in demand for its graduate trainee scheme, with applications doubling compared to this time last year and attendance at its campus recruitment events up nearly 110%.

The professional services firm has already received over 4500 applications for the 700 places available on its 2011 graduate training programme.

With the overall number of UK graduate vacancies in decline, according to recent research by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), and the unemployment claimant count continuing to rise, Ernst & Young says that the competition for graduate jobs is tougher than ever.

Stephen Isherwood, head of graduate recruitment at Ernst & Young commented, ‘Over the last two months, we’ve seen interest in our graduate programmes sky rocket. We run campus recruitment events across many of the UK’s leading universities, talking to students about pursuing a career in professional services, and this year we’ve had to put on additional events to cope with the level of demand.’

Professional services are one of the key industries continuing to recruit large numbers of graduates. Whereas overall graduate vacancies in the UK are down by 6%, vacancies available in professional services – according to the AGR – have increased by 17.1%.

Stephen says that there are still vacancies available for Ernst & Young’s 2011 entry schemes, having increased the number of positions by over 30% from last year, but recommends that graduates should get their applications in early.

‘Final year students need to start applying for positions sooner rather than later. In an increasingly competitive jobs market, those who rest on their laurels will simply miss out. As the squeeze on the public sector starts to take hold, it’s only going to get tougher for those entering the jobs market for the first time.’

In order to be in with the best chance of securing a dream job, Stephen says that students need to make sure they are differentiating themselves in the recruitment process with strong application forms.