Rebecca Fielding, talent manager at HJ Heinz, says that “grade inflation” meant that the 2.1 was no longer the “valuable sifting tool” it once had been
Employers are rejecting a 2.1 degree as a minimum job requirement in favour of more relevant workplace skills, the AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey 2008 has found.

The poll of 242 major graduate recruiters found that firms were dropping their recruitment criteria to a 2.2 and seeking other skills and work experience to widen the talent pool.