Four-in-10 graduate jobs 'reserved for student interns' Researchers also found that the average graduate starting salary would be frozen at £29,000 for an "unprecedented" fifth year in a row. The findings are set to fuel the row over internships following claims that they are being monopolised by students from wealthy backgrounds with well-connected parents. Nick Clegg warned that children of senior executives should not be allowed to use their privileged position to secure internships at top companies as part of a drive to boost levels of social mobility. The study, by High Fliers Research, which was based on a survey of 100 leading employers, suggested companies were preparing to counter the concerns by creating more internships. Collectively, they are making a record 11,819 paid placements available in the current academic year, it was claimed. It comes on top of a total rise in the number of graduate job vacancies, with 18,264 being advertised for students finishing degrees this year - up 8.7 per cent in 12 months and the highest number since 2007. But the study said: "Although the total number of graduate vacancies is set to increase sharply in 2014, recruiters have confirmed that 37 per cent of this year's entry-level positions will be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations - either through paid internships, vacation work or industrial placements - and therefore are not open to other students from the "Class of 2014."" It added: "Over half the recruiters who took part in the research repeated their warnings that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations" graduate programmes." The study was based on a survey of top private and public sector employers including Apple, the Army, Barclays, BP, Centrica, Goldman Sachs, Google, McDonald's, Network Rail, the NHS and Tesco. The biggest single graduate recruiter will be Teach First, the state-funded charity that places top graduates in tough inner-city schools, with 1,550 vacancies. This is followed by PricewaterhouseCoopers with 1,200 and Deloitte with 1,000. Martin Birchall, the High Fliers" managing director, said: "This very significant increase in graduate vacancies at Britain's top employers means the job prospects for graduates leaving university this year are the best they've been since the start of the recession seven years ago." David Willetts, the Universities Minister, said: "The substantial rise in the number of graduate vacancies demonstrates that confidence in the UK economy is growing and businesses really value the skills the UK's first-rate graduates can bring to their companies. A degree is still one of the best routes to a good job and a rewarding career.