GSK to pay fees for graduate recruits

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to pay the tuition fees of undergraduates the company hires in the UK in order to drive recruitment.

The company said it will reimburse 100 per cent of a recruit's cost for further education following the coalition government's decision to allow universities in England to increase fees to a maximum of £9,000 per year – a possible total of £27,000 over a standard three-year course.

The increased fees will come into place in September 2012, with GSK's reimbursement scheme timed to coincide.

In a statement, GSK said it 'believes these measures will help ensure that GSK remains a highly desirable place for graduates to consider working upon leaving university.'

The company currently recruits between 50 and 100 graduates each year in the UK.

Graduates recruited by GSK will have had to have been with the company for a minimum of two years before being eligible for the payments.