The trend, which has triggered a small amount of wage inflation for workers in this group, signals the end of a “broadly bleak decade” for young job seekers, says the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The organisation’s latest Labour Market Outlook reveals that the proportion of employers saying they will hire graduates and apprentices has increased “sharply”, partly owing to recruitment problems they faced in 2014.

A third who reported hard-to-fill vacancies said they would take on more apprentices, compared to only 22% in the same survey last year. Half of employers planned to use more training to solve skills gaps, while 26% said they would take on graduates.

It chimes with new government data showing the employment rate for 16-to-24 year-olds rising to its highest level since before the financial crisis of 2008.

Gerwyn Davies, a labour market analyst for the CIPD, said: “After a long, dark decade, the prospects for young people are finally looking brighter. The tightening labour market is undoubtedly encouraging more employers to turn to a wider range of younger recruits.

“It is also due to a recognition among a growing number of employers that they need to develop talent to limit the potential for future labour shortages and pay pressures.

“The increase in the number of high-quality apprenticeships and the ongoing recruitment pressures faced by employers should mean that the pathway to sustainable employment will be within the reach of more young people.”

But the report also pointed to a yawning wage gap between sectors with the greatest need for skills, including finance and construction, and others. Pay in these sectors is growing healthy whereas workers in manufacturing and the public sector, for example, are seeing more modest increases and pay freezes.

According to the report, the median average pay award expected by employers was 2%, up from 1.8% last year.