A new report has highlighted the link between the number of black and minority ethnic (BME) people going to the more prestigious universities and their entry as IT contractors into new companies.

Dr Rob Berkeley, director of the Runnymede Trust, has claimed that companies are restricting their intake to the most respected universities, which often have fewer BME employees.

He says that many of students from these backgrounds that do attend often lack both the networks and confidence necessary to succeed in some professions.

"Students simply do not get opportunities because of the institutions that they attend," he asserts.

Dr Berkeley says that recession has had a negative impact on these students especially.

The Race Into Higher Education report recently found that black, Asian and minority ethnic graduates are finding it harder to get into the workplace after leaving university than their white counterparts.

Only 56.3 per cent of BAME students who graduated in the university year 2007 to 2008 found work in the first year compared to two thirds of white students, IT contractors may be concerned to discover.