Employers mark quality of graduates in survey

Employers have had their say on which Australian universities are producing the best graduates. See the full list here.

Universities have been ranked from best to worst by employers based on the quality of their graduates.

The University of Canberra fared worst with an overall employer satisfaction mark of 78.1 per cent.

Murdoch University finished second lowest with a mark of 79.1 per cent, while Flinders University (79.7 per cent) was the third lowest-ranked facility.

Curtin University topped the rankings with an 89.7 per cent overall satisfaction rating from employers.

The University of Sydney was second with 88.6 per cent and La Trobe University, 88.1 per cent.

University of Canberra came bottom of the table in a survey of employers ranking graduates. Supplied

The marks were based on the government’s 2022 Employer Satisfaction Survey.

More than 9540 employer responses were gathered across universities, with 738 responses for the University of Melbourne down to 21 responses for Avondale University.

No results were published for fewer than 25 survey responses.

The Government-funded survey is the largest of its kind.

It found 84.1 per cent of employers were satisfied with recent graduates across all subjects.

Employers reported highest overall satisfaction with engineering and related technologies graduates at 90.2 per cent.

Information technology graduates (86.5 per cent) also reported very high satisfaction levels.

Graduates from education studies (85.6 per cent) agriculture and environmental studies (84.6 per cent), health (84.4 per cent), natural and physical sciences (82.3 per cent) and management and commerce (81.5 per cent) also recorded strong employer satisfaction levels.

Minister for Education Jason Clare in Sydney. Picture: Daily Telegraph / Brendan Read. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brendan Read

Minister for Education Jason Clare said nine out of 10 jobs in the future were going to require university or TAFE qualifications.

“Our higher education system is only going to get more important in the decades to come,” he said.

“It’s positive to see so many employers satisfied with recent graduates, but there is always more work that can be done to better prepare students for the world of work.”

Universities Australia Chief Executive Catriona Jackson said the results reinforced the vital role universities play in educating highly skilled workers across every sector of the economy.

“This shows that graduates are joining the workforce with the full suite of skills to have an immediate impact, including in areas of skill shortages,” Ms Jackson said.

Employers ranked The University of Sydney high when it came to overall satisfaction of graduates. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

“The knowledge and skills taught in universities will be relied on more heavily in the coming decades as Australia navigates geopolitical, economic and industrial challenges and opportunities.

“We’ll work closely with government to ensure universities have everything they need to do the job.”

Australian Universities Accord is currently devising recommendations and performance targets that will improve the quality, accessibility, affordability and sustainability of higher education, as part of a 12-month review of Australia’s higher education system.

Originally published as Employers mark quality of graduates in survey