Nine out of 10 Queensland university graduates find full-time work after study
Queensland universities are among the best in the country for graduate employability according to new national survey data released today, which reveals just how many graduates are finding full-time work after study.
QLD News
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
QUEENSLAND universities are among the best in the country for graduate employability according to new national survey data released today.
The latest 2019 Graduate Outcomes Survey indicates nine out of 10 graduates are finding full-time work after study — an increase to 93 per cent from 86 per cent in 2016.
The University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland and Bond University are the states top institutions for employability, gaining respective scores of 92.5, 91.6 and 91.3 per cent.
Queensland University of Technology, Bond and Griffith saw increases of almost 20 per cent, bringing them in line with Australia’s top ranked universities.
“Griffith is proud that our graduates are highly rated by employers,” Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Debra Henly said.
“Griffith University has a distinct focus on achieving the best graduate outcomes for its students.”
The jobs push has put the graduate unemployment rate to just 3.3 per cent, well below the overall national average unemployment rate of 5.3 per cent.
Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan said the results indicated the Coalition’s commitment to job creation in key growth markets.
“Universities are a key driver of job creation, job growth, and productivity improvements in this nation,” he said.
“More than 250,000 jobs were created last year and this data shows that university graduates are key beneficiaries.”
The Palaszczuk Government is hoping the positive data will help grow Queensland tertiary education, having already thrown $25 million towards attracting international students.
“While the State Government isn’t responsible for universities, we are working to encourage more people from around the world to choose Queensland for their studies,” a spokesman said.
Science, technology, engineering and dentistry have led the charge with undergraduate scores well above 95 per cent.
Engineering jumped from 78.4 per cent in 2016 to 95.4 per cent, while creative arts remained the lowest at 79.7 per cent.
Health remains the largest area of study with 39.3 per cent of students undertaking a health related course.
Undergraduate degrees in both medicine and pharmacy which usually have some of the highest employability rates have slightly slumped with medical degrees dropping from 98.8 to 98.2 and undergraduate pharmacy dropping from 97.6 to 93.5.
In the postgraduate outcome sector both pharmacy and veterinary science had a 100 per cent score in job outcome.
Originally published as Nine out of 10 Queensland university graduates find full-time work after study