School leavers take advantage of 2032 Olympic needs, Queensland’s teacher, health worker shortage

Queensland school leavers are taking advantage of gaping holes in the state’s workforce, as the top course picks for the first tertiary offer round are revealed.

Queensland school leavers are taking advantage of the gaping holes in the state’s workforce with teaching, health and nursing degrees the top picks for Thursday’s tertiary offer round.

One university also believes the sharp rise in interest in their Project Management degree is linked to the ongoing housing crisis and massive infrastructure need for the 2032 Olympics.

At the same time, thousands of Year 12s have already made up their minds after getting an early offer, which is becoming a more common practice.

Mary MacKillop College graduate Priscilla Hart took an early offer from Griffith University to start a four-year dual degree next year – Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Business.

Priscilla Hart, 18, took an early offer from Griffith University into a Bachelor of Science and Business, taking the stress out of her final external exams. Photo: Lyndon Mechielsen.

The 18-year-old got the early offer in early November, taking the stress out of her final external exams. She ended up achieving an ATAR of 78.05.

She completed a Business Diploma in Year 12 and achieved strong marks in English to meet the criteria for an early offer.

“I always wanted to do Marine Biology growing up and I’ve stuck with science, but in Year 10 I liked getting into Business and working with people, so I decided to do both,” she said.

“I’m pretty excited, but I know it will be full-on doing a dual degree.

“I’d love a career that involves both business and science – maybe something like working with people to try to solve environmental issues.”

While the main tertiary offer round is not until January 11, The Courier-Mail contacted the state’s 11 major universities to gauge the trends among this year’s school leavers.

Griffith University

Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Shaun Ewen said the general trends include rising interest in computer and IT degrees – around 35 per cent year on year.

Meanwhile, health-related courses have eased off – for example, social work, psychology and nursing – after their 2021 peak during the pandemic.

Griffith made more than 2500 early offers to school leavers this year – more than double the number made last year.

School leavers’ top first preference selections for 2024 study:

1. Bachelor of Medical Science
2. Bachelor of Nursing
3. Bachelor of Business
4. Bachelor of Education
5. Bachelor of Music
6. Bachelor of Film and Screen Media Production
7. Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice
8. Bachelor of Physiotherapy
9. Bachelor of Forensic Science/B Criminology and Criminal Justice
10. Bachelor of Psychological Science/B Criminology and Criminal Justice

Bond University

Domestic Recruitment Director Jit Loh said Bond’s most popular courses for 2024 indicate students reacting to future job trends, particularly within the care industry.

“Queensland is already experiencing a shortage of health workers, meaning graduates are likely to be in demand when they complete their accelerated Bond degrees in as little as two years – excluding doctors who graduate in four years and eight months,” he said.

“Many of these students will be trained at Bond’s state-of-the-art health precinct at Robina where a major extension opened this year.”

The most popular undergraduate courses for 2024:

• Bachelor of Biomedical Science
• Bachelor of Laws
• Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science
• Bachelor of Business
• Bachelor of Psychological Science
• Bachelor of Health Sciences
• Bachelor of Actuarial Science

Mr Loh said there was also increasing interest in Bond’s Project Management degree in Queensland, despite it not making the top seven courses.

“Again, this may reflect future job opportunities, particularly in Queensland which is experiencing a housing crisis and gearing up to host the 2032 Olympics, requiring billions of dollars in new infrastructure,” he said.

The most popular 2024 postgraduate courses:

• Doctor of Physiotherapy
• Graduate Diploma in Psychology
• Juris Doctor
• Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice
• Master of Occupational Therapy
• Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice
• Master of Architecture

University of Queensland

UQ sent out more than 4700 offers to school leavers on Thursday.

“We have seen strong increases in demand across a range of programs including Business and Economics, Engineering, Law, Dental Science, and Allied Health,” a spokeswoman said.

“Further offers across most UQ programs will be released on January 11, including those for high demand programs such as Provisional Medicine, Dental Science, Physiotherapy, and Veterinary Science.”

Queensland University of Technology

QUT put out more than 2000 early offers in November – an increase of almost 80 per cent compared to last year’s 1168 early offers.

“It is very early in cycle, but the most popular courses are: Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Behavioural Science, Bachelor of Information Technology, Diploma of Business and Diploma of Engineering,” a spokeswoman said.

Southern Cross University

Education and Nursing are the top degrees for next year at Southern Cross.

Health courses remain high on preference lists including Occupational Therapy, Midwifery, Counselling, Speech Pathology, Exercise Science and Psychological Science.

The Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Engineering Systems are also proving popular.

The university has made 3391 early offers for 2024.

“We have seen an increase in early offers to Year 12 students this year, but they are roughly around the same levels of the last few years,” Chief Marketing Officer Dean Gould said.

“This coincides with an increase also in direct applications as more South East Queenslanders choose Southern Cross for their university education.”

University of Southern Queensland

UniSQ has made 315 early offers this year, consistent with the past two years.

But early offers made to Year 12s for Engineering programs have increased by 73 per cent.

The overall top courses ahead of next year are:

• Bachelor of Nursing
• Bachelor of Paramedicine
• Bachelor of Education (Secondary)
• Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences (Medicine Pathway)

The university’s new Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) program has debuted in the Top 10 first preference courses.

First preference numbers for Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology all grew compared to last year.

Australian Catholic University

Paramedicine, Physiotherapy, and Speech Pathology continue to be popular choices among school leavers.

ACU also reports increased applications for Exercise and Sports Science, Laws, Biomedical Science, and Creative Arts compared to last year.

Interest in Secondary Education and Special Education courses has also risen.

ACU Interim Provost Professor Meg Stuart said the Brisbane campus was preparing for increased student numbers in 2024.

“The McAuley campus at Banyo enjoyed a substantial upswing in attendance at this year’s Open Day, and we have since seen increased interest in a variety of our courses,” she said.

“We are also seeing an increase in applications from career-changers and other groups of non-school leavers who have decided now is the right time in their lives to study.”

Central Queensland University

The most in-demand courses among the 2023 school leaver cohort include Nursing, Teaching, Engineering, Sonography, Paramedic Science, Physiotherapy, Medical Imaging, Medical Science, Psychology and Law.

CQU has already made more than 400 early offers, slightly down on last year.

“We look forward to welcoming new students in 2024 across all of our campus locations. We are also here to help students who may want to change their preferences and also those who may want to consider alternative pathway options to study,” a CQU spokeswoman said.

“The university will also be hosting TAFE careers expos in January at the Gladstone, Mackay and Rockhampton campuses. Staff will be on hand at these events to discuss study areas, study pathways, apprenticeships and funding packages including fee-free TAFE.”

James Cook University

JCU continues to see a high number of first preference applications for traditionally popular courses such as Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing. Science, Veterinary Science and Education are also popular among graduates’ first preferences.

A university spokeswoman said Pharmacy had also recorded an almost 30 per cent increase in applications. Extra study locations have been opened in recent years for aspiring Pharmacy students with Townsville, Cairns, and Mackay added.

“We’ve also seen a 24 per cent increase in Engineering applications as we prepare for JCU’s $94 million Engineering & Innovation Place to open in 2024 on the Townsville campus,” the JCU spokeswoman said.

The university has received nearly 5600 applications to study at its Townsville, Cairns, Mackay and Mount Isa campuses next year. They have made 758 early offers already.

University of the Sunshine Coast

UniSC’s most in-demand 2024 undergraduate courses are Nursing, Paramedicine, Sport and Exercise Science, Education, Psychology, Occupational Therapy, and Animal Ecology.

Engineering has also experienced a 20 per cent increase compared to last year across Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic, Mechanical and Mechatronic degree programs.

Others

The Courier-Mail also contacted the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, and Federation University for comment on this year’s tertiary offer trends.