Curtin University grads give most satisfaction to employers

Graduates of Curtin University are most preferred by employers, according to the federal government’s latest 2022 survey results.

Curtin University is tops in the graduate satisfaction stakes.

Graduates of Curtin University are most preferred by employers, according to the federal government’s latest 2022 survey results, with employing organisations asked to rate the quality of the graduates they hire.

With an employer satisfaction rate of 89.7 per cent, Curtin University graduates narrowly edged those of the University of Sydney, whose satisfaction rate was 88.6 per cent.

Other institutions whose graduates also score highly include La Trobe University (88.1 per cent) and Central Queensland University (87.6 per cent).

The University of Canberra had the worst employer satisfaction rate (78.1 per cent), followed by Murdoch University (79.1 per cent) and Flinders University (79.7 per cent).

Employers also rate young under-30 graduates (85 per cent) better than older graduates (82.9 per cent. Younger graduates were particularly good at collaborative work, compared to their older counterparts.

The survey also found that employers were more satisfied with graduates from universities (84.5 per cent) than those with degrees from non-university higher education institutions (79.2 per cent). It also showed that students who studied face to face or multimode were preferred by employers to students who had done external or distance education. The former have an 84.9 per cent satisfaction rate, compared to 81.8 for the latter.

Overall, the employer satisfaction rate for all graduates was 84.1 per cent, slightly lower than in the previous two years.

Looking across fields of education, engineering graduates have the highest employer satisfaction rate (90.2 per cent), with information technology graduates next (86.5 per cent). Architecture and building graduates have the lowest employer satisfaction (79.3 per cent), with management and commerce graduates second lowest (81.5 per cent).

Education Minister Jason Clare said it was positive to see so many employers satisfied with recent graduates. But he said that “there is always more work that can be done to better prepare students for the world of work”. He said the government’s universities accord, which is currently taking submissions on wide-ranging reform in higher education, was looking into the issue.