Demand for regional unis and job-creator courses boom in 2020

More Australians are taking up job-creator subjects like science and agriculture at a tertiary level this year and demand for spots at regional universities has boomed, new data reveals.

Education Minister Dan Tehan. Picture: Sean Davey

More Australians have taking up “job-creator” subjects such as ­science and agriculture at a tertiary level in 2020 while demand for spots at regional universities has boomed, according to new federal data.

A federal Department of Education report on university applications and offers for the 2020 academic year shows demand for regional university spots grew by 3.3 per cent compared with 2019.

The Group of Eight sandstone universities experienced a 0.8 per cent drop.

Agriculture, science and education courses — which will see their student fees slashed from 2021 under Scott Morrison’s recently passed university reforms — all saw applications grow this year, with more students expected to opt for those degrees in 2021.

Education Minister Dan Tehan said the report showed there was demand for the courses that his Job Ready Graduates package was trying to encourage post-pandemic students into studying.

“Our reforms will make it cheaper to study in areas of expected job growth,” he said. “And the report shows growth in applications was strongest for vocationally oriented courses, which means students are already choosing to study in national priority areas.

“Universities in regional Australia recorded the biggest growth … And the Job Ready Graduates package will provide faster growth in the number of student places at those universities, as well as an additional $400m in support for regional students and regional universities.”

Vocational education course demand in 2019-20 increased for agriculture, environmental and related studies by 10.8 per cent; by 9.8 per cent for information technology; 3.1 per cent for natural and physical sciences; and 2 per cent for education.

National Farmers Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said on Monday this year’s boost in agricultural students set up the farmers’ lobby to meet their goal to double the number of university and TAFE agriculture graduates by the end of 2030.

“The career pathways in agriculture are boundless: from animal husbandry to developing and operating state-of-the-art mach­inery and technology, to business, marketing and analysis, to plant breeding,” he said.

“Currently, the need for graduates of tertiary agriculture qualifications is five times larger than the supply of graduates, according to the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture.

“The increase in agriculture-related tertiary enrolments in 2020 is definitely an indication that young people are recognising the career opportunities on offer in the industry.”

Demand for creative arts and commerce degrees fell in 2019-20 by 5.8 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively. Society and culture courses — which will see student fees increase by up to 113 per cent in 2021 — remained the second-biggest attraction for prospective undergraduate students in 2019-20.