UTAS does the job

HIGH PERCENTAGE OF GRADUATES FIND WORK

STUDENTS at regional universities are more likely to land a job than graduates from prestigious “sandstone’’ institutions.

Only two big- city universities are among the top 10 for graduate employment this year, exclusive new data obtained by thet Mercury reveals.

Among the top eight universities, at least three quarters of last year’s graduates found full- time work within four months of finishing their degree.

But in the worst- performing universities, more than half the graduates were still hunting for a fulltime job.

The University of Tasmania boasts a 72.3 per cent employment rate for graduates – higher than some sandstone universities on the mainland and above the national average.

Gemma Rushton, in her final year of a Natural Environment and Wilderness Studies degree, chose the uni for the quality of the course, which has taught her to fly drones, identify weeds, map ecosystems and interpret legislation.

“I’ve always had an interest in the outdoors,’’ she said.

“Conservation work in national parks or with a council would be my dream.’’

University of Tasmania Provost Professor Jane Long said students were prepared for “life beyond university’’, with internships, mentoring and help with CVs and interviews.

“The feedback we get is that University of Tasmania graduates are sought after because they are industrious, highly resourceful, creative, pragmatic and innovative,’’ she said.

“( These are) things that we see as coming from belonging to an island place.’’

Across Australia, 68.7 per cent of university graduates found fulltime work this year, within four months of graduating – down from 72.2 per cent in 2019.

Charles Sturt University, based in regional NSW, is the nation’s best for job prospects, with 84.7 per cent of students finding full- time jobs.

The nation’s worst- performing universities for job outcomes are in Victoria and Western Australia.

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan said nine out of 10 Australian university graduates find fulltime work within three years of graduation.

He said the COVID- 19 pandemic had a “major impact’’ on graduate employment rates this year.

He said the federal government would spend $ 550 million for up to 30,000 extra university places next year, as well as short courses for Australians to upskill during the COVID- 19 recession.

The survey, commissioned by the federal Department of Education, does not reveal whether graduates found work in the same field they studied at university.

It says graduates from regional universities are more likely to be older, and to study externally and part- time.

“( They) are more likely to have completed vocational degrees and … have also fared better in the current downturn,’’ it says.

The Education Department said the t COVID- OVID- 19 recession had cut full- l- time employment rates among mong most university graduates this year.

“Graduates duates from regional universities are more likely ikely to be older, studying externally and part- time, me, and maintain continuing connection with the labour market,’’ it says.

“( This) is) explains, in part, why graduates from these universities may have fared better in the current downturn.’’

The employment rates are based on graduates looking for full- time work, four months after finishing an undergraduate degree. Barely 54 per cent of students at the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University were in full- time work four months after graduation.

Just 57 per cent of students at the University Univ of Melbourne, bourne, Edith Cowan University sity and Victoria Vic University had found full- ful time work. Full- time jobs j were found by 59 per cent ce of graduates from Western W Sydney University, Un the University Un of the Sunshine Su Coast and an Torrens University. ve

The nation’s o only private uni, Bond University on the Gold C Coast, has an employment rate of 61.2 per cent.

Eight out of 10 graduates from the University of New England found a full- time job within four months, making it the second- best performer nationally.

Charles Darwin University in the NT came third, with 79.1 per cent of graduates finding a job.

At the University of Southern Queensland ( USQ), based in Toowoomba, 78.9 per cent of graduates had full- time jobs.

The University of NSW, with a 76.2 per cent employment rate for graduates, and the University of Sydney, with 75.1 per cent, were the only “sandstone universities’’ in the top 10.

In Victoria, the top- performing university was Monash University, where 72.3 per cent of students found full- time work within four months of graduation.