Graduates of JCU get top marks on the job

WHEN it comes to university graduates transferring studies to proficiency in the workplace, James Cook University’s are some of the best.

James Cook University received the highest approval rating in the 2017 Employer Satisfaction Survey, which surveys employers about graduates from Australian universities.

The results, released yesterday, showed 91 per cent of direct supervisors rated graduates from James Cook University favourably, giving it the highest rating out of 39 universities ranked.

Employers involved in the survey also ranked their satisfaction with graduates’ foundation skills, adaptive skills, collaborative skills, technical skills and employability skills.

James Cook University’s highest scores were for foundation skills with 93.7 per cent and technical skills at 95.4 per cent.

Manager of Student Transitions and Careers, Trudy Quantrill, said the government-funded survey had only been running for two years and JCU had performed well in both.

“JCU has also received fivestar ratings in the Good Universities guide for graduate employability,” she said.

“The fact that our graduates are getting employed and getting good ratings from employers is great.

“I think a lot of people nowadays are getting quite savvy with these kinds of surveys and they will look at them.

“Most students want to have a career at the end of their degree.”

The survey, a spin-off from 2017 Graduate Outcomes Survey, connects the experiences of graduates to the views of their direct supervisors.

Bachelor of Business finalyear student Hannah Briggs said the results were satisfying.

“Employability is a real focus in our classrooms,” she said.