Graduates bag work before the degree

Health science graduates have the best chance of employment once they complete their studies but law, building and education graduates are securing work before the end of their degree, latest data shows.

Graduate Careers Australia surveys more than 40,000 university graduates from across the nation each year to identify employment rates and industry trends.

Ninety-seven per cent of graduates gain full-time employment and those who study pharmacy, medicine or nursing are the most successful in starting their careers within four months of leaving university.

But less than 7 per cent have a job waiting for them when they finish their studies. Fifty per cent of students who study post-graduate education degrees walk straight into work, followed by 35 per cent of building graduates and 34 per cent of law graduates.

Kain C+C lawyer Tegan Knight says finding a job is a fear many graduates have as they approach the end of their degree. Ms Knight had secured a clerkship through the firm’s graduate program before she completed her degree in 2008.

She was offered a permanent position in its corporate and commercial litigation team last year.

“A lot of graduate programs… require you to apply and make offers early in your final year of study for positions beginning when you graduate,” she says.

“At the time, a job can seem very far away but if you go through the process it can be a relief to have something organised before you are thrown into the employment (or unemployment) world.

“Several fellow students took up to six months or more after graduation to get a job.

“The legal recruitment market appeared to be slower last year with students having to think outside the square to get work.

“People who were flexible seemed to be more successful, for example taking legal positions with organisations other than traditional law firms.”

Graduate Careers Australia acting executive director Bruce Guthrie says most graduates have found work within six months of finishing their degree.

“It is a fairly fast process,” Mr Guthrie says.

The organisation is the peak body for universities, government and graduate recruiters in Australia and aims to encourage employment opportunities for graduates.

It found 79.2 per cent of graduates in 2009 were in full-time jobs within four months of finishing their degrees, down from 85.2 per cent for 2008 graduates.

The economic downturn was attributed to causing the decline.

But it failed to hinder the growth of graduate wages, with the average starting salary increasing from $45,000 a year to $48,000.

Mr Guthrie says another study will be released soon showing greater employment success for graduates three years after finishing their degree.

“The labour market remains strong for graduates, even for the period of the global financial crisis having an affect on job prospects,” he says.

“With some of the sciences and the humanities, graduates don’t get jobs as quickly as some of the other graduates and it’s a little longer for them to find work.”

He says graduates can expect employment opportunities to increase this year because of the economic recovery.