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Australia , Canada and many others offer a first-class education if employability is your primary goal .
Employable me
Australia sitting pretty as US , UK unis struggle with employability .
By Dallas Bastian
Australia no longer sits among
the top five in a ranking of the world ’ s best countries for graduate employability – but it ’ s still seen as an attractive option for students .
The 2020 Global University Employability Rankings , designed by French HR consultancy Emerging and released by Times Higher Education , saw Australia drop to sixth on the list of top performing countries and regions for employability .
It now sits behind the United States , France and Germany , which climbed into the upper echelons from 12th place in 2019 , along with the UK and mainland China , which sat at number 11 last year .
Canada also tumbled down the ladder , from 4th to 6th , while South Korea and India made the top 15 after hovering in the 20s in 2019 .
The table ranks universities that recruiters at top companies think are the best at preparing students for the workplace .
While US institutions stack the podium this year – with California Institute of Technology leading MIT and Harvard – the THE team said the performances of these household names are hiding the general decline of US higher education overall .
THE said : “ This latest ranking shows how , over the past ten years , top tier UK and US institutions have masked the general decline of American and British universities in terms of employability , as those from the likes of Europe , Australia , Canada and Asia have risen in their place .
“ The COVID-19 pandemic has made the challenge of finding work even more difficult for graduates . Students and their parents are even more motivated by the ability to get a job rather than the brand name or reputation that universities hold . With COVID-19 impacting international students ’ decision making , it is possibly the most crucial time for universities to focus on employability .”
The UK fell from second to fourth in 2020 . The US still came out in front but THE said its country score has fallen by 51 per cent in the last 10 years .
By comparison , over the same period mainland China ’ s country score jumped by 132 per cent .
Australia has remained in the top 10 for every edition in the 10 years that the study has run .
At 15th in the world , Australian National University was the nation ’ s highest ranking university . That was its best position since 2013 and marked a climb of 14 places .
The University of Melbourne dropped a similar number of places from last year to land at 35 , while the University of Sydney ( 38 ) was Australia ’ s other top 50 institution .
The University of Queensland jumped 47 places since 2019 to end up at number 85 . UNSW Sydney ( 88 ) and Monash University ( 98 ) also made it into the top 100 .
Jamie Ramacciotti , head of student content at THE , said the latest rankings show that students have a wide range of choice when it comes to study destinations that will help power the early years of their career . “ While the elite institutions of the US and UK remain right at the top of the tree , Australia , Canada , and many others offer a first-class education if employability is your primary goal ,” Ramacciotti said .
Managing partner at Emerging Sandrine Belloc added : “ Employability is increasingly challenging traditional drivers of university performance with a variety of aspects and indicators that are becoming more important , such as digitalisation , specialisation , and soft skills .
“ The combined effects of high employability needs of employers , as well as the ramifications of the COVID-19 crisis , have led to 80 per cent of our survey participants suggesting a radical review of the university education approach is necessary .
“ Students and parents are considering employability more seriously when it comes to deciding where to study . Whether universities choose to measure success in this way could be decisive for the future of higher education .” ■
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