ON CAMPUS
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seminars, personal counselling and general
skills acquisition (communication skills,
public speaking, technical training, etc).
While the range and quality of the
career services provided varies across
different tertiary providers, overall this
area of graduate job search appears to be
well-covered.
However, more could (and should)
be done to help graduates with their job
readiness and search.
Helping
hands
THINGS TO BE DONE
How universities can assist
graduates in the transition from
study to professional career.
By Michael Baron
T
he main goal of our universities and
TAFE colleges is arguably to make
students job-ready. Likewise, from
the students’ perspective, faith that the
time and money they invest in education
is going to pay off shortly is instrumental
in motivating them to undertake further
studies. It is hard to imagine students
pursuing their respective courses unless
they have full confidence that they are doing
something productive and meaningful for
their future careers.
Unfortunately, not everyone is able
to secure professional study-related
employment upon graduation. The latest
Graduate Outcomes Survey suggests
that only 71.8 per cent of graduates get a
job within four months from graduation.
Even more alarmingly, 15 per cent of the
graduates are still not able to find a job
four years after graduation.
Furthermore, the survey does not indicate
how many of the graduates are working
in jobs that are directly related to their field
of study or whether they are using the
skills they learnt. I suspect the problem of
underemployment is particularly transparent
among international graduates.
I have always been a strong supporter
of incorporating internships and other
forms of industry-based learning (IBL) into
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university programs and consequently am
very pleased to see that the establishment
of industry partnerships and the
consequent creation and promotion of
such Internships and work placements is
becoming increasingly common among
the tertiary institutions. The progression
tends to be particularly transparent in the
fields of business, information technology
and engineering. However, I believe
that given the cut-throat competition
among graduates for a ‘place under the
sun’, providing internships and industry-
based/assisted training may no longer be
sufficient to help all of them succeed.
More measures need to be taken to assist
graduates with a successful transition into
the workforce, and this is where university
career services can help. As far as I know,
every Australian university offers career
services to students and graduates. Some
universities are even highlighting these
services through promotional campaigns
aimed at luring would-be students.
But what exactly is being done by the
student career services units to assist in
the transition from studies to professional
career development?
And what are the services/activities that
could also be instrumental in enhancing
students’ career opportunities that
universities do not tend to adopt?
THE BROWNIE POINTS
University career services currently focus on
the following useful activities:
• Assistance with résumés and cover letters
• Seminars to polish interview skills
• Internships and placements
• Linking students and graduates to
professional associations (Australian
Computer Society, Institute of Public
Accountants, etc).
In some cases, the career development
assistance is combined with overall
personal and development programs and
• Résumé banks
• Regular job fairs
• Stronger links with the alumni.
In this day and age, putting together a
résumé bank is a simple yet effective way
of promoting student and graduate talents
to employers. Universities can compile
student/graduate résumés into a database
format and make this database accessible
online (in the same way recruitment
firms do). This will enable universities
not only to assist individual students
in securing employment through the
graduate recruitment partnerships with
the participating firms, but will also help
in building closer long-term relationships
with these firms.
Regular job fairs (particularly if promoted
aggressively to companies large and small
in relevant industries) are going to bring
many organisations onto campuses to meet
students at their alma mater. Such events not
only deliver immediate increase in graduate
employment but also assist in building
ongoing relationships with companies.
Last but not least, while some Australian
universities (e.g. the University of Melbourne)
are creating strong and productive links
with alumni through ongoing seminars,
meet‑ups and partnerships, many still have
a lot of space for engaging alumni to a
far greater extent. Programs like UOM’s
mentoring programs truly expand students’
horizons and help career development, not
to mention opportunities to impress the
mentors to the point of being introduced to
their organisations in junior/graduate roles.
To sum up, since our universities
are becoming increasingly committed
to delivering their programs through
industry‑focused modes, they should place
greater emphasis on improving graduate
employment outcomes even further. ■
Dr Michael Baron is CEO at Baron
Consulting.