Job Prospects after Graduation

The prospects of a job after graduation from University are a becoming slimmer and more stressful for graduates as they begin the transition from University to their new lives to the point where students are considering other institutions for certain aspects of education.   Institutions such as the Academy of Interactive Entertainment, The Canberra Institute of Technology and the Canberra Makeup Academy all offer Diplomas in their area of specialties, students at the Canberra Makeup Academy and Academy of Interactive Entertainment are encouraged to start their own businesses and some go on to become successful.

However with any degree there are job prospects out there but they have to be sought often with the greatest diligence.   The results of the 2014 AGS show that, of all new domestic bachelor degree graduates either in or seeking full-time employment, 68.1 per cent were in fulltime employment at the time of the survey, with a further 20.3 per cent working on a part-time or casual basis while continuing to seek full-time employment. An additional 11.6 per cent were not working and still looking for full-time employment four months after completing their qualifications.

Looking at the wider population, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures for May 2014 show that, in the general labour force (aged 15-74), 3.2 per cent of bachelor degree graduates were unemployed (3.4 per cent in 2013). The comparative figure for those with a postgraduate degree was 3.9 per cent, and for those with a graduate or postgraduate diploma it was 2.3 per cent. For the total population (with or without non-school qualifications), the unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent and 8.2 per cent for persons with no post-secondary qualifications.

AGS employment figures differ from ABS figures in that the AGS separates those in part-time employment from those in full-time employment while the ABS includes those with any work at all in the ‘employed’ category. However, these figures do indicate that the longer-term prospects for those with higher education qualifications remain very positive.   The next AGS figures for employment prospects for universities will be released in May 2015.

Reality behind the numbers.   Most students who attend the smaller institutions such as the Canberra Makeup Academy are aware that the prospects of a job are hard to come by unless you work hard to find them. Most graduates are also aware that higher education may have to be sought in order to get a job unless you wished to pursue a retail career, most students are also aware that a career as a makeup artist does not lead to instant or great amounts of money and experience is almost far greater than a “piece of paper”.

Jakki Best is a current student at the Canberra Makeup Academy, when I asked her what her classmates wanted to do after they have graduated she responded that some students needed to further their careers in order to achieve what they wanted in life.

“The response from my classmates has varied, some are wanting to go on and start their own business, some want to further their education through a Beauty Diploma because they know makeup work by itself has a really restricted career and other people have decided that they want makeup to have nothing to do with their career. ”

Joe Mikus is a graduate of both the University of Canberra and The Canberra Institute of Technology and currently works as a graphic designer for Communities at Work. He recognises that as a CIT graduate pursuing his line of work, to get the optimal experience and best chances as a career he needed to pursue more education.  

“The paper is heavier. Diplomas never looked as detailed as a Bachelor. I learnt far more from CIT and found the experience much much better, however, I have gotten more opportunities because of UC. All designers know to hire UC students who have gone to CIT. Also it’s much cheaper, like 5 grand less, which is crazy! Also all the designers who came from CIT got great marks in comparison to the UC graduates who came straight from College. It’s different in my field of work from other means but it worked out cheapest, and more experience my way. Unless you study law or something jobs are found through word of mouth usually.”

There are however high employment rates for The Canberra Institute of Technology with their latest statistics saying that 92 per cent of graduates were employed or in further study after training compared with 87 per cent nationally. This is only marginally lower than graduates from Universities seeking work or undertaking further study.   It appears to be the general unspoken consensus of all graduates as well that jobs are found through word of mouth rather than the handing in of a resume with both Jakki and Joe stating that this is how they have gotten jobs in the past.   All higher institutes remain positive for successful outcomes for their graduates or the opportunity to see further education despite the statistics for graduates steadily dropping and the pressure on new graduates.