Tara Murray
Employers have rated Victoria University (VU) graduates as the most employable in Australia for a second straight year, according to a new survey.
The independent Australian-government-funded annual Employer Satisfaction Survey asks direct managers how satisfied they are with the attributes of recent graduates from Australia’s higher education institutes.
The 2021 survey, reporting the views of 3,450 employers, showed VU led the list of 41 institutes in Australia for employability skills, with 92.4 per cent of employers satisfied with VU graduates compared to a national average of 86.3 per cent for all universities.
Employability skills include crucial attributes such as working under pressure, using initiative, being flexible in the workplace, meeting deadlines and understanding the nature of the business.
In addition to leading the country’s universities for employability skills, employers rated VU graduates higher than any of the other eight universities in Victoria (Deakin, Federation, La Trobe, Monash, RMIT, Swinburne, Melbourne and VU) in four of the six attributes assessed in the survey, including overall satisfaction.
For foundation skills (general literacy, numeracy and communication) 95.8 per cent of employers were satisfied with VU graduates
For collaborative skills (teamwork) 91.7 per cent of employers were satisfied with VU graduates and for technical skills (application of professional and technical knowledge) 95.7 per cent of employers were satisfied with VU graduates.
VU Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker said the remarkable results highlight the impact that VU’s multi-award winning Block Model of teaching and learning, combined with VU’s other Australian-first innovations, such as its First Year College had on the job-readiness of its graduates.
“The continuation of these impressive results is a testament to the talents of Victoria University’s teachers and graduates alike.
“There is no doubt that the VU Block Model equips our students with the essential employability skills nominated by industry leaders themselves.”
“It gives us a great sense of pride that employers are seeing the same extraordinary potential that we do in our graduates.”
