The university graduate jungle—preparation starts before university enrolment!     025

At the present time increasing numbers of young people are enrolling at university to gain a degree. Media reports indicate that the number of undergraduate students has increased by about a quarter just over the last five years (for example see Matthew Knot, Surging students hurt universities, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 Aug 2016, pp. 1, 4). Indeed about 40 per cent of young people now have a degree (for example see Tim Dodd, More women get degrees but men lag, Australian Financial Review, 2 Dec 2013, p. 24). This has implications for both the Australian economy and the education system.

An article by Julie Hare (Unis slammed over subsidy exploitation, Australian, 13 Aug 2016, p. 7) seems representative of the difficulties young people are facing with university courses and careers. “Australia’s 35 law schools produce 14,000 law graduates for about 4000 jobs every year.” It is perfectly true of course that a law degree qualifies a new graduate for a range of excellent careers, but a great many of those 14,000 law graduates would have had their hearts set on becoming a practising lawyer.

Now consider the situation for young people choosing teaching as a career. In 2013 more than 40,000 teachers were on “a waiting list for permanent jobs in NSW and the oversupply… is likely to last until the end of the decade even if resignations or retirements double” (Amy McNeilage, Piccoli calls for cap on teaching degrees, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 Nov 2013, p. 7). Right now however, perhaps as a result of the new standards for education students in NSW, “the number of teaching students… has fallen more than 13 per cent” (Kylar Loussikian, Unis sidestep teacher training reform, Australian, 10 Aug 2016, p. 8).

What does all this mean? It means that it is still difficult for a new teaching graduate to obtain a permanent position in a school or locality of his or her first choice, and this situation is likely to persist. Private schools, for example, can afford to be very selective when taking on new staff.

Part of the solution is to consider obtaining additional qualifications and skills so that the new teaching graduate is more attractive to employers. A high level of digital literacy, for example, is always a plus. The ability to teach children with special needs might be another plus. Skills in the area of physical education or music could be advantageous for primary teaching. If the new graduate wants to consider a later career change to the field of school counselling then it might be necessary to study psychology or other subjects within the teaching degree. Plenty of things to think about!

Of course this will probably mean an additional investment in time, and many young people would not want to consider that, but it’s something that their parents could discuss with them. Once young people have finished with university they are reluctant to return, so the time for these extra qualifications is right now. These days double degrees are increasingly being offered and taken up, and such an option should be on the table. But there are other options such as a different choice of subjects within the degree or the completion of additional programs which could be accomplished in parallel.

Remember there is still a need for your child to engage in development activities and programs so they can demonstrate what are called graduate capabilities. These include initiative, problem solving, accountability, life experience, leadership, teamwork, and the ability to grow and learn, and so on. I have covered this type of need on this website at Parents/Why your child needs to climb Mount Everest.

This type of thinking also applies to young people planning entry into other professional areas. Students should remember that universities are not that interested in what happens to students after they graduate. From the university’s perspective students just disappear only to be replaced by new students. That’s the story of education. But a student’s choices and successes are part of a journey which goes well beyond university. Good luck.

All content copyright—Mark Thackray—Australian Educational Services