Are you getting towards the end of your degree and starting to panic about finding a job in your chosen field? Or, you’ve finally graduated and are now struggling to pay yo rent? Let us make this very, very clear: you are not alone.
A new study has found that Aussie graduates are taking close to five years to find full-time work after finishing their degree. That is nearly half a decade, you guys. That’s insanity.
Today, The Foundation for Young Australians released their annual report card, titled ‘How Young People are Faring in the Transition from School to Work’. It stated that young Aussies like yourself are sweating blood/tears/god knows what else for an average of 4.7 years between finishing their Bachelor’s degree and finding a full-time job in their field.
Only 65% of graduates managed to gain full time work within four months of graduating. Seven years ago, that same stat stood at 84%.
The report also stated that a whopping 70% of the entry-level jobs that graduates are currently studying for were at risk of being automated in the near future, and 60% were studying for jobs that would be “radically altered” by automation.
Jan Owen, CEO of the foundation, told Huffington Post that our education system was among the best in world, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, or even close to it – we need a hefty across-the-board reform to better fit the excellent young Aussies that’ll be leading us in the future (that’s you guys!):
“They are studying for jobs that will not exist in the next 10 to 15 years. That comes back to information — where is the career and education advice coming from? Employers aren’t influencing what is going on in schools, teachers don’t know what the career landscape is and neither do parents,” Owen said.“We need much better information from industry and government about what to expect and where will the jobs be. Our young people are better educated than ever, no doubt, but the question is — better educated in what? To what end? Will this education get them a job in the future?”
Owen also said that to change these stats, we need to start by teaching some very basic things to our grads. Coding is important (as a bunch of pollies have recently called for), but what we really need is basic ‘soft’ skills, like time management, networking, creative thinking, problem solving. Teaching facts is important, but teaching how to think is pretty damn important too, ja feel?
“We need to have a universal enterprise education strategy. Other countries have it and are working toward a basic skills set, with skills like digital literacy, financial literacy, analytics, problem solving. Every person needs these skills as a base line, but they’re not being taught universally by any stretch of the imagination in Australia.”“[The changing workplace] requires a different type of teaching and skill set, and a type of school that is prepared to bring in a lot of different skills. Some skills, like technology, sit outside the school in fields like industry. We firmly believe we need to design these experiences with industry and teachers that go beyond the classroom.”“Schools should start to be much more deeply engaged with designing opportunities for young people to get access to career understanding and pathways.”
via Huffington Post.
