Like most universities, UTS tracks and monitors graduate employment through national benchmarks such as the QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS). In 2024, GOS figures indicated that the percentage of UTS graduates in full-time employment post-graduation had significantly declined – a sector-wide trend where impacts are most keenly felt among young graduates between 18-25 years of age.
Strengthening Employability Outcomes is the topic of our next WILN@UTS Network meeting on Thursday 1 May, in partnership with UTS Careers Services. As we prepare for a constructive discussion on the GOS survey results and potential strategies, we consider what we can influence and where we can best support students.
What influences post-graduation prospects?
The GOS survey measures the short-term labour force outcomes of graduates around 4-6 months after completing studies, making it relatively straightforward to see comparisons across institutions and over time. To add further nuance, organisations such as Work-Integrated Learning Australia (formerly ACEN) measure multiple aspects including participation in WIL, and the influence of WIL and employability-related activities on graduate outcomes. Together with our institutional programs and experiences, these insights can help us to monitor ongoing employment trends and graduates’ perceptions of preparedness for work, and to focus our efforts on the aspects we can influence in our curriculum and other student supports.
Graduate outcomes and employment don’t exist in a vacuum, but interact with multiple social, economic, political, and other complex systems. Employment outcomes often have more to do with the labour market and the economy than with curriculum and pedagogy, and many have highlighted the role of social position and background as strong predictors of graduate labour market destinations. This has clear implications for universities and the student cohorts they support, as well as geographical locations and how these interact with the ebbs and flows of the labour market.
Learning, working, and the realities of WIL
From a curriculum and pedagogy perspective, a good predictor for post-graduation employment for undergraduates is when students undertake internships (ACEN, 2025). Even with a strong WIL program, however, we know that making the most of those opportunities is not always easy. Most students need to work to fund themselves, and this (usually part-time) work is unlikely to be in the desirable industry areas where students are looking for high quality work experience. When internships come up, students may have to drop valuable shifts, sacrifice necessary income, and disrupt established work patterns at inconvenient times. Equity and placement poverty are of increasing concern.
There are plenty of examples of work-integrated learning activities, too. These can foster professional practice capabilities such as inclusive communication skills, critical thinking, teamwork skills, professional identity development, professional agency, initiative and leadership opportunities. Whilst they are good confidence builders and enhance employability, they are not able to provide employment assurance. The discussion of material worth needs to be enriched with the proposition to educate future skilled, responsible professionals and citizens.
Networks and partnerships build solid foundations
Other systems and structures, whilst less visible, are crucial to the support and sustainability of work-integrated learning. WIL partnerships (internal and external) that are mature, sustainable and collaborative are the best foundations for students to learn and practise productively and safely. Through co-design, UTS courses can ensure relevance to the world of work. What are we doing to nurture these partnerships and more specifically what professional development and support are we offering practitioners who supervise our students in their workplace/community environments?
Career Development Learning provides important building blocks for finding employment, including developing your brand, CV and cover letter writing, and preparing for job or internship interviews. Career initiatives may also need to be cognisant of values development and creation of a professional identity within disciplinary contexts. Some of this work is embedded in core programs, whilst other aspects are supported by dedicated units such as UTS Careers.
Be part of the discussion with WILN@UTS
If you would like to contribute to this ongoing topic, join us for an engaging session on Employability and GOS – Strengthening Employability Outcomes with WILN@UTS (formerly PEPN). This 90-minute meeting will focus on enhancing employability outcomes for UTS students, with discussions on the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey results, strategies for success, and the articulation gap in employability skills. The session will feature a student panel sharing their experiences and challenges of their perceived employability, as well as collaborative breakout discussions to brainstorm actionable solutions. Register now for the session and forward this invitation to others in your network who may be interested.