CDU graduates top three in Australia for employer satisfaction

Charles Darwin University (CDU) graduates have come in the top three in Australia in meeting employer needs, according to a national survey by the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT).

QILT’s Employer Satisfaction Survey is an annual national survey that measures how well graduates from Australian higher education institutions meet employer needs.

Results combined from the 2019, 2020 and 2021 surveys show employers rated CDU’s graduates third highest in the nation, scoring at 88.8 per cent after the University of Wollongong and Australian Catholic University (ACU).

In 2021, with more than 3,450 employer responses for 92 higher education institutions, the overall satisfaction of Australian higher education graduates rated by direct supervisors was 85.3 per cent.

Employers surveyed are from all industries ranging from information technology, engineering, architecture, agriculture, sciences, health, education, society and culture, management and commerce and creative arts.

As a part of the survey, supervisors are asked to rate graduates on their foundation skills, adaptive skills, collaborative skills, technical skills and employability skills.

Graduates in engineering and related technologies have obtained the highest employer rating at 90.4 per cent, followed by health graduates at 89.2 per cent.

CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman said the QILT survey results validated CDU graduates’ high employability skills.

“CDU graduates’ employability has consistently been ranked top in the nation over the years,” Professor Bowman said.

“We are proud of our graduates who show strong industry knowledge and important soft skills that contribute to the high satisfaction rating from employers.”

“A lot of our courses embed industry experience components into theoretical learning, which is really valuable as it gets our graduates industry-ready as they finish their degrees.”

The Good Universities Guide 2022 ranks CDU as the top one Australian university for full-time employment for postgraduate students, and number two in Australia for full-time employment for undergraduate students.

CDU postgraduate students enjoy a full-time employment rate of 94 per cent and 81.4 per cent among undergraduate students.

The QILT Employer Satisfaction Survey can be found here: www.qilt.edu.au/surveys/employer-satisfaction-survey-(ess)