Research from the Graduate Careers Australia has shown that Australian graduates are now finding it harder to get initial employment and getting relatively lower starting salaries than in previous years. The sheer number of new graduates has meant that the value of a degree in the workplace is not the high level meal ticket that it used to be. A graphic published in the Australian Financial Review on 27/7/15 shows the long term trends.
This shows the increasing importance of practical training and internship opportunities for undergraduates in giving themselves an edge in the job market – mass lectures and overcrowded tutorials with a university credential at the end will no longer be adequate to satisfy the education consumer of the future.