University of the Sunshine Coast graduates are enjoying rising success in the job market – posting the country’s largest two-year growth in employment for any university.

In 2022, UniSC’s undergraduate employment measured at four months after completion of study was 89.6 percent, according to respondents to the Graduate Outcomes Survey led by the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching.

UniSC Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Helen Bartlett said the results reflected a university that was keeping pace with industry needs and building skills to stem workforce shortages.

“UniSC is particularly pleased to have the largest uplift of 16.8 percent in Australia for overall employment from 2021 to 2022, which includes full and part-time work,” Professor Bartlett said.

“Our graduates are gaining full-time work in sectors where our partners are telling us they need more skilled employees, including health care, science and technology and teaching, where there have been shortages nationwide.

“As well as meeting these skills gaps, we have been building on-site industry experience and certifications into our programs, so graduates are even more ready to hit the ground running as soon as they graduate.

“They’ve proven so popular with employers, that students engaging with what we call ‘work integrated learning’ are securing full-time work before they have even finished their degrees. It’s a fantastic win-win for everyone – our graduates, our employers, and our communities,” Professor Bartlett said.

And with seven in 10 regional graduates continuing to live and work in the regions after graduation, Professor Bartlett says the benefits largely stay with the regional communities.

“Our graduates not only go on to deliver the workforce needed, but they will be innovating, building on the networks they formed during university, and even going on to create new industries and businesses that further strengthen regional Australia,” Professor Bartlett said.

Additional highlights:

• UniSC’s overall graduate employment rate was higher than the national average at 89.6 percent (88.5 percent nationally)
• UniSC’s full-time employment rates rose to 75.8% from 59.0% the previous year

• 78.9 percent of UniSC international graduates reported employment in the three years to 2022, compared to 65 per cent national average.

Former Gympie bookkeeper Felicity Rogers is among a large cohort of Nursing Science graduates who gained highly competitive positions in Queensland Health’s Graduate Registered Nurse program after completing their studies.

“Being a busy mum of three children while studying full-time and working part-time with a FIFO husband sure presented plenty of challenges,” Felicity said.

“But all the late-night study sessions and the stress was all worth it as I am absolutely loving being a registered nurse.”

Felicity worked for Queensland Health as a USIN (undergraduate student in nursing) while completing her degree, and since finishing her studies has been working in the acute services unit at Gympie Hospital with the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service.

Work Integrated Learning opportunities at UniSC continue to create stronger pathways between university graduates and employers, ultimately boosting employment outcomes. For more information on how to get involved, visit www.usc.edu.au/current-students/work-integrated-learning-wil