Engineers top the 2020 Employer Satisfaction Survey, again

AUSTRALIAN bosses have named engineering graduates as the best for the second year running.

The Australian Government's Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) Employer Satisfaction Survey found employers' overall satisfaction level with engineering graduates was at 90.7 percent.

The survey, funded by the Federal Government, looked at the quality of education provided at Australian institutions by asking the employers of new graduates about the generic skills, technical skills and work readiness of the graduate.

Engineers Australia CEO Dr Bronwyn Evans said the excellent result reflected the emphasis institutions put on preparing students for their transition from university to work, and its close links with industry. 

“Increasingly, the 35 university members of the Australian Council of Deans (ACED)  have adopted project-based learning and increased attention to students' collaboration and communication skills. Engineering faculties and schools also have industry advisory committees that assist in ensuring that the programs are delivering to industry's current and prospective expectations,” Dr Evans said.

Professor Ian Burnett, president of ACED and executive dean of Engineering and IT at the University of Technology Sydney, said it was pleasing to see Engineering and Related Technologies at the top of the ratings once again.

“This excellent outcome is a tribute to the graduates and their teachers and rewards the level of industry engagement and the development of authentic technical and professional skills within our engineering degrees," Prof. Burnett said. 

"Many of the projects undertaken by students are linked to industry.  Students are required to gain industry experience and reflect on this using the graduate competency framework of the professional accreditation process operated by Engineers Australia, with whom ACED works closely,”.

The report follows on from the Graduate Outcomes Survey conducted last year, which found 84.4 percent of last year's engineering graduates found full-time employment, 12percent higher than for all graduates of undergraduate programs, and with median remuneration highest of all fields after medicine and dentistry, with women engineers earning slightly more than their male peers.

“An engineering degree is a platform for lifelong learning. Engineers possess complex problem-solving skills that are useful in a range of business contexts, not just technology, making them desirable and valuable employees,” Dr Evans said.

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