Relationship Between Higher Education and Jobs

by Daniel Stepniak · Published 5 October 2020 · Updated 3 October 2022

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Changes to university fees, announced by the Federal Education Minister Job ready graduates, reveal a distorted view of higher education and a failure to take into account the changing nature of work. The recently announced proposed changes appear to be driven by perceived short-term relating to courses offered by universities, and the employment of academics in certain disciplines.

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan announced that fees for university courses in health, teaching and science will be cut while the cost of popular humanities, law and commerce degrees will increase.

The cost of humanities and communications courses will more than double, with a year of full-time study costing $14,500, up from $6684 this year. Fees for law and commerce will increase 28 per cent to $14,500 a year, up from $11,155. A full three-year program in these disciplines will cost students about $43,500 as the government slashes its funding contribution.

Teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English, languages, maths and agriculture courses will cost $3700 a year, down between 46 and 62 per cent. Fees for science, health, architecture, environmental science, IT and engineering will drop 20 per cent, with a year of study costing $7700.

Under the changes, fees for humanities and communications courses will more than double, and law and commerce students will be paying around 28 per cent more.

However, teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English, languages, maths and agriculture courses will drop by up to 62 per cent.

Discussion of university courses and government funding has prioritised courses that prepare students for work. Some of us have questioned this ‘university as trade school’ mentality. There is unquestionably much value in education that is not focused on the acquisition of specific knowledge. I would argue that university education encompasses much more than the curriculum. Sadly, the pandemic is restricting the scope of this life education.

Accepting that students will have 5+ career changes in the course of their working lives, how can we prioritise training for a specific (and perhaps soon redundant) job? Surely, acquiring broadly adaptable skill sets is more in tune with preparing students for not only their working lives but life itself.

The following article, I suggest, illustrates this point.

The top ten skills graduate recruiters want

1. Commercial awareness (or business acumen)

Knowing how a business or industry works and what makes a company tick. Showing that you have an understanding of what the organisation wants to achieve through its products and services, and how it competes in its marketplace.

2. Communication

Verbal, written communication and listening, being clear, concise and focused; being able to tailor your message for the audience and listening to the views of others.

3. Teamwork

Demonstrating that you’re not only a team player but also have the ability to manage and delegate to others and take on responsibility. It’s about building positive working relationships that help everyone to achieve goals and business objectives.

4. Negotiation and persuasion

Being not only able to set out what you want to achieve and how you will achieve it but also able to understand where the other person is coming from so that you can both get what you want or need.

5. Problem-solving

The need to display an ability to take a logical and analytical approach to problem solving and resolution of issues. It’s also good to show that you can approach problems from different angles.

6. Leadership

You may not be a manager straight away, but graduates need to show potential to motivate teams and other colleagues that may work for them. It’s about assigning and delegating tasks well, setting deadlines and leading by example.

7. Organisation

This is about showing that you can prioritise, work efficiently and productively, and manage your time well. It’s also advantageous to be able to show employers how you decide what is important to focus on and get done, and how you go about meeting deadlines.

8. Perseverance and motivation

Employers look for evidence of some ‘get-up-and-go’. Working life presents many challenges and you need to show employers that you’re the kind of person who will find a way through, even when the going gets tough… and stay cheerful-ish.

9. Ability to work under pressure

This is about keeping calm in a crisis and not becoming too overwhelmed or stressed.

10. Confidence

In the workplace, you need to strike the balance between being confident in yourself but not arrogant, and confidence in your colleagues and the company you work for.

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