Even the government’s pledge of 1.3 million extra jobs might not be enough to keep unemployment below 4%. The pledge ought to be the unemployment rate itself.
Four things that count when it comes to employability: the reputation of the university, networks/ connections, experience, and type of work.
shutterstock
Universities shouldn’t only attend to the knowledge and skills graduates need for work but also the factors that give graduates a better chance of earning a living and participating in society.
Mark Fabian, Australian National University and Robert Breunig, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
We’ve tested the claim that overworkers have no choice, and found it wanting.
Explicitly teaching graduate students project management - a skill set they typically learn through trial and error - could mean better research and employability.
(Shutterstock)
Graduate students have much to offer the non-academic workforce based on critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Universities need to help them articulate these skills for employers.
Uber has sparked protests around the world. It is seen as exploiting its own drivers and harming those employed in regulated taxi industries.
Justin Lane/AAP
India’s youths, an eighth of the world’s population, are facing a growing unemployment crisis. Australia must engage with this global demographic, for our own benefit and theirs.
Underemployment and stagnant wages may be strong signs of worker insecurity in the face of relentless cost-cutting.
Paul Braven/AAP
Most workers are still employees, not casuals or gig workers. So what has changed to increase the insecurity of workers?
The problem doesn’t appear to be with the relevance of qualifications and skillsets to employment, but rather with the scarcity of employment.
Shutterstock
The government claims university degrees are failing businesses, but analysis of the latest graduate outcome and employer satisfaction surveys tells us the problem is with underemployment.