Search Results | VOCEDplus, the international tertiary education and research database

How are new overseas graduates faring in the labour market?

Based on data from the Graduate Destination Survey, we look [at] how the outcomes of graduating overseas students c ... Show more
Based on data from the Graduate Destination Survey, we look [at] how the outcomes of graduating overseas students compare with those of Australian students, and how these outcomes have changed over time. The recent experience is that the proportion of overseas graduates in full-time employment is about 30 per cent of the proportion of Australian graduates in full-time employment. Furthermore the employment of overseas graduates is split reasonably evenly between those with jobs in Australia and those with jobs in their home countries. All up we are talking about 15 per cent of overseas graduates obtaining a full-time job four months after graduation. This suggests that the overseas graduates are struggling in the labour market. Associated with this very low proportion of overseas graduates in full-time employment we have seen very large percentages going on to full-time study, at over four times the rate of their Australian counterparts in management and commerce, for example.
Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom; Carroll, David; Fitzpatrick, Darcy

Date: 2017

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: NILS working paper series

Subjects: Higher education; Outcomes; Students ... [+] Show more
Do STEM graduates command a premium?

Governments tend to have a very positive perspective on the benefits of study in STEM fields, in contrast to some c ... Show more
Governments tend to have a very positive perspective on the benefits of study in STEM fields, in contrast to some commentators who observe that the labour market is not particularly good for STEM graduates. On balance, based on Graduate Destination Survey data, we find that new STEM graduates have reasonably positive outcomes in the labour market, and therefore it does little harm to encourage prospective students to study in STEM fields. On the other hand, there is nothing to suggest that non-STEM graduates are missing out on huge opportunities by not studying in STEM fields. We also find that STEM graduates do much better in the labour market if they can find a STEM job compared to a job in a non-STEM field, but only quite a small proportion of STEM graduates transition to a STEM job. Also, STEM graduates get better jobs than non-STEM graduates if they obtain a job in any occupation group except community and personal service workers, and sales.
Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom; Carroll, David

Date: 2017

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: NILS working paper series

Subjects: Higher education; Outcomes; Employment
Opinion pieces 2013

Five opinion pieces were released in 2013: (1) 'Cultural identity a factor in Indigenous education' by Howard Salko ... Show more
Five opinion pieces were released in 2013: (1) 'Cultural identity a factor in Indigenous education' by Howard Salkow (released 22 April); (2) 'Schools play a role in impacting tertiary entrance rankings and university enrolment' by Tom Karmel (released 1 June); (3) 'Teaching numeracy in VET' by Tom Karmel (released 22 July); (4) 'Skilling numeracy practitioners' by Howard Salkow (released 14 August); (5) 'Inconsistent university policy and practices impact VET graduates' by Howard Salkow (released 28 November). Show less

Authors: Salkow, Howard; Karmel, Tom

Date: 2013

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia; Europe ... [+] Show more

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: NCVER opinion pieces

Subjects: Culture and society; Indigenous people; Vocational education and training ... [+] Show more
Has the graduate job market been swamped?

In Australia, the proportion of new graduates in full-time employment has declined every year over the period 2009- ... Show more
In Australia, the proportion of new graduates in full-time employment has declined every year over the period 2009-2014 according to the Graduate Destination Survey (GDS). While it may be the case that poor labour market conditions, together with the size of the cohort, will impact on the proportion of new graduates getting a full-time job, [the authors'] interest is in whether there has been a structural shift in the graduate labour market, such that new graduates are experiencing labour market conditions more severe than those expected on the basis of earlier experience. [The authors] also wish to look at whether there has been a change in the quality of jobs for those graduates who are finding full-time jobs. The size of the sample in the GDS allows [the authors] to undertake the analysis by field of study and type of university.
Published abstract. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom; Carroll, David

Date: 2016

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: NILS working paper series

Subjects: Students; Employment; Labour market ... [+] Show more
The value of completing a vocational education and training qualification

Using wage data from the Student Outcomes Survey and the national vocational education and training (VET) collectio ... Show more
Using wage data from the Student Outcomes Survey and the national vocational education and training (VET) collection conducted annually by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), this study examines whether there is a benefit to actually completing a VET qualification, noting that many VET students do not complete full qualifications. It is important to acknowledge that VET is very varied in terms of motivation and educational background. Returns to study also vary, and analysis indicates that low-level qualifications (certificates I and II) appear to have little return. This report is useful to policy-makers in terms of defining performance indicators for the sector and also in terms of thinking about resourcing and fee models for the sector. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom; Nguyen, Nhi

Date: 2007

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Vocational education and training; Qualifications; Outcomes ... [+] Show more
Labour demand and educational expansion

Education levels in the workforce increased substantially over the 1980s and 1990s, a trend that was expected to co ... Show more
Education levels in the workforce increased substantially over the 1980s and 1990s, a trend that was expected to continue as rising school retention rates and increasing numbers of tertiary education graduates fed into the workforce. Simple economic analysis suggested that the increase in qualification levels must have occurred either because the demand for or supply of places at education institutions had increased. Supply of education places, at least in Australia, was less amenable to analysis because of its dominance by the government. However, analysis of changes in the structure of labour demand gave some insight into why there had been such an expansion in education.
This paper looks at shifts in labour demand as reflected in changes in the occupational structures. [The authors] then find that the occupational structure has changed in a way which is most favourable to the most highly qualified individuals and least favourable to those with the poorest qualifications. Changes in relative earnings across education levels, suggesting that labour demand has increasingly favoured educated workers, are also discussed. However, these changes cannot explain the whole of the increase in education levels.
Edited excerpts from publication reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom

Date: 1997

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Article

Journal title: Economic papers: a journal of applied economics and policy

Subjects: Labour market; Qualifications; Outcomes ... [+] Show more
Global skills crunch: a case of dog eat dog?

This paper was presented to a meeting of the Wellington Exchange, an international group of higher education offici ... Show more
This paper was presented to a meeting of the Wellington Exchange, an international group of higher education officials, in December 2008. One of the topics of the meeting was the issue of possible skills shortages emerging as a result of demographic trends, with the ageing of the population of developed countries. The paper argues that this is not an issue about which we need to be alarmist and that there is little evidence of impending skills shortages. While the labour market of the future will favour the highly skilled, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of the workforce with a degree, and graduate salaries have been increasing at a very modest rate. This is not to say that there will be no skills shortages in specific areas, and relative wages and starting salaries should be monitored. The paper concludes that the business cycle could have a much more dramatic effect on the demand for skills than demographic trends. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom

Conference name: Wellington Exchange - Evolving Higher Education Agendas

Date: 2009

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia

Resource type: Conference paper

Subjects: Higher education; Skills and knowledge; Labour market ... [+] Show more
VET and international students

The purpose of this paper is to look at international students in vocational education and training (VET) in some d ... Show more
The purpose of this paper is to look at international students in vocational education and training (VET) in some detail: where they come from, their fields of study, and the outcomes on completion with particular interest in which international students undertake courses that address the needs of the labour market, the extent to which they complete courses and the outcomes of graduates.
Excerpt from publisher's website. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom

Date: 2023

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: International education; Vocational education and training; Students ... [+] Show more
Interview with Tom Karmel about 'Is VET vocational?'

In this interview Steve Davis talks with Tom Karmel about his report 'Is VET vocational?: the relevance of training ... Show more
In this interview Steve Davis talks with Tom Karmel about his report 'Is VET vocational?: the relevance of training to the occupations of vocational education and training graduates?' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 92.45], which explores the issue of how vocational education and training (VET) is actually used in the labour market and in particular the match between what graduates study and the jobs they get.
Published abstract. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom; Davis, Steve

Date: 2008

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia

Resource type: Webinar or podcast

Series name: Vocational voices

Subjects: Vocational education and training; Labour market; Employment ... [+] Show more
Surely there are too many graduates now?

This article updates earlier work which asked the question whether Australia was producing too many graduates, noti ... Show more
This article updates earlier work which asked the question whether Australia was producing too many graduates, noting that the increase in the proportion of the workforce with degrees had been quite dramatic. That work dated from the mid-1990s, and the quick answer was that the lack of change in relative earnings implied very extensive changes in the structure of labour demand. However, the expansion of the proportion of the workforce with qualifications has continue at a remarkable rate and therefore it is timely to ask the question again. By examining the relationship between changes in the proportions of the workforce with different levels of education and changes in relative wages, the article estimates shifts in the demand for labour across the various levels of education.
Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom

Date: 2013

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Article

Journal title: Australian bulletin of labour

Subjects: Qualifications; Labour market; Students ... [+] Show more