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Corporate Australia has come out in support this week, in the wake of a new list of global universities with the most millionaire alumni, with praise of Australia's top ranked university, University of NSW,and its strategy of focusing on delivering work/life skills.
By cross-referencing the 2012 Australian Graduate Survey with the Wealth Insight/Spears Magazine league table, which saw UNSW ranked as "Australia's leading millionaire factory," UNSW has drawn both corporate and academic praise for the value of its rich professional development program.
The results show that graduates from UNSW are among the most employable in Australia, according to the 2012 Australian Graduate Survey.
Employers look to UNSW graduates because their knowledge is largely fact based,they learn about real work scenarios rather than purely theory, meaning they are work-ready when they leave the university.
"UNSW students come to us with skills that are ready to be applied in the business. With a bit of training they deepen their skill set and they are very good at picking up on instruction and applying it, that represents a big saving in energy for businesses, " said Paul Bailey, director of axiom forensics, a Sydney company specializing in forensic accounting.
When prospective employers interview graduates for a job, students' academic performance seldom tops the list of selection criteria.
A survey of 3,296 successful graduates and 166 graduate employers conducted by the Australian Association of Graduate Employers and High Fliers in 2012 found more than 86 percent of graduate employers rated team work, oral communication, interpersonal and problem solving skills as "very important" competencies.
More than eight out of 10 of the successful graduates had worked on a part-time or casual basis and 51 percent had done volunteer work while at university.
"It's really not just about academics and the information they have learned, when we're interviewing, it's more about their hunger and their drive and their genuine interest in the industry, " said Elaina Griffiths, head of Graduate Acquisition and Development, Australia and New Zealand at UBS.
By combining quality research with extensive industry partnerships, UNSW remains one of the Asia-Pacific's leading research-intensive universities and the university most likely to open corporate doors for graduates.
Bluescope Steel is a research partner of UNSW and has employed several graduates after working with them during the UNSW Co-op Scholarships Program, an industry-linked scholarship program providing industry training, professional and leadership development to selected undergraduates in business, engineering, science and built environment.
"UNSW has always been one of my preferred providers of people because the students are highly aligned with what we want, as they do their industrial training periods here through the co-op program," said Phil Barker, Bluescope Steel's Technical Leader of Polymer Research.
By offering a variety of programs aimed at giving students a stronger competitive edge in the job market, UNSW prepares students for the rigors of working life, and not just the leisures of academic study.
Having wealthy alumni is a boon for universities anxious for a donation or two, and UNSW Vice-President of Advancement Jennie Lang said successful graduate entrepreneurs were proving to be willing givers.
"We are discovering that UNSW graduates, particularly those going into start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures, are expressing a desire to give back to their faculties and the university either through scholarships or in supporting vital research," she said.
Of most value for inbound students is UNSW's exclusive Professional Development Program (PDP) for international students, which helps them further develop their communication skills in a professional setting, as well as gain practical experience in the workplace through 50-hour internships.
"It's not just a degree that will get you a job," according to Taye Morris, manager of UNSW Careers and Employment.
"Employers are looking for graduates with teamwork, communication, interpersonal and problem-solving skills and it's important to develop these skills through not only university study but through work experience and extra-curricular activities, " he told Xinhua.
"It's this diverse range of experiences that our students are engaged in, as well as our high academic standards, that makes UNSW graduates so highly sought after by employers in Australia and internationally," he said.
