Compared to students from other disciplines, education students are far more likely to report a willingness to stay with their first employer for five years or more, according to the results of an independent survey by GradAustralia.
Almost half (45 per cent) of education students report that they intend to remain with their first employer for more than five years. This puts them ahead of health and medical sciences graduates (36 per cent), science and humanities graduates (23 per cent), and law graduates (21 per cent).
In a sense, the response of education students reflects the realities of teaching in Australia, with the most recent ABS ‘Schools Australia’ report finding that 65.6 per cent of Australian students are enrolled at government schools, which far outnumber non-government schools. For teachers in the dominant government system, changing schools is not necessarily tantamount to changing employer (which will, in most cases, remain the relevant Department of Education).
Despite anticipating stability once employed, only 12 per cent of education students expect to have a job immediately upon graduating, according to the GradAustralia Top 100 Graduate Employer survey. They’re also the least likely to report feeling that their course has provided them with the skills necessary for the labour market, with 48 per cent graduating with a sense that they’re unprepared for what comes next.
‘The results of our survey point towards the need for a reevaluation of the ways in which we’re preparing today’s teachers to educate tomorrow’s leaders,’ says Geoff Adams, co-founder of GradAustralia. ‘However, they also show that education students who secure a job are likely to be rewarded with enviable career stability.’
For graduate jobs, internships and career advice about the education sector, visit GradAustralia’s education page.