Every year, the government-funded Employer Satisfaction Survey (ESS) is published. The report surveys over 4,000 employers about how they rate their recent graduate employees in the workforce, giving us a good idea of what unis and degrees best prepare us for our impending careers.

Here’s what the results from 2017 reveals about Australia’s higher education institutions.

“Less Prestigious” Unis Coming Out On Top

This year, the survey revealed that the university graduates who draw the highest overall level of satisfaction from their employers are from James Cook University, with a 90.6 per cent overall rating. Coming in second was the University of Notre Dame Australia (89.1 per cent) and University of the Sunshine Coast (88.8 per cent) at third. Bond University (88.6 per cent) and University of Wollongong (88.1 per cent) snagged the fourth and fifth place.

Could this be a shift away from the traditional idea that employers care about “prestige”?

It’s interesting to note that universities that don’t fall into the prestigious “Group of Eight” are topping the list. Could this be a shift away from the traditional idea that employers care about “prestige”? Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, chief executive of TwoPointZero career coaching firm, said, “In comparison to sandstone universities, we’ve seen that some of the other universities have got a very strong focus on employer connection and are really trying to look at how they can add value to their degrees.” He added, “In 2018, the name is becoming less important in employers’ eyes, and that’s showing in the results.”

The Degree Matters

In terms of degrees, graduates who have completed engineering and related technology degrees scored a 89.9 per cent rating for employer satisfaction. This was followed by health degrees (88.6 per cent), architecture and building (86.8 per cent) and education (84.6 per cent). The report notes that this is because vocational degrees “have higher employment outcomes immediately upon graduation”.

While only 56 per cent of uni graduates feel like their uni degrees are “very important” or “important” to their job, 64 per cent of employers still regard the qualification as “very important” or “important”.

You can read the full report here to see how your uni (and your degree) stacks up.