• Charles Sturt maintains nation-leading ranking for full-time employment four months after graduation
• Metrics for 2021 Graduate Outcomes Survey include employment rates and average annual salary
• Vice-Chancellor Professor Renée Leon attributes Charles Sturt’s excellent results to “courses [which] are co-designed with industry and include extensive practical experience”

The 2021 Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) was completed by 127,827 Australian university graduates and focuses on their employment outcomes four months after leaving university.

The GOS results, released today, reveal that 84.7 per cent of Charles Sturt’s 2020 graduates were in full-time employment four months after graduation - the highest rate among Australian universities and substantially above the sector average of 68.9 per cent

Charles Sturt’s 2020 graduates also earned an average salary of $70,000 per year, ranking them third among their Australian contemporaries and well above the national median of $65,000 per year.

Charles Sturt University Vice-Chancellor Professor Renée Leon said the 2021 Graduate Outcome Survey’s results are another example of how the University connects students with the knowledge and wisdom to shape the world.

“Charles Sturt University’s courses are co-designed with industry and include extensive practical experience, which means our graduates are sought after and valued by employers,” Professor Leon said.

“This survey’s results are further proof that Charles Sturt University graduates are career-ready and able to apply their knowledge immediately to make a meaningful impact in the workforce.

“Topping the national rankings for full-time employment six years in a row is an excellent result for Charles Sturt University, its staff, and its students – prospective and current.”

Two weeks ago, QILT’s 2021 ‘Graduate Outcomes Survey – Longitudinal’ survey ranked Charles Sturt third among Australian universities for long-term undergraduate employment outcomes, with 93.8 per cent of graduates in full-time employment three years after graduating.

In the same survey Charles Sturt was also ranked fifth among Australian universities for long-term postgraduate employment outcomes, with 95.2 per cent of graduates in full-time employment three years after graduating.

Minister for Education and Youth, the Hon. Mr Alan Tudge, said the increase in Australia’s graduate employment compared to last year was welcome news for graduates as they hit the ground running and enter the workforce impacted by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

“It’s encouraging to see that despite the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, students are getting on with their lives, graduating and moving quickly into full-time work,” Minister Tudge said.