University of Sydney excels in employer satisfaction survey

The University of Sydney has ranked second in a national survey measuring employer satisfaction with recent graduates from Australian higher education institutions.  

The 2022 Employer Satisfaction Survey (ESS) is the largest of its kind in Australia, surveying almost 3,500 employer supervisors of graduates from university and non-university higher education institution (NUHEs). The University of Sydney’s score of 88.6 placed it second among the 42 featured universities. This score measures overall satisfaction of employers with graduates as a percentage.  

Funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, the ESS survey is part of the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) suite run by the Social Research Centre at Australian National University.

It measures employer satisfaction among five attributes: 

• Foundation skills - general literacy, numeracy and communication skills and the ability to investigate and integrate knowledge
• Adaptive skills - the ability to adapt and apply skills/knowledge and work independently 
• Collaborative skills – teamwork and interpersonal skills
• Technical skills – application of professional and technical knowledge and standards
• Employability skills – the ability to perform and innovate in the workplace.  

University of Sydney graduates ranked highest in the country for their adaptive skills. They had the second highest ranked foundation skills in Australia.  

"These results are a pleasing measure of our graduates’ performance post-university," said Professor Joanne Wright, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education).  

"They demonstrate University of Sydney students have an excellent grasp of fundamental skills and are also able to adapt what they’ve learned to meet their employers’ needs. The ESS survey is further proof our graduates are playing a pivotal role in solving real world problems."