June 5, 2019

Employable graduates, diverse cohort

NSW Audit reveals pleasing growth in UOW’s Indigenous student base

There is an increasing demand for a university education among Indigenous Australians in NSW.

A newly-released state government report has revealed Indigenous student enrolments increased by 484 to 6256 from 2016 to 2017.

University of Wollongong (UOW) has surpassed the state growth rate of 8.4 per cent. The Indigenous student base at UOW grew by more than 10 per cent from 2016 to 2017 – double the enrolment growth rate for non-Indigenous students at UOW.

The figures were released on 31 May by the NSW Audit Office in a report of financial audits of NSW universities for 2018.

Meanwhile, the report showed pleasing employment outcomes for UOW.

The proportion of Australian university graduates in full-time employment increased from 71.8 per cent to 72.9 per cent from 2017 to 2018.

University of Wollongong alumni outperformed the national average.

Just under 90 per cent of UOW graduates who had completed postgraduate studies were employed in full-time work, and more than 75 per cent of those who completed undergraduate studies at UOW were working full time.

UOW Vice-Chancellor, Paul Wellings CBE, said equity and employability were critical to the University.

“We are proud to offer a valuable tertiary experience, especially to our Indigenous students,” Mr Wellings said.

“The more bright minds you bring together, the greater the problems you can solve.

“Our graduates can expect a secure future. We strive to anticipate the nature of emergent industries and future jobs, as graduates need to be ethical, mobile, technologically literate and ready for multicultural workplaces.”

Caption: Torres Strait Islander dancers entertain the crowd at a Reconciliation Week event at University of Wollongong on 29 May.