Australian Senate’s Education and Employment Committee’s Inquiry into Australian university graduates

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Australian Senate’s Education and Employment Committee’s Inquiry into Australian university graduates

Australian Senate’s Education and Employment Committee’s Inquiry into Australian university graduates

May 2026

The Senate’s Education and Employment Committee’s inquiry into Australian university graduates is very relevant to Australia’s finance, technology, and business (FTB) sectors. There are high growth opportunities for employment in FTB occupations. University graduates should target FTB occupations for employment while at university, when leaving university, and in seeking growth opportunities post university.

Key Points:

LABOUR MARKET

Australia’s labour market has undergone significant structural change, with the workforce shifting toward service industries and higher-skilled roles.

Service industries accounted for nearly 90% of employment growth over the past decade. In contrast, employment in some producing industries has declined, including Manufacturing and Agriculture, reflecting a long-term shift away from traditional production sectors.

GRADUATE SKILLING

The most consistent signal across employer and industry feedback is that graduates entering FTB occupations are not meeting employer expectations for immediate workplace contribution — and that employers are absorbing the cost. This is at a time when many businesses are already short staffed, have difficulty freeing up staff to lead or to undertake this skilling, and are under significant cost pressures. It is important university graduates are better prepared for entry into the labour market so industry will continue to hire graduates and so industry can focus their investment on the early career development of graduates.

AUTOMATION AND AUGMENTATION

While early days for an AI transition that is now well underway, for FTB occupations it is not as much which occupations are automated and which occupations are augmented, but the mix of automation and augmentation for each occupation depending on the tasks undertaken in those roles. What is known is AI literacy is becoming a baseline expectation not a specialist capability.

GENERALIST SKILLS

Consistent definitions of generalist skills across VET and higher education are a practical requirement for the tertiary education and training system to deliver on the stated common purpose to skill the labour market

EARN WHILE YOU LEARN

Consideration may be given to expanding Earn-While-You-Learn models as greater innovation is needed in the apprenticeship/ traineeship approach given the workforce shift toward service industries and higher-skilled roles such as in FTB.