Today the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) is launching our inaugural Jobs after Graduation conference hosted by the Gold Coast Association of Postgraduates (GCAP). Postgraduate leaders from around the country are gathering to discuss the importance of job ready skills and employment after graduation.
This conference will provide skills training to postgraduate leaders so that they can return to their organisations and fill the gaps in transferable skills and industry readiness. The issue of employability for postgraduate students is a focus of the sector but it is essential that student organisations and student leaders are brought along.
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations and its affiliates will be discussing issues of equity employability, transferable skills training at the postgraduate levels, employment application and interview techniques, and how to engage with industry as a research students.
The reality is that research students are no longer entering academia exclusively and while graduates have the skills, formal training and recognition of these skills is still an area for improvement. The ACOLA review highlighted these issues and while universities are making ground in this area students and student representative bodies need to be partners in the changes to come.
“Postgraduate employability and transferable skills training is a focus for the higher education and CAPA not only recognises this but is actively ensuring that it is being addressed,” said National President Peter Derbyshire.
“Students are aware of the areas that they need to improve and student organisations are best placed to identify this and act quickly to fill in the gaps,” said Mr Derbyshire.
Recordings of our Jobs After Graduation discussions will be made available to all our affiliate organisations.
END
For Comment: Peter Derbyshire CAPA National President M: 0435 047 817 president@capa.edu.au
