Vice-Chancellor's Report 1978-82

picture will emerge as soon as the economy picks up again. The establishment of more vocationally-oriented disciplines in future and the strengthening of the General Education Programmes will help to ensure that future generations of graduates could adapt themselves to a larger spectrum of career fields. The four-year period witnessed a particularly evident diversification of career interests among those who entered the commerce and industry sector, and statistics suggested that to a great extent, graduates' choices were a reflection of the demands in the local employment market. During the period under review, a substantial number of the graduates embarked on careers in the interrelated fields of banking, finance and accounting, the areas which prospered phenomenally as Hong Kong gradually developed itself as a centre of financial activities in Southeast Asia. The electronic data processing and electronics industries also attracted a considerable number of graduates each year, as these fields became increasingly active as a result of Hong Kong's advancement in technological sophistication. The demand of the teaching profession on the University's graduates has always been steady. This demand was particularly strong during the years under review, when Government legislation enforcing a nine-year compulsory education programme was introduced and when both the education authorities and the schools were endeavouring to improve the quality of secondary school teaching by recruiting more graduate teachers. There was a steady stream of graduates who joined the ranks of the Civil Service, serving in a large variety of grades. It is noteworthy that, every year during the period reviewed, a good number of them were awarded Government Scholarships for overseas training in public administration and other professional disciplines. Of the postgraduates, a vast majority of those who hold Diplomas in Education entered the field for which they had been trained. Likewise, the Masters of Business Administration were virtually all absorbed into the commerce and industry sector, their chief choices being banking, finance, electronic data processing, marketing and management consultancy. Postgraduates in other disciplines either proceeded to advanced academic work leading to higher or professional degrees, or joined various career fields as teachers, administrators and executives. The appreciation in the average starting salaries of our graduates was satisfactory. The increase in the average initial salary of 13