Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1981
marketing, mass communication and public relations. Other areas which attracted more graduates than before were those which prospered as a result of Hong Kong's technical sophistication and gradual development as a major financial centre of the world: banking, accounting, electronic engineering and computer/data processing. The number of first-degree graduates who proceeded to further studies increased by 3.5%, but the number of those who went abroad shrank by 3%, a fact which testifies to the effect of soaring tuition fees and living expenses at overseas universities. Of these graduates, about 28% were awarded full scholarships while some 50% relied entirely on their own financial resources. It is also to be noted that 47% of those who pursued post-graduate studies opted for professionally-oriented training, namely, courses leading to the Diploma in Education and the Master of Business Administration degree. While fresh graduates were entering a wider range of professions, those with qualifications other than a first degree generally succeeded in embarking upon a career related directly to their speciality. For example, the great majority of diplomates in Education entered the field for which they had been trained, and almost all Masters of Business Administration were absorbed into the commerce and industry sector, their chief choices being banking, finance, data processing, market research, management consultancy and advertising. About one-third of those who were awarded the master's degree in other disciplines pursued further studies while about 13% of them were engaged in research work. The rest took up teaching positions at secondary or tertiary level. Graduates obtained information about their first jobs from a variety of sources, the most important being the Appointments Service, from which nearly two-thirds of first-degree graduates learnt about the openings which they eventually took up. Other sources of career information include newspapers, friends, relatives and teachers. Appointment offers were received earlier than before, with 77% of the graduates obtaining their offers by August. Some offers were extended to graduates as early as April. The percentage of graduates who had two or more offers was around 40%. Generally speaking, the level of satisfaction with the first appointment was high. The majority of higher-degree graduates reported that they were happy with, their first appointments. As for first- degree graduates, there was a moderate increase in discontented cases. This may suggest a more discerning attitude towards career planning, for the main reason given by the graduates for not being happy with their first job was that they saw rather limited prospects for future development in the organizations they had joined. The average pay for first-degree graduates increased by 16.1% as compared with that of the previous year, with 45% of them receiving a monthly salary in the range ofHK$3,500 to $4,500. The initial salary in the private sector tends to be lower, but this was normally compensated by bonus and an extra month's pay. Most of the higher-degree graduates were satisfied with their starting salary, which showed an increase of 36.1% over the previous year's figure. About a quarter of them received a salary exceeding $6,500 per month. Because of sophistication in management methods and increased specialization in various employment sectors, job types and recruitment criteria are becoming more clearly defined. To this new trend our graduates have responded appropriately over the past few years, as was witnessed by their increasingly diversified choice of jobs. Graduates of the years to come, whether trained as specialists or generalists, will have to be more discriminating and precise in matching their potentials and inclinations with the increasingly exact occupational requirements of the labour market. It is towards this particular aspect that the Appointments Service hopes to direct its major efforts in the near future, by providing a more comprehensive and thorough counselling programme which will help graduating students make their career choices judiciously. For this purpose the Service will continue to seek the opinions and advice of those who are concerned with the career development of the graduates of this University. 18
Made with FlippingBook
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDE2NjYz