Bulletin Number Three

Career Destinations of 1986 Graduates The 1986 annual employment survey, conducted by the Appointments Service, covered all first and higher- degree graduates and diplomates. Ou t of a total of 1,099 first-degree graduates, 964 returned completed and valid questionnaires, giving a response rate of 87.7%. The response rate of higher-degree graduate s and diplomates was 86.6%. By the time the Survey was conducted, that is, about five to six months after graduation , the majority of the 1986 graduates were found to be satisfactorily employed in a large variety of career fields. The general pattern of their destinations broadly followed that of the previous years. There was a substantial increase in the percentage of graduates joining the Government. While most of the career openings in the Government were open to graduates in any discipline, Socia l Science graduates appeared to be particularly interested in Civil Service jobs. Some 54% of all respondents who joined the Government were from the Faculty of Social Science. The number of graduates from various faculties who joined the disciplined services also increased considerably. While the enlarged intake of fresh graduates by the Government caused a corresponding decrease in the percentage o f graduates joining the education sector, the educational institutions still provided abundant opportunities, and the number of 1986 graduates absorbed by these institutions was substantial. There was also an increase in the number of graduates opting for postgraduate studies leading to the Diploma in Education, a fact which signified many graduates' keen interest in developing their careers in the teaching profession. The business sector continued to attract the largest percentage of employed graduates. Althoug h there were more graduates who had opted for Government jobs, the business sector still accounted for a little over half of all the graduates in employment in 1986. While this indicated to a large extent the presence of a thriving job market which was a product of Hong Kong's economic vitality, it also suggested that graduates had progressively diversified their career choices so as to benefi t more from the broad spectrum of opportunities available in the private sector. First Degree Graduates Of the 964 respondents who returned valid questionnaires, 793 (82.3%) had commence d work, 146 (15.1%) were engaged in further studies, two (0.2%) emigrated abroad, one (0.1%) was travelling, two (0.2%) were preparing for further studies, and twenty (2.1%) were still seeking suitable employment at the time of analysis. The percentage of graduates joining the Civil Service increased sharply from 6.1% in 1985 to 11.9% in 1986. Consequently the percentages of graduates entering education, commerce and industry, and social and public service organizations decreased slightly from 32.2%, 54.7% and 5.7% in 1985 to 30.5%, 52.3% and 3.6%in 1986 respectively. Among those employed in the business sector, 36.9% served in local companies, 19.5% in American companies, 13% in British companies and 12.5% in PRC-funded companies. The rest were working for companies owned by Japanese (6.3%), German (2.7%) and other interests (9.1%). For Arts graduates the education sector remained the major outlet but the decreasing trend continued to be discernible: while 84.7% of Arts graduates joined education in 1984, there were 70.1% in 1985 and then 66.7% in 1986. On the other hand, the percentage of Arts graduates joining the Civil Service continued to grow from 1.2% in 1984 to 5.7% in 1985 and 9.9% in 1986. About 82% of the Business Administration graduates launched their careers in business (88% in 1985). This decrease might in part be explained by the increase in those joining the Civil Service, from 4% in 1985 to 10.4% in 1986. The distribution of Science graduates in various occupational sectors was similar to that of the year before. About 59% of them were engaged in business and some 34% in education. The percentage of Social Science graduate s joining the Civil Service increased substantially from 11.5% in 1985 to 23.8% i n 1986. The increase may be attributed to the fact that more Social Work graduates joined the Government rather than voluntary agencies in 1986: whereas 63.8% of th e Social Work graduates were employed by social and public service organizations in 1985 ， there were only 36% in 1986. On the other hand, half of the Social Work graduates joined the Civil Service in 1986 while onl y 23.4% did so in 1985. There was also a remarkable increase in the percentage of Sociology graduates entering the Civil Service, from 8% in 1985 to 32.3% i n 1986. Teaching (29.1%), administration/management (13.1%), marketing (8.8%), banking and finance (8.6 %)， accounting (5.7%), electronic engineering 20