Survey Reveals Colleges with Highest Graduate Employment Rates

A recent survey revealed that out of colleges with over 2,000 graduates, the highest total employment rate was recorded for (in order): ChungAng, Inje, Namseoul, KyungHee University, and the highest regular employment rates were from Ajou, Hanbat National, and Inje University.

The Ministry of Education and Human Resources announced on September 30 that a survey researching the employment situation of 53,417 graduates in 371 national universities and specialized colleges in August 2004 and February 2005 showed that the total employment rate rose slightly, but the regular employment rate stayed the same.

The total employment rate was measured by the ratio of graduates working 18 hours a week, excluding current students and army recruits, whereas the rate of regular employment measured jobs with retirement grants, service regulations, and status guarantees.

College Majors with the Highest Employment Rates -

The Education Ministry divided colleges into three groups: group A (Over 2,000 graduates), group B (between 1,000 and 2,000 graduates), and group C (below 1,000 graduates) and rated them accordingly.

ChungAng University had the highest total employment rate for group A with 85.1 percent, and was followed by Inje (84.6 percent), Namseoul (84.4 percent), KyungHee (81.6 percent), Hanbat National (81.3 percent), and Sungkyunkwan University (80.9 percent). For regular employment, Ajou University was highest with 73.7 percent, with Hanbat (72.2 percent), Inje (70.5 percent), Korea (70 percent), Seoul National University of Technology (68.5 percent), and Sungkyunkwan University (67.9 percent) following.

Seoul National University was ranked 40th with a total employment rate of 56.5 percent, and its regular employment rate of 52.0 percent put the school in the 17th ranking, which is speculated to be the result of exam and graduate school preparation, and study abroad statistics.

The highest majors recruited for jobs were: medicine (94.4 percent), oriental medicine (93.3 percent), nursing (93.1 percent), dentistry (92.9 percent), and elementary education (90.8 percent) and for specialized colleges: semiconductor ceramics (94.4 percent), optical energy (93.6 percent), metal (93.1 percent), aviation (92.5 percent), and beauty art (92.1 percent).

Regular Employment Remains the Same-

The total employment was 65.0 percent for universities, 83.7 percent for specialized colleges, 8.6 and 6.5 percentage points higher, respectively, compared to last year. The regular employment rate, however, remained nearly the same at 47.6 percent for universities and 65.2 percent for specialized colleges (compared to the 45.8 percent and 64.8 percent figures last year, respectively).

A ministry official said, “Under the introduction of the public college information policy, the ‘unknown’ percentages decreased from last year, from 5.0 percent to 1.8 percent, which resulted in rising employment rates.”

Although the education ministry did not reveal the “actual increase,” it is safe to say that the total employment rate rose and the regular recruits remained unchanged or slightly declined.

Limited Research Methods-

The job centers or major departments of colleges individually researched graduates on nine categories such as profession, company, and major of study, and reported these statistics to the education ministry.

The education ministry said, “Fifteen universities and specialized colleges that have seen a dramatic increase in employment rates were field inspected, and a sample survey of 6,000 grads through Hangil Research produced a figure of 92 percent accuracy,” but there is still the possibility of colleges “fudging” results.

There are also limitations on the research and interpretation methods that may have affected research, despite the ministry’s instructions.

A core problem is the impossibility of gauging the quality of jobs.

Ministry assistant secretary Kim Kwang-jo said, “We will enhance accuracy in the future with a ‘human resource index’ that will point out the position of graduates precisely.”

Seong-Ju Lee stein33@donga.com