Media

HKU Graduates Still Employers' Hotshots

21 May 2007

 

1. The Careers and Placement section of the Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS) of the University of Hong Kong today (21 May 2007) released the latest Employment Statistics of its 2006 Undergraduates. The key figures are:

- Full employment rate (99.8%) [see para 3 to para 4]
- Job Satisfaction hinges on interests, abilities and personal values [see para 5]
- Nearly 40% of non-local graduates remained in Hong Kong to work [see para 6 to para 7]
- Average Gross Income $15,188 per month, up by 6.9% from previous year [see para 8 to para 9]
- Highest Gross Income $1.14 million per year [see para 13 to para 14]
- Job offers for 2007 final year students up by 9% from same time in the previous year [see para 18 to para 19]

Survey Methodology

2. The Survey was conducted on a total of 2,822 full-time 2006 undergraduates of the University six months after their graduation. A total of 2,586 graduates replied, which was equivalent to a response rate of 91%.

Full Employment in 2006 Supported by a Buoyant Market

3. The employment market for fresh graduates remained buoyant in 2006. Almost all graduates secured full-time job opportunities with the employment rate reaching an all time high of 99.8%.

4. Similar to 2005, four in five 2006 graduates entered the employment market (79%) whereas one in five pursued further studies (20%).

Match of Interests, Abilities and Personal Values are Main Reasons for Job Satisfaction

5. 55.9% of all 2006 graduates were very satisfied with their jobs while 34.8% reported a medium level of job satisfaction. Graduates considered a match between the job and their interests and abilities, and a match between the job and their personal values as important elements for job satisfaction.

Global Workplace: 40% Non-local Graduates Working in HK & HK Graduates Working Overseas

6. For 2006, almost 40% of the graduates from Mainland China (38.5%) and overseas countries (38.0%) secured a full-time job in Hong Kong after graduation. The popular professions in which they started their careers were Accounting and Auditing, Banking and Finance and Investment Banking.

7. On the other hand, a total of 42 Hong Kong graduates opted to work outside Hong Kong after they had completed their undergraduate studies. Their first-destination countries included the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, South Asia and Macau.

Average $ 15,188 Gross Monthly Income, Up by 6.9%

8. The average gross monthly income recorded was HK$15,188 in 2006, representing an increase of 6.9% to from HK$14,214 in 2005.

Similar Number of Graduates Earned Gross Annual Remuneration of $0.5 Million or Above

9. 5% of the 2006 graduates reported an annual remuneration of at least half a million at their first destination. They represented graduates of Business and Economics, Education, Engineering, Medicine and Social Sciences. In 2005, the figure was 4.9%.

10. In terms of occupation, most of the high-earning graduates were medical professionals. Among the remaining graduates of this group, some worked as analysts in international investment banks while the others were employed as business managers, teachers, medical social workers, staff nurses, assistant division officers and English tutors.

11. It is interesting to note that some high-paid jobs required frequent regional traveling. This might imply possessing appropriate regional exposure could be a fast track entry ticket to these highly competitive career opportunities.

Highest Annual Gross Income $1.14 Million, top Paid Jobs in Privately-owned Medical Centre and International Investment Banks

12. For year 2006, the graduate earning the highest paid job worked in a privately-owned medical centre. His annual remuneration, including both basic salary and bonus, reached HK$1.14 million.

13. The second and the third highest paid graduates are both working in international investment banks. They receive an attractive basic salary and bonuses that help jet up their total annual earnings to HK$920,000 and HK$800,000 respectively. Their work required them to travel substantially outside Hong Kong.

Versatility of Graduates of Professional Degrees

14. Graduates of professional degrees were not restricted to start their careers in a discipline-related industry. Taking all graduates of professional disciplines into account, 22.3% of graduates were employed in an industry or engaged in further studies beyond their own subject of study. This phenomenon was particularly obvious among the Engineering graduates (33.2%).

15. Among the Engineering graduates joining the non-discipline-related careers, most of them were working in the fields of Accounting and Auditing, Banking and Finance, Investment Banks and Education. This reflects that the Engineering discipline has helped fulfill the extensive demand for talents in one of the key economic pillars in Hong Kong.

16. The versatility of graduates of professional degrees has indicated that the professional curricula have also successfully developed the generic and transferable skills among their graduates.

Number of Job Offers for 2007 Graduates Increased By 9%

17. Up til mid-May 2007, a total of 324 job offers have been received by the current final year students. This represents an increase of 9% when comparing to the same period last year. Among these job offers, the majority of them were related to accounting. Twelve came from international investment banks and the rest were offers from blue-chip companies including banks and business conglomerates.

18. Examples of these corporations include ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Bank of China (HK) Ltd., Citibank, Deloitte Touche Tohmastu, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Esquel, IBM China /Hong Kong Ltd., John Swire & Sons (HK) Ltd., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., KPMG, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered Bank, Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd, and UBS.