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Employer Satisfaction Survey
Research Areas
Workforce +
Economy
Project Status
The Employer Satisfaction Survey (ESS) provides the only national measure of the extent to which higher education institutions in Australia are meeting employer needs. The ESS is one component of the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) suite of surveys, providing employers and industry with an opportunity to provide feedback and input into the o ngoing improvement of higher education.
Partner
The research is being conducted for the Australian Government Department of Education by the Social Research Centre, under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to conduct the QILT suite of surveys.
Aims + Outcomes
- Information from the ESS is used by institutions to better understand the specific skills and attributes needed in business today and how well higher education is preparing graduates for the workforce. Specifically, this survey gathers employer feedback on the extent to which students are being taught the right mix of generic and technical skills to be prepared for the workforce.
- The ESS helps the department understand the varied employment pathways graduates are taking after completing their study, and how these pathways are changing over time.
- The research facilitates the ongoing improvement of higher education by ensuring that institutions are responsive to labour market and industry needs.
Methods
The Social Research Centre is commissioned as an agent of the Australian Government Department of Education (the department) under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to conduct the QILT suite of surveys. The survey takes approximately 7 minutes, depending on survey responses.
Insight
85%
Overall satisfaction with graduates as rated by their supervisors.
94%
Satisfaction with foundation skills – general literacy, numeracy and communication skills and the ability to investigate and integrate knowledge.
87%
Satisfaction with employability skills – the ability to perform and innovate in the workplace.
Impact
Have you been contacted to participate?
Who participates?
All supervisors are invited to participate in the ESS via email and/or telephone. We understand supervisors are busy, the survey can be completed at a time convenient to you, and you can complete at a later date if you’re unable to finish the survey in one sitting.
If you’d like to make an appointment to complete the survey, please call the Social Research Centre on 1800 055 818 (a free call).
What are the benefits?
The ESS provides the only national measure of the extent to which higher education institutions in Australia are meeting employer needs.
This survey also provides employers and industry with an opportunity to provide feedback and input into the ongoing improvement of higher education. The research aims to ensure that institutions are responsive to labour market and industry needs.
How does it work?
The Employer Satisfaction Survey is being conducted each year from November through to the following August.
We provide an extended survey period to allow supervisors time to participate at their convenience and accommodate the seasonal work requirements of many industries.
The ESS is undertaken on a systematic basis by asking employed graduates who participated in the Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS), to provide the contact details of their supervisor for follow up.
FAQs
How long will the survey take to complete?
The survey takes approximately 7 minutes, depending on survey responses.
How do supervisors access the survey?
All supervisors are invited to participate in the ESS via email and/or telephone. We understand supervisors are busy, the survey can be completed at a time convenient to you, and you can complete at a later date if you’re unable to finish the survey in one sitting.
If you’d like to make an appointment to complete the survey, please call the Social Research Centre on 1800 055 818 (a free call).
How do we get the supervisors contact details?
The ESS is undertaken on a systematic basis by asking employed graduates who participated in the Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS), to provide the contact details of their supervisor for follow up.
How long will the survey take to complete?
The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Arrangements can be made for you to participate at any time during the fieldwork period that is convenient for you.
Is the survey compulsory?
The survey is entirely voluntary but your participation is important for the Cancer Institute NSW in working towards reducing the incidence of cancer, increasing the survival of people with cancer and improving the quality of life of people with cancer.
General FAQs
Resources
How do we ensure privacy is protected?
The Social Research Centre complies with the Australian Privacy Principles. All personal contact information such as name, email and phone number is removed from the final data. A unique identifying number is retained to ensure supervisors are only contacted again as appropriate. Only aggregated data is used in the research findings published on the QILT and ComparED websites.
For further information on our privacy policy, please see www.srcentre.com.au/research-participants#privacy.
Get in touch
Our helpdesk team for the ESS is available to answer any further questions you may have.
They can be contacted via the details below.
Phone: 1800 055 818 (free call)
Email: ess@srcentre.com.au
General information for employers participating in the ESS is available at www.qilt.edu.au/survey-participants/ess-participants and the research reports for prior years are published at www.qilt.edu.au/surveys/employer-satisfaction-survey-(ess).