“Universities just pretend that getting that piece of paper is all you need, like they are selling ice cream.” Supporting diverse graduates to achieve post-graduation goals

Abstract

Internationally, new complexities and permutations have emerged in the world of work: employment is no longer stable or strictly demarcated by graduate and non-graduate work; unsecured and entrepreneurial economies are prevalent. Despite this, an expectation persists in the higher education (HE) sector that educational access will result in positive post-graduate outcomes regardless of prior educational or social disadvantage. This paper explores how students from a range of diverse backgrounds navigate post-graduation landscapes and the issues/obstacles they reported during this journey. Drawn from an analysis of large-scale Australian quantitative data and qualitative data from 268 alumni (O’Shea, 2019), recommendations are made for how the global community can honour difference and support all graduates to be “future-ready”.