I.
IntroductionThe information contained in this paper is extracted from the Graduate Employment Survey of 1997 to answer the following questions about Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) graduates : -
II. Employment Situation in 1997
Of the 556 B.A. graduates, 473 responded to our survey, representing a response rate of 85%. Of these, 79% (or 375 graduates) were in full-time employment within six months of graduation. 13% (or 60 graduates) went on for further studies. 6.6% (or 31 graduates) were still seeking full-time employment at the time of the survey. (Table 1)
B.A. |
HKU Overall* |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total |
Male |
Female |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
‘97 |
‘96 |
‘97 |
‘96 |
‘97 |
‘96 |
‘97 |
‘96 |
||||||||||||||||||
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
||||||||||
| No. of respondents | 473 |
100 |
462 |
100 |
58 |
100 |
72 |
100 |
415 |
100 |
390 |
100 |
2272 |
100 |
2139 |
100 |
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| F/T employed | 375 |
79.3 |
394 |
85.3 |
39 |
67.2 |
49 |
68.1 |
336 |
81.0 |
345 |
88.5 |
1829 |
80.5 |
1743 |
81.5 |
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| P/T employed seeking F/T job | 14 |
3.0 |
11 |
2.4 |
2 |
3.4 |
4 |
5.6 |
12 |
2.9 |
7 |
1.8 |
37 |
1.6 |
34 |
1.6 |
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| Unemployed seeking F/T job | 17 |
3.6 |
13 |
2.8 |
3 |
5.2 |
4 |
5.6 |
14 |
3.4 |
9 |
2.3 |
53 |
2.3 |
34 |
1.6 |
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| Further studies | 60 |
12.7 |
40 |
8.7 |
12 |
20.7 |
14 |
19.4 |
48 |
11.6 |
26 |
6.7 |
339 |
14.9 |
314 |
14.7 |
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| Emigration/home country | 2 |
0.4 |
2 |
0.4 |
1 |
1.7 |
1 |
1.4 |
1 |
0.2 |
1 |
0.3 |
4 |
0.2 |
6 |
0.28 |
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| Not seeking F/T job | 5 |
1.1 |
2 |
0.4 |
1 |
1.7 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1.0 |
2 |
0.5 |
10 |
0.4 |
8 |
0.4 |
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Table 1. Employment situation
* HKU overall refers to the figure for the total HKU population and includes M.B.,B.S. and B.D.S. graduates.
III. Further Studies
Forty-two graduates who pursued further studies were enrolled in local tertiary institutions, while thirteen graduates studied abroad in U.K., Japan, U.S.A. and Canada. Table 2 shows the academic programmes B.A. graduates were engaged in and Table 3 shows the source of finance.
Academic Programmes |
|||
| Fields of Study | M.Phil. |
Master (Coursework) |
Postgraduate Certificate |
| Arts | 24 |
2 |
1 |
| Social Sciences | 2 |
1 |
|
| Business Administration | 2 |
||
| Education | 3 |
||
No Response = 25
Table 2. Academic programmes
| Source of Finance | No. of Graduates |
| Own Fund | 17 |
| Teaching Assistantship/Studentship | 21 |
| Full Scholarship | 4 |
| Scholarship & Own Fund | 1 |
| Government Grant & Loan | 11 |
No Response = 6
Table 3. Source of finance for further studies
IV. Time Taken to Secure Employment
Among those graduates who were in full-time employment, 92% secured their first job offer before the end of September. The percentage increased to 100% after December 1997. (Figure 1)
V. Employment Sectors
62% (or 231 graduates) of the 1997 B.A. graduates were employed in commerce and industry, followed by 26% (or 96 graduates) in the education sector and 8.9% (or 33 graduates) in the civil service. The remaining 3.2% (or 12 graduates) joined the community, social and personal services. (Figures 2 & 3)
VI. Basic Salary and Gross Income
The remuneration received by the 1997 B.A. graduates is shown in Table 4.
Basic Salary |
Gross Income |
||||||||||||||
B.A. |
HKU Average* |
B.A. |
HKU Average* |
||||||||||||
‘97 |
‘96 |
‘97 |
‘96 |
‘97 |
‘96 |
‘97 |
‘96 |
||||||||
| Mean | $13,920 |
$12,804 |
$15,749 |
$14,457 |
$15,115 |
$13,845 |
$17,552 |
$15,902 |
|||||||
| Median | $11,500 |
$10,500 |
$12,500 |
$12,000 |
$13,515 |
$12,413 |
$14,521 |
$13,542 |
|||||||
| Minimum | $4,400 |
$5,000 |
$4,400 |
$3,000 |
$5,000 |
$7,000 |
$5,000 |
$5,500 |
|||||||
| Maximum | $33,355 |
$28,660 |
$59,000 |
$55,000 |
$40,000 |
$33,667 |
$74,000 |
$60,000 |
|||||||
Table 4. Basic salary and gross income
* HKU average refers to the figure for the total HKU population and includes M.B.,B.S. and B.D.S. graduates.
VII. Number of Full-Time Job offers
Of those in full-time employment, 65% had more than one job offer. 37% reported having received three to eight or more job offers. On average, each graduate received 2.4 job offers, compared with 2.5 last year. (Figure 4)
VIII. Names of Employers and Job Titles
The job titles of the B.A. graduates in full-time employment and the names of their employers are listed below.
Employers : |
Job Titles : |
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| CIVIL SERVICE - | |||
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| EDUCATION - | |||
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| COMMUNITY, SOCIAL & PERSONAL SERVICES - | |||
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| COMMERCE & INDUSTRY - | |||
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No Response = 43
Table 5. List of employers and job titles
Note : Some alumni have indicated willingness to talk to individual students about their work. Their contact telephone number can be obtained from counsellors at CEPC.
IX.
Similar information on graduates from other disciplines of study are available for reference in the Careers Library. Please enquire with the CEPC.
Careers Education and Placement Centre
3/F Wong Chuang Lai Wah Building
Meng Wah Complex
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong
Telephone : 2859 2314
Fax : (852) 2559 5238
E-Mail : CEPC@HKUCC.HKU.HK
Homepage : http://www.hku.hk/cepc
Opening Hours : Monday - Friday (9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
Saturday (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)
Margaret Lee
Nelson Yip
June, 1998
The analysis is based on information provided by the respondents, and the Careers Education & Placement Centre should not be held responsible for any errors arising therefrom.
No part of this report may be reproduced in any form or by whatever means,
without written permission from the Director of the Careers Education and Placement Centre,
The University of Hong Kong