Employers Expectations of Graduates of Environmental Programs: An Australian Experience

The graduates of Australian tertiary environmental programs have been finding employment, yet we have little information about whether their tertiary experiences were related to the actual needs of their employers. Recent surveys of employers have identified expectations held for graduate employees, but the data are not specific about graduates from environmental programs. Our small survey of employers taking environmental graduates provided results in accord with surveys of general employers. All employers want graduates to have a range of generic skills and abilities, but those employing environmental graduates also seek environmental awareness, efficiency, and policy skills, along with job-specific skills and knowledge. These results are tentative, but they provide guidance for educators designing tertiary environmental programs.