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UCT graduates ‘highly sought after’

13 May 2019 | Story Niémah Davids. Photo Je’nine May. Read time 3 min.
The QS Graduate Employability Rankings positions UCT as the top-performing university in Africa in terms of employment, and 18th in the world.
The QS Graduate Employability Rankings positions UCT as the top-performing university in Africa in terms of employment, and 18th in the world.

More than 50% of the University of Cape Townʼs (UCT) 2018–2019 graduate cohort are employed in South Africa’s private sector, with over 20% earning more than R20 000 a month.

This emerged from the latest Graduate Exit Survey conducted by the Careers Service unit in the Centre for Higher Education and Development (CHED), confirming the fact that UCT graduates are highly ranked in terms of their employability.

The 2019 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Graduate Employability Rankings support the statistics, with UCT ranked top in Africa and 18th in the world for graduate employment.

A total of 4 791 students responded to the survey during the June 2018 to April 2019 graduation season. The private sector emerged as the leading employer of 53.46% of graduates, with 19.71% employed in the public sector, and 6.01% by non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

 

“The results this year show that UCT graduates remain highly sought after.”

In respect of their monthly earnings, the research indicated that 23.39% of students earn between R20 000 and R30 000, 16.14% earn between R15 001 and R20 000, and 5.21% between R5 001 and R7 000.

Graduate Exit Survey
The latest Graduate Exit Survey, conducted by the Careers Service unit in the Centre for Higher Education and Development (CHED), confirms that UCT graduates are highly ranked in terms of their employability.

Developing strategic partnerships

Nawaal Boolay, Careers Service acting director, said the annual survey results help them enhance their service offering to students, and also assist in the development of partnerships with potential employers with a view to increasing the number of employed students.

“The results this year show that UCT graduates remain highly sought after,” she said.

Around 80% of UCT’s class of 2018 are “meaningfully occupied”. Of these, 44.48% are employed, 30.78% are studying further and 3.75% are self-employed.

Survey results reveal the Faculty of Health Sciences as the top performing faculty in terms of graduate employability, with 69.94% of all medical students employed at the time of the survey. Close behind was the Faculty of Law, with 63.39% of students employed.

Only 10.71% of UCT’s 2018 graduates are still seeking employment.

“We continue to support these graduates through our online job portal, [one-on-one] career consultations, job expos and career development workshops.

“Graduates have access to our service for up to three years after graduating,” she said.

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December graduation


The 2018 December graduation season features six ceremonies, including the official robing of Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng.


 

Full ceremony recordings



 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Creative works and book awards


UCT recognises and celebrates major creative works and outstanding books produced by members of staff at the university.

Twin cities connect struggle and liberation sites Associate Professor Svea Josephy received a Creative Works Award for her solo exhibition, Satellite Cities, at today’s graduation. It is one of three such awards. 13 Dec 2018
Symphony of elements wins Creative Works Award Professor Hendrik Hofmeyr, of the South African College of Music, receives a Creative Works Award at today’s graduation for his composition Second Symphony – The Elements. 13 Dec 2018
Creative Works Award for Womb of Fire Dr Sara Matchett’s Creative Works Award winner, Womb of Fire, addresses how centuries of violence in South Africa continue to play out on women’s bodies. 13 Dec 2018
UCT Book Award for classics scholar Professor David Wardle’s work Suetonius: Life of Augustus has won him the 2018 UCT Book Award. 13 Dec 2018
 

Inspired to achieve


Read about some of our remarkable students who are graduating this season.

Four doctors, two families make it a double It’s not often that two sets of brothers who are close friends graduate from the same two faculties – and each with the title of doctor. 14 Dec 2018
Commitment, passion and dogged determination Due to graduate with a PhD in Medical Biochemistry, Kehilwe Nakedi reflects on her academic journey and the pleasure of seeing things finally fall into place. 12 Dec 2018
UCT remedies a past injustice The story of Raymond Suttner receiving his LLM from UCT almost half a century after withdrawing his thesis from examination has captured imaginations around the country. 11 Dec 2018
Unspeakable tragedy yields master’s degree When Mabuyi Mhlanga’s young daughter died in a car accident two years ago, she channelled her grief into addressing the issue of road safety around schools. 11 Dec 2018
‘I want to reach the places my father did not’ Tafadzwa Mushonga will be the first PhD graduate from the Centre for Environmental Humanities South, forging ahead from where her father left off. 10 Dec 2018
A passion for education From a young age, masterʼs graduand Sonwabo Ngcelwane has seen education as the key to rising above one’s circumstances – no matter how challenging. 10 Dec 2018
Never too late to overcome the odds PhD candidate Witness Kozanayi relied on his determination, the support and sacrifice of others, and a fascination for his homeland to fuel his academic success. 07 Dec 2018
Growing pesticide, lead threat to vultures Vultures play a vital housekeeping role in the wild, but like many African raptors they’re threatened by pesticide and heavy metal poisoning, says PhD candidate Beckie Garbett. 07 Dec 2018
 

Golden memories


Members of the University of Cape Town’s class of 1968 will reunite to celebrate their Golden Graduation this week. Madi Gray, a veteran of the nine-day Bremner sit-in of 1968, will be among those UCT alumni celebrating this milestone.

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