Occupations and industries of employment of Māori university graduates: early career aspirations and destinations

Abstract

Technological advancements, a changing demography, and labour market demands mean that it is increasingly important to have a skilled Māori labour workforce. Māori students are graduating from universities in increasing numbers but little is known about their careers post-graduation. Our aim was to describe the early career aspirations and destinations of Māori university graduates in the Graduate Longitudinal Study New Zealand. Data were collected when participants were in their final year of study (n = 626) and 2 years post-graduation (n = 455). The most common occupation types 2 years post-graduation were professionals (66%), clerical or administrative workers (10%), and managers (9%). The most common industries of employment were education and training (29%), health care and social assistance (22%), and legal and accounting services (8%). The percentage of graduates who, in their final year of study, planned to enter into industries that matched their actual industries at 2 years post-graduation was 67%. There were some differences across fields of study, with Health and Education graduates working in industries more closely aligned with their studies than Science or Humanities graduates. Future surveys will enable us to track graduates to see if these patterns change as graduates settle into their careers post-graduation.