Australia Up Close Young People Worry: How Do I Get a Good Job? By CHELSEA McLEAN	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
オーストラリアの教育事情 オーストラリアの若者も日本と同様、不景気に端を発する就職難に頭を抱えています。高等教育を受けていれば良い仕事につける可能性も高まるので、大学や専門学校に進学を希望する学生が多いのですが、学費や入学資格など、いろいろなハードルがあるようです。

It's an anxiety every young person must face. Choosing a career and the right kind of tertiary education is never easy.

In Australia there are many opportunities for further study after high school. There are 24 university campuses in Queensland alone and around 80 institutes of Technical and Further Education (TAFE).

University entrance requirements are higher than those for TAFE courses, which are designed to teach vocational skills and techniques rather than philosophy and academic study. Many different private tertiary colleges also exist, teaching everything from business and secretarial studies to beauty therapy. There are also many other options for tertiary education, like agricultural college and defense force training school.

Most Australians choose to gain some kind of tertiary qualifications after high school to maximize their chances of getting a good job. Getting into university depends on the overall high school grade, which is called an Overall Position (OP) in Queensland. This is a number between one and 25, one being the highest score.

After finishing my Bachelor of Arts degree at Bond University recently, I found a job in public relations. I consider myself lucky because it was easy for me to decide what course I wanted to do, I got into a good university and I found the job I wanted immediately, because I volunteered to work at the company during my studies. But for some young Australians it isn't that easy.

Australia's current employment growth is weak and 8.75 percent of Australians are unemployed. Tertiary study certainly improves job prospects. In 1995, 93 percent of TAFE graduates found a job within four months of graduation.

The Australian government regulates tertiary education by allocating funds to public universities, TAFE colleges and Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) programs. Recent cuts in tertiary education funding have forced students to pay more for their education through an increase in the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) fee. Education is becoming more exclusive in Australia because there are not enough places at public universities for the number of students who want a degree.

Bond University is private and independent from government-funded public universities. The fees are more expensive because classes are smaller and courses are intense so students can graduate in just two years, instead of the three or more years it takes at public universities. A standard degree costs around A$50,000 (¥4,550,000) and law degrees cost A$68,000 (¥6,188,000).

Even though Bond is extremely expensive it's not cheap to attend a public university either. Fees at Australian public universities are higher than fees at state universities in the United States. The average cost of a four-year course at an American state university is A$3,620 (¥329,420) a year, compared with an average A$4,700 (¥27,700) a year in Australia. However, Australians don't have to pay for their degrees until they find a job because the HECS charge is an interest-free loan that is not payable until the graduate's income exceeds a certain level.

Increasing competition for a space in university in Australia means increased pressure on high school students to perform well. Young Aussies are feeling the stress increase at school as they battle for the highest OP possible.

The demand for postgraduate courses in Australia has also doubled over the past 10 years, according to Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs figures. Greater qualifications mean greater job prospects so many Australians choose to go straight from undergraduate tertiary study to postgraduate study, or to upgrade their qualifications a few years after joining the work force.

Getting a job really depends on the individual's effort to make himself or herself known to employers and to stand out from the crowd. Graduates who only apply for jobs advertised in the newspaper usually have little luck. Many students print 100 or more resumes and distribute them to companies where they want to work. This sometimes works, but volunteering for work experience is the best way to get a foot in the door and demonstrate your skills and enthusiasm to potential employers. It worked for me!

Shukan ST: June 13, 1997

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