Building Employability Skills for Higher Education Students: An Australian Example

Employability has become an important focus for graduates and employers in Australia, as many universities contend with the notion of developing knowledgeable and problem-solving graduates who are workforce ready practitioners. This paper presents an example of how the higher education communication disciplines from across Victoria, Australia, have developed a forum that allows graduating students to engage directly with industry leaders to better prepare for the leap from higher education to professional employment in the communication and media sectors. This national award-winning education forum brings multi-institutional student groups, recent graduates, academics, and industry practitioners and leaders together in order to aid the development of student skills in areas such as: networking, job application, time management, and effective work habits.