It’s never been easy for fresh graduates to secure a job. And these days, it feels that the competition is getting tougher still.
Whether it’s an internship or a full-time role, there are a thousand and one things to have to deal with: writing a resume, figuring out how to navigate the interview, searching for jobs, and so much more.
The good news is, some universities prepare you well.
The greater news is this: the best Australian universities produce some of the most employable graduates.
The best Australian universities do a lot to make you more employable, but what does that really mean? Source: AFP
What being employable means, and how it’s calculated
The Cambridge Dictionary defines employable as “having enough skills and abilities for someone to employ you.”
So when we’re talking about universities that create employable graduates, we mean those who have some semblance of guarantee that you’ll secure the job.
And that can be calculated via the Employment Outcomes indicator on the QS World University Rankings.
This indicator measures the degree to which institutions can ensure a high level of employability for their graduates and their record in producing graduates who have made a meaningful impact on society.
Two metrics are used to calculate Employment Outcomes: Alumni Impact and the Graduate Employment Index.
The Alumni Impact metric analyses the profiles of 82,000+ impactful graduates in business, politics, higher education, and charities to identify the institutions where they studied. A score is then calculated based on the share of impactful graduates the university has at both a domestic and global level.
The Graduate Employment Index metric is based on the graduate employment rate, which is defined as the percentage of graduates who go on to paid full or part-time work within 15 months of finishing their degree. The rate is then normalised to create the final index.
The best Australian universities with the most employable graduates
The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)
QS Employment Outcomes: 97.7
UNSW Sydney might not be the #1 ranked university in Australia, but it’s pretty easy to look past that fact when they’ve got the best employment outcomes amongst all the other universities in the Land Down Under.
Unlike other universities where career development happens outside of your programme, UNSW Sydney integrates it into your curriculum through Work Integrated Learning (WIL).
From placements like internships and clinicals where you’ll complete programme-related work to projects that require you to complete specific deliverables for partner organisations that act as a mentor and/or client, there’s much to experience.
International students will particularly benefit from the Professional Development Programme. This has two phases: Workshop and Volunteer Work Experience. The first equips you with local knowledge, like Australian workplace culture, communication skills, recruitment tips, and employer expectations. The second gives you the chance to interview for a volunteer work experience opportunity.
It doesn’t stop there – international students can also check out the Career Accelerator at UNSW Business School, which has a seemingly endless list of resources, like consultations, virtual training, mentoring, and even job boards to give you the edge you need to make yourself stand out among your competition.
And if you decide that you’d prefer to forge your future back at home instead, UNSW Sydney has support for that too.
Between its global alumni network and the UNSW Founders Programme – Australia’s most comprehensive university entrepreneurship programme that has graduated the highest number of start-up founders in the country – your future is in really good hands.
Melbourne’s famous for being a cultural capital and having one of the best Australian universities. Source: AFP
The University of Melbourne
QS Employment Outcomes: 96.5
The actual #1 best university in Australia, according to the QS World University Rankings 2025, doesn’t lag behind when it comes to supporting you in your career during your time at university.
Achieving your ambitions has never been easier, especially when the university offers all its career-related programmes and services to students free of charge, including screened job listings, workshops, practice interviews, industry events, and connections with alumni.
Here, you’ve got not one, not two, but three online platforms to take advantage of:
If you’ve joined a programme and aren’t sure where it can take you, the university’s got you covered with Career Pathways, mapping out what a career with a specific job title could look like. And if you don’t spot a career you’re interested in there, then their expert staff are more than ready to jump in and give you your due support.
Last but not least, there’s Melbourne Plus, the university’s flagship co-curricular recognition programme. Through it, your participation in selected activities can result in digital credentials recognising the development of your capabilities in one of four categories: People Leadership, Community Engagement, Sustainability Advocacy, or Innovation.
Selected activities aside, however, Melbourne Plus also allows you to submit your own activity if you believe that it has developed one of the four capabilities listed above.
There are lots of ropes to deal with when working on your career, but the best Australian universities do their best to prepare you for anything and everything. Source: AFP
The University of Sydney
QS Employment Outcomes: 93.1
Another one of the best Australian universities that helps make you more employable is the University of Sydney. Think year-round career fairs, workshops, and events, as well as plenty of online resources about finding and applying for jobs, developing your career skills, and more.
One of the best resources available for international students here is the Career Development Programme. Through its workshops, like Australian Resume Basics, Job Search, Interview Skills, Transition to the Australian Workplace, and more, you’ll eventually get the chance to participate in an exclusive global industry project, gaining valuable real-world experiences.
The university also has a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Pathways – dynamic programmes designed to boost your employability and prepare you for the future through hands-on experiences and the opportunity to collaborate with industry. There are three pathways to explore:
- Industry and Community Project Unit (ICPUs): An opportunity to work on authentic problems and issues set out by industry, community and government organisations.
- Design your future course: Through academic and industry stakeholder insights and self-reflective practice, you’ll learn how to design your future using methodologies and prototype a way to embark on the first step of your chosen “life.”
- INCUBATE programme: With Australia’s leading university-based startup programme, you’ll generate ideas and launch startups with the support of industry mentors and seed funding. You will also participate in workshops and an accelerator programme to turn your entrepreneurial vision into reality.
All pathways have seen much success. Take Larissa Venhorst’s ICPU journey, for example.
Venhorst’s ICPU project involved collaborating with Australian media company Are Media on a generative AI initiative. Coming from an Economics background, she initially felt out of her depth. However, the interdisciplinary nature of the project pushed her to grow both personally and professionally.
The most valuable skill she earned during the programme? How to work with people from different backgrounds.
“Learning how to navigate different working styles and approaches to problem-solving gave me a strong foundation for teamwork,” said Venhorst. “Being able to articulate how I adapted to an interdisciplinary environment made a real difference in securing my graduate role.”
And the ICPU didn’t just give Venhorst’s employability a boost – it broadened her perspective on potential career paths too.
“The programme gave me the confidence to pursue opportunities beyond my initial expectations,” she said. “It also helped me develop the self-assurance to advocate for myself during job interviews and within professional environments.”
Many of the best Australian universities are located in big cities too — upping your chances of getting a job with bigger companies. Source: AFP
Monash University
QS Employment Outcomes: 79.4
Monash University students are no strangers to professional placements, industry projects, international travel, hackathons, and research opportunities.
Here, your career can be developed in three phases: through exploring, building, and applying.
In the exploration phase, you’ll join a career conversation for personalised guidance from experts and connect with other students on similar career journeys.
The building phase focuses on work experience, volunteering, a student club or society, a programme or a workshop. These give you the experience to stand out.
Wrapping it up is the self-explanatory application phase. This involves help with writing great resumes or creating a LinkedIn profile.
The university offers a range of leadership programmes too. You can become an international student ambassador or take part in the year-long immersive Vice-Chancellor’s Ancora Imparo Programme, among many other options.
There’s the Monash Career Centre too, an online hub with hundreds of regularly updated tools and resources to boost your employability.
The best Australian universities give you many, many chances to take on some real-world experiences. Source: AFP
The University of Western Australia (UWA)
QS Employment Outcomes: 78
Despite being last on this list of best Australian universities to help make you more employable, there really is no reason to look down at the offerings available at UWA.
The university’s careers and employability services are comprehensive to a tee. The Careers Centre alone already helps you with your career decision-making, employability skill development, labour market awareness, and industry engagement. Plus, they also help by checking your resume and LinkedIn, practising your interview skills, and finding out about the internships available.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. UWA also has:
- Work Integrated Learning with over 500 host organisations across private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
- Careers and Employability Award, which is a hands-on learning approach offering practical, real-world experiences, skills, and knowledge.
- Career Mentor Link, which matches you with a professional, providing you with the opportunity to benefit from the industry knowledge and your mentor’s experience.
- Jobs board, where employers advertise opportunities for UWA students on CareerHub. These include graduate employment, vacation employment, degree-related part-time employment, non-course related part-time and casual employment, internships, scholarships, work experience and voluntary opportunities.
- McCusker Centre for Citizenship, where you’ll intern in one of the 300+ organisations to engage in real work, develop valuable transferable skills, create connections and explore ways to apply your knowledge and skills after uni.
- Bloom, a creative lab dedicated to boosting startups. Second-year students can you could choose to apply for Bloom’s Launchpad programme, a one-semester unit that counts towards your degree, and gain the business skills and connections needed to share your vision with the world.
