Graduate Careers Australia
The Graduate Grapevine - Number 2, December 2005
GCA Contracted to Research Pharmacy Graduates
Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) often accepts contracts for specific research projects in relevant areas. One recent project shows that newly-registered Australian pharmacists are well-paid, fully-employed professionals and most are keen to work in rural areas.
Each year, GCA surveys all new graduates of Australian higher education institutions, regarding their post-study destinations, about four months after they complete requirements for an award. These destinations include employment, further study and labour market activity.
Because the Graduate Destination Survey (GDS) is a national survey of all graduates, some Fields ofEducation are covered before they have completedprofessional registration. One such Field is Pharmacy,where a 12 month pre-registration period of supervisedpractical training in a pharmacy (hospital or retail) isrequired.
This has meant that, while the GDS data are complete at the time of the survey, they do not reflect post-registration pharmacy destinations. This concerned the Dean of Monash University’s Victorian College of Pharmacy, Professor Colin Chapman, who commissioned GCA to conduct additional destination research.
He explained, ‘Until now, Graduate Careers Australia has reported the results of their annual Graduate DestinationSurvey which is conducted in the year after students have completed their studies at Australian universities. Because pharmacists must undertake a pre-registration year after completing their university studies, their salaries and employment circumstances are substantially different from that year to the next.’
The Pharmacy Post-Registration Survey for 2005 was conducted by GCA for the Committee of Heads of Pharmacy Schools in Australia and New Zealand. This survey looked at newly-registered pharmacists in their first real year in the workforce, and it shows that all aspects of their career prospects are healthy.
It found pharmacists’ wages almost doubled 12 months after they graduated from universities, rising from an average $30,000 in their pre-registration year to $58,000 the following year.
The survey respondents also had a very high employment rate, with just over 92 per cent in full-time work, and just over 52 per cent planning to work in rural areas.
Professor Chapman said that the results provided the first true picture of young pharmacists’ post-registration income and employment prospects.
‘It is particularly encouraging to note that earnings for graduate pharmacists are competitive with all other professions, and that survey respondents are keen to work in rural areas, where there are severe shortages of pharmacists,’ he said.
Professor Chapman can be contacted at the Victorian College of Pharmacy on (03) 9903 9502.
Enquiries regarding GCA contract research can be directed to Ms Cindy Tilbrook on (03) 8344 9333.
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