An investigation of characteristics affecting employment outcomes and patterns of real estate graduates

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive picture of characteristics affecting the employment outcomes and patterns for real estate graduates in Australia. Furthermore, this paper benchmarks the characteristics affecting employment prospects of real estate graduates against those of built environment graduates. Design/methodology/approach – The data used in this paper were collected by the Australian Graduate Survey (AGS). Dimensionality reduction was used to prepare the dataset for the courses listed in the AGS data, in order to develop the simplified classifications of courses used to conduct the analysis in this paper. Dimensionality reduction was also used to prepare the dataset for the analysis of the employment outcomes and patterns for real estate and built environment graduates. Descriptive and statistical analysis methods were used to identify the difference in characteristics, such as gender, age, attendance type, mode of study, degree levels and English proficiency, for real estate and built environment graduates, the level of the influence of these characteristics on their employment outcomes and patterns and the statistical relationship between individual characteristics and employment outcomes as well as employment patterns of the graduates. Findings – English proficiency was found to be an important factor for real estate and built environment graduates for securing employment and it has a statistically significant impact on the employment outcomes and patterns for the graduates. Despite the fact that age and attendance type have no statistical impact on employment outcomes for real estate and built environment graduates, they were found to have statistical significant impact on their employment patterns. Originality/value – This is pioneering research which used official government data, such as AGS data, to provide a reliable and thorough picture of the employment outcomes and patterns for real estate and built environment graduates.

Factors influencing real estate students’ academic performance in an emerging economy

“…The study found that Swedish real estate company often typify men as their employees, women are shown as being young and given lesser positions, while both genders are shown in stereotypical positions when presenting companies annual reports. Poon (2016) examined factors affecting employment pattern of real estate and built environment graduates in Australia. Using data collected from the Australian Graduate Survey, and analyzing with the use of descriptive and inferential statistics.…”

“…Factors affecting students' academic performance are diverse and abundant (see for instance Small and Karantonis, 2001;Callanan and McCarthy, 2003;Newell and Acheampong, 2003;Crews 2004;Hermino, 2005;Noble et al, 2006;Kyoshaba 2009;Victor, 2011;Hayat et al, 2013;Ganyaupfu, 2013;Dengra et al, 2013;Adedapo et al, 2015;Kanagi et al, 2015), and it appears that gender variations cannot be dissociated from expected academic output of students in higher institutions of learning. Hence, gender issues with respect to academic achievement are beginning to gain increasing attention across various disciplines and also in workplace performance (see Penner and Paret, 2008;Blanch et al, 2008;Castagnetti and Rosti, 2009;Demirkan and Demirbaş, 2010;Vecchione et al, 2014) and real estate and the built environment is not exempted (Dimovski and Brooks, 2006;Demirkan and Demirbaş, 2010;Dimovski et al, 2016;Poon, 2016). The experience in Nigeria and perhaps other emerging economies appear similar to the observed trends in developed economies, typically having a wide 472 PM 35,5 disparity between males and their female counterparts in the real estate sector and the built environment in general.…”

Employers’ Views on Importance of English Proficiency and Communication Skill for Employability in Malaysia

“…Degree levels affect employment patterns of real estate graduates whereas age and gender affected those of built environment graduates. Poon (2016) reported that the employment rates for real estate and built environment graduates who did not speak English at home were low, 11.00 and 16.08 percent respectively. This group of Australian permanent residents is likely to be from families with immigrant backgrounds, and English proficiency affected their chances of securing employment.…”

“…Although Pandey and Pandey (2014) and Pooja (2013) were both writing about the importance of English for employability in India, the situations described are similar in Malaysia as both countries were previously under British rule before their independence. Using the Australian Graduate Survey data from 2010 to 2012, Poon's (2016) analysis revealed that English proficiency has a statistically significant impact on employment outcomes and patterns for the 1,258 real estate and 9,206 built environment graduates. Degree levels affect employment patterns of real estate graduates whereas age and gender affected those of built environment graduates.…”

The Influence of Changes in the Workplace on Graduate Real Estate Education?

“…Overall, the ULI Hines Competition course at Cornell was successful; students strongly agreed that the competition course was a valuable learning experience. Poon (2016) and Poon & Brownlow (2016) shift the emphasis to real estate graduates and employment in Australia. One major finding from the first study was the importance of English proficiency for graduates to get a job within the real estate profession.…”