Opinion

University education still essential to a balanced and prosperous society

Gail McGowan awarding degree to Murdoch student Samantha Ferguson

Gail McGowan PSM, Chancellor of Murdoch University, shares the important role universities have to play in Australia's future.

Fifty years ago, Murdoch University welcomed its first cohort of students. The class of 1975. 

Back then, the Kwinana Freeway ended at Leach Highway and an old pine plantation was cleared to make way for the new campus. It was more “lunar landscape” than the beautiful bush campus Murdoch University is celebrated for today.  

The early mood was enthusiastic and hopeful. Universities, once niche institutions, were opening up to people from more diverse backgrounds with aspirations to work at the very highest levels in the professions: education, health, law, engineering, agriculture, conservation, social sciences and more. 

I was one of them – a young mother of three living in rural Western Australia and wondering if university was for me. I enrolled at Murdoch and found that it was. My university education laid the foundation for a varied, purposeful, and successful career in public service. 

Today, the picture for universities is clouded somewhat by tectonic shifts in society. In Western Australia we are at almost full employment and workforce shortages in key industries have seen governments and industry scramble to plug the gaps, with the vocational (TAFE) sector the readiest lever.  

Against this backdrop, it has been easy to question the value of a university education – one of the chief criticisms being the cost of a university degree, with young people and their parents fearful of the debt incurred.

I would argue this “debt” is really an investment in their career of choice – where that career requires a university education. This is backed by the last Australian Bureau of Statistics in its last Census finding graduates earning comparatively more from their early 20s onward, reaching peak median annual income of $125,000 in their late 40s – thus earning more for longer.

Onsite and vocational training remain critical elements to a successful society, however, so too does university education and it is essential that we strike the right balance.

Likewise, we know that university graduates have transferable skills that can flex in this new and constantly changing age of work.  

With a recent survey by the World Economic Forum finding 86% of CEOs expecting Artificial Intelligence and information process technologies to transform their businesses by 2030, it is incumbent on all of us involved in education, training, industry and policy development to acknowledge the need for a rich skills mix to secure our nation’s prosperity for the long term.  

Learning can no longer stop upon graduating high school, TAFE or university. Indeed, each offers viable pathways into the other: upskilling and reskilling to ensure employees maintain relevance and readiness for the jobs of the future.  

The world of learning should be seamless with the system supporting students to engage in a continuum of learning and acquiring the skills and knowledge to match not only their own interests but the broader needs of a fair, just and prosperous society.

Why would we not encourage a blended model where theoretical and practical skills are acquired in a variety of settings, be it tertiary institutions, technical colleges or workplaces?

Pitting vocational training against university education is a zero-sum game – while we are busy plugging today’s gaps in the workforce, we risk ignoring the needs of the country further down the track.  

The Australian Government’s recent Universities Accord report stated the challenge clearly: 

“Australia is not producing enough graduates with sufficient skills and knowledge to meet current and future workforce needs. Without intervention, skills shortages will persist in many professions and other highly skilled occupations including health, education, IT and engineering, and the nation will be unable to support emerging skills needs and improve productivity as our population grows in size and age.” 

During February, in my role as Chancellor, I will have the honour of attending graduation ceremonies, greeting hundreds of Murdoch graduates as they receive their degree certificates.

I will be thinking about the 110,000 Murdoch University graduates who have come before them, these past 50 years.

I ask: where would we be as a community without the 4000 veterinarians, the 4700 teachers, the 2900 nurses, the 3330 psychologists and the thousands more Murdoch graduates across all disciplines who took the leap of faith to pursue their dreams of higher education? The same applies to their counterparts from institutions across the country.

We would be a poorer society; it is as simple as that. 

When we invest in, support and value education at all levels – from school through to TAFE and yes, onto university – we all prosper.  

Opinion

University education still essential to a balanced and prosperous society

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