
S. J. SHANNON
Copyright © 2012 SciRes. 1023
Another employer of a different scale, with 12 employees,
said that “in looking at the raw recruit, I am critical of some of
the people who come out of University. They are not rounded,
or well educated—in all the sorts of areas to be interesting peo-
ple—people with a broader interest. University is there to teach
them the fundamentals, in practice we finish them off”. A larger
employer with 22 staff said that “[I] can’t teach attitudes—but I
am looking for openness, willing to learn, ready to learn. If
someone has the right attitude…We’ve got some great gradu-
ates—not from privileged backgrounds”.
An employer with 3 staff commented that “we find a lot of
people have additional tertiary qualifications—lifelong learning
and skills. They must have a personality fit with a small group
of people and not just the office—with our clients and in public
consultations.”
This was also the sentiment expressed by another small prac-
tice: “I appreciate a graduate who has had a well rounded edu-
cation—has an intellectual capacity. So often there is interest in
‘earning a living’ but what I am looking for is an interest in
architecture—philosophically or internationally—even if they
pursued other intellectual capacities, for example music. It is
exciting to find this intellectual pursuit in a young person.”
Practice agrees it has a role in the development of graduates:
“As an employer, we do have some responsibility in training
(we have two architecture graduates who should be registered
[licensed]) but we do value people who know how to put things
together as employees.”
As a final conclusion, this research has revealed that techni-
cal skills are highly valued by Australian employers of archi-
tecture graduates of all practice sizes. Current sound CAD rep-
resentation skills are the most highly valued discipline skills by
employers, as graduates invariably have much demand upon
these skills in their early graduate years. Employers look to
graduates’ portfolios in particular as a key presentation asset at
time of hiring. Any demonstration of evidence of team work is
also highly valued.
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