Lingnan University ("Lingnan" or "the University") graduates continue to see an upward trend in employment, according to surveys conducted among the graduates of full-time undergraduate studies in 2006.

The overall engagement rate in employment and further studies* of graduates of full-time undergraduate studies reached 99.3%, with only 0.7% or 5 graduates still looking for first job at the time the survey was conducted. On average, each graduate received 2.2 job offers.

More than half of the graduates had secured employment within two months after graduation while 84.7% were employed within 3 months. The highest average monthly income of Lingnan graduates were in the following academic programmes: Contemporary English Studies ($12,543), Business Administration – Finance ($12,204), and Business Administration – Risk and Insurance Management ($11,970).

The overall average monthly income of 2006 graduates reached $10,667, a rise of 8.1% from $9,865 in 2005. The increase indicates a continued upward trend in the starting salary of Lingnan graduates.

Figures also indicate better career prospects for most graduates majoring in the Humanities programmes in terms of engagement rate and average monthly income, with the latter rising to $10,846, an increase of 16.7% compared to 2005.

The employment survey was conducted by the Student Services Centre at Lingnan in the last quarter of 2006. Among 743 graduates, 730 valid questionnaires were collected, a response rate of 98.3%. Statistics indicate that, excluding the 5 graduates who had not sought employment due to personal reasons, 90% of the graduates joined the work force, 8.5% chose to pursue further studies, 1% or 7 graduates had received job offers but were at the stage of switching jobs, while only another 1% or 7 graduates were still looking for their first job at the time the survey was conducted.

Regarding distribution of job sectors, the majority of the graduates (79.7%) joined the commerce and industry sector while 14% were employed in the education sector, 3.8% in the community and social services sector, and 2.5% in government departments/units. By occupation, the top four occupations which absorbed most Lingnan graduates in 2006 were: Personnel / Administration / Management (17.8%), Marketing / Sales (11.5%), Audit / Accounting (10.6%) and Customer Services (10.4%).

The career prospects are not directly linked to the major disciplines or subjects the graduates studied in the "new economy" era. High proportion of jobs they secured (44%) had no direct relevance to their majors they studied in University. This indicates that the key attribute of graduates which employers look for graduates is their "whole-person" characteristics rather than their subjects of study. Such liberal arts ethos is what Lingnan intends to promote.

*The overall engagement rate in employment and in further studies in graduates of full-time undergraduate studies includes 2 graduates who had received job offers but were at the stage of switching jobs at the time the survey was conducted, and excludes the 7 graduates who had not sought employment due to personal reasons.