Occupations and industries of employment of Māori university graduates: early career aspirations and destinations

ABSTRACT

Technological advancements, a changing demography, and labour market demands mean that it is increasingly important to have a skilled Māori labour workforce. Māori students are graduating from universities in increasing numbers but little is known about their careers post-graduation. Our aim was to describe the early career aspirations and destinations of Māori university graduates in the Graduate Longitudinal Study New Zealand. Data were collected when participants were in their final year of study (n = 626) and 2 years post-graduation (n = 455). The most common occupation types 2 years post-graduation were professionals (66%), clerical or administrative workers (10%), and managers (9%). The most common industries of employment were education and training (29%), health care and social assistance (22%), and legal and accounting services (8%). The percentage of graduates who, in their final year of study, planned to enter into industries that matched their actual industries at 2 years post-graduation was 67%. There were some differences across fields of study, with Health and Education graduates working in industries more closely aligned with their studies than Science or Humanities graduates. Future surveys will enable us to track graduates to see if these patterns change as graduates settle into their careers post-graduation.

KEYWORDS:

• Graduate outcomes
• indigenous
• Māori
• university
• labour market

A university education can increase opportunities to enter into professional career pathways that result in private benefits (e.g. higher incomes) for graduates compared to non-graduates (Baum et al. 2013). A university education has also been associated with social benefits for graduates’ families and communities (e.g. increased voting behaviour, volunteerism) (Baum et al. 2013) and greater social and economic development by improving standards of living and supporting a knowledge-driven economy (Santiago et al. 2008).

In New Zealand, there are ethnic inequalities in higher education (Ministry of Education 2015) due, in part, to historical policies and practices that resulted in few Māori being able to enter into universities until the mid to late twentieth century (Simon 1992; Hook 2008). In particular, generations of Māori students were taught a non-academic, technical curriculum in native and public schools that severely restricted their access to higher education, limited their life chances and resulted in a large Māori working class (New Zealand Government 1916; Simon 1992; Hook 2008). The legacy of these types of policies are evident today with Māori having greater unemployment, lower incomes, fewer assets and poorer health compared to Pākehā (New Zealand Europeans) (United Nations 2006; Ministry of Health 2010; Perry 2013; Statistics New Zealand 2013a).

Despite historical barriers to participation in higher education, there have been substantial increases in the numbers of Māori students entering into New Zealand’s universities since the turn of this century (Durie 2009). These increasing numbers are, in part, due to changes in governmental policies from the days where racism based on ideas of biological essentialism was used to justify the under-educating of Māori (Waitangi Tribunal 1999) to a focus on how to better support Māori students to succeed at higher levels of tertiary education (Ministry of Education 2013). The percentage of Māori with a bachelor’s degree or higher nearly doubled between 2005–2015 (5.6% to 9.9%), although this figure remains substantially below those for Pākehā (20.7%) and other ethnic groups (35.2%), not including Pacific Peoples (8.9%) (Ministry of Education 2015).

Māori in the labour market

In New Zealand, Māori in the general population are unemployed at higher rates (11%) compared to the national rate (5%) (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment 2017). Māori are also a younger workforce, with those aged 15–24 years employed at a higher rate than are Pākehā in this age range (21% vs. 15%) (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment 2017). Therefore, Māori may be less likely to stay in school – unlike their Pākehā peers who may be more likely to go straight into university after finishing their secondary education. This may result in fewer work opportunities for Māori when they are older. Due to increasing technological advancements in the workplace, workers in lower-skilled occupations (e.g. labourers) are more likely to be affected by unemployment, while opportunities will be created for those in more highly skilled occupations (World Economic Forum 2016). Long-term employment is also less secure for workers in lower-skilled occupations when there are changes in the economy (Schulze and Green 2017).

Most data on the Māori labour market come from governmental reports. According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (2017), the three most common industries of employment for Māori are the manufacturing (12%), utilities and construction (12%), and wholesale and retail (12%) sectors. The same trend is evident for Pacific Peoples,¹ but not for European or for Asian peoples – whose top industries are business services and wholesale and retail trade. The top three occupation types for Māori are labourers (19%), followed by professionals (18%) and managers (14%). Labourers are also the top occupation type for Pacific Peoples, while professionals are the top occupation type for European and also Asian peoples.

One of the biggest obstacles to entering into highly-skilled careers is not having the necessary qualifications (Schulze and Green 2017). Very few research papers have examined outcomes for Māori who have university qualifications. Currently, little is known about how the increasing numbers of Māori obtaining university qualifications is impacting upon Māori labour force participation, including the industries of employment and occupation types that Māori university graduates enter into post-graduation. This information is important, however, for universities, industries and policy makers who are looking to boost Māori educational and economic success and make a lifelong difference for Māori through high-quality and accessible tertiary education and career pathway planning (Ministry of Education 2013; Tertiary Education Commission 2017). This information is important for iwi and Māori groups, many of whom currently work with universities to recruit and retain Māori students with a focus on meeting the needs and objectives of their communities. Māori university graduates are also important for New Zealand in general, given that Māori are a youthful population in comparison to Pākehā. New Zealand will increasingly rely on Māori graduates to meet future national skill needs (Tertiary Education Commission 2017). In 2017, Māori labour force participation reached 70 percent, which was described as the highest rate on record (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment 2017). In addition, Māori in more skilled occupations rose from 39 to 43 percent from 2012 to 2017.² These figures suggest that career opportunities may be increasing for some Māori individuals.

Despite a dearth of research on Māori graduate outcomes, two recent studies have found that Māori university success may reduce ethnic inequalities in New Zealand labour market outcomes. Mahoney (2014) found that higher education was associated with a greater earnings premium (the difference or return on study) for Māori graduates at 1 and 5 years post-graduation compared to non-Māori graduates when their incomes were compared to national median earnings for Māori and non-Māori, respectively. In our previous work, we found that at 2 years post-graduation, Māori graduates had employment and earnings outcomes that were comparable to those of other New Zealand graduates (Theodore et al. 2018). These findings are similar to those from international studies with indigenous graduates (Walters et al. 2004; Edwards and Coates 2011; Li 2014). For example, Australian Aboriginal university graduates have been found to be more positive about the benefits of their degree for work and career goals and more likely to be employed (Edwards and Coates 2011), and have similar earnings compared to non-indigenous graduates (Li 2014).

Longitudinal graduate surveys can provide an effective and informative way to build evidence-based insights on graduate pathways and destinations (Edwards and Coates 2011). Most government reports on university graduates use cross-sectional data. While these reports provide valuable data on graduate outcomes, longitudinal data enables researchers to follow the same group of people over time to find out what happens to them post-graduation. Moreover, government administrative data focuses on objective measures, such as income and industries of employment, whereas longitudinal surveys can collect data using subjective measures (e.g. career aspirations and job satisfaction). To date, there have been few large international long-term studies of graduate outcomes, particularly those that include, or focus on, indigenous graduates. The Graduate Longitudinal Study New Zealand (GLSNZ), a nationally-representative study of New Zealand university graduates (Māori and non-Māori) from all eight New Zealand universities (Tustin et al. 2012, 2015), is one such study. This longitudinal project began when participants were in their final year of study and is following them through to 10 years post-graduation. The aim of the present study was to describe Māori university graduate career aspirations and early career destinations. In particular, we focused on the occupation types and industries of employment that Māori graduates enter into 2 years after they completed their final year of study. We also provided information on how graduates rate the usefulness and relevance of their studies to their current employment.

Methods

Participants

Participants were members of the GLSNZ (Tustin et al. 2012). The methods used in the present paper have been described in detail previously (see Tustin et al. 2012, 2015; Theodore et al. 2018). In brief, the GLSNZ conducted baseline sampling across all eight New Zealand universities between July and December 2011. A randomly-selected,³ representative sub-sample of all potential graduates that year was identified (approximately 30% of the expected total) and invited to participate in an online survey and three follow-up surveys over the following decade (in 2014, 2019 and 2022). All international PhD students and all students from the smallest university (Lincoln) were invited to participate. For details on the reasons for oversampling, please see Tustin et al. 2012. Participants were those in a study programme allowing them to graduate with a bachelor’s degree or higher after the successful completion of their studies in 2011.

At baseline, when participants were in their final year of study, eligible students were contacted by letter and email. Non-responders and non-completers were sent multiple reminder emails, and contacted up to four times by trained call centre staff. The baseline questionnaire was piloted with Māori students, and Māori individuals and groups were consulted at each individual university (see Tustin et al. 2012 for details). Consultation was also undertaken with Te Kāhui Amokura (Universities NZ Māori Consultation Committee) and the Ngāi Tahu Māori Consultation Committee. Māori participants who were slow to respond to complete the survey were contacted by Māori call centre staff.

The GLSNZ achieved a 72% participation rate, which included individuals who did not complete the full survey. A conservative criterion of full survey completion (400+ questions) was required for ultimate inclusion in the sample (founding cohort of N = 8719) with n = 626 (7% of the sample) identifiying as having Māori ethnicity.

The first follow-up survey was administered in 2014, approximately 2.5 years after the baseline survey (for a detailed description of how both surveys were administered please see Tustin et al. 2012, 2015). A total of 6104 respondents (70% of the baseline cohort) participated, including n = 455 Māori (7.5% of the sample). Of the 455 Māori participants in this study at 2 years post-graduation, 12.6% studied Science, 34.7% studied Humanities, 20.4% studied Education, 13.7% studied Health, and 18.5% studied Commerce in 2011. Sixty seven percent were completing an undergraduate degree as opposed to a postgraduate degree in 2011, ranging from 48% for Health, 64% for Science, 65% for Commerce, 71% for Humanities, and 76% for Education graduates. Twenty nine percent were male and the majority (74%) were under the age of 34 years (see also, Theodore et al. 2018).

The New Zealand Multi-region Ethics Committee approved the baseline survey and the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee approved the first follow-up survey. The GLSNZ has a Māori research policy that highlights the need to maximise the study’s contribution to improving Māori educational outcomes (Tustin et al. 2015).

Measures

Demographic data⁴

Ethnicity was self-reported at both surveys using a New Zealand Census question, which allowed multiple ethnic identities to be selected. Māori participants were those who reported Māori ethnicity. Self-reported data on age and gender at 2 years post-graduation were used for analyses. Universities supplied data on degree level (e.g. undergraduate) and field of study (e.g. Science) in the final year of study.

Employment

In their final year of study, participants were asked what industry/field they were planning to seek employment in (if they were intending to seek employment in the next two years). At 2 years post-graduation, participants were asked about their general industry/field of employment. Industries of employment were coded according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006 (ANZSIC06) (Statistics New Zealand 2006). Data that participants provided about their current occupation were coded according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) (Statistics New Zealand 2013b). In order to determine rates of unemployment in the sample, we distinguished between those who were unemployed and had been actively seeking work in the previous 4 weeks compared to those who were unemployed but were engaged in other activities (e.g. studying, caregiving, travel) and had not been actively seeking work in the previous 4 weeks. The latter were not included in the ‘unemployed’ group. Data regarding tertiary study and current country of residence at 2 years post-graduation were collected (Tustin et al. 2015).

Participants were asked several questions relating to their employment, including if they were satisfied with their current job and whether they planned to continue in this kind of work for the next 3 years. Participants rated how much their current work was related to their field of study, whether they were able to apply the skills gained from their studies (e.g. communication, analytical, teamwork) to their primary job, and the extent to which their knowledge and skills were used in their current work. Participants also rated their overall employability and skills and whether they believed their study programme had been worth the time, cost and effort (see Table 2 for details on each of the scales).

Statistical analyses

All analyses that follow are based on the n = 455 Māori participants who completed both the baseline and the 2-year follow-up surveys. Sample weights were applied for analyses. Weighting was performed in two stages. The first set of weights reflected the total 2011 baseline population using national 2011 completion data that were obtained from each of the eight universities in 2012 (see Tustin et al. 2015 for more details). Māori were over represented in the raw sample (see Tustin et al. 2015). The second set of weights adjusted for differences in response rates between the two surveys (2011 and 2014). This meant that N was weighted to 567 Māori participants for 2011 and 2014. Therefore, all analyses were calculated using the weighted sample and numbers of participants in the results add to the weighted total (n = 567).⁵

Binary variables were created and two-way chi-square tests were calculated for every response category to test the differences between participants in one field of study versus participants in all other fields. For convenience we have only reported where significance was found with p-val < 0.05. SAS v9.4 was used for all analyses (ref: SAS Institute Inc., SAS 9.4, Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc., 2002-2012.)

Results

Occupation type at 2 years post-graduation

The vast majority of Māori graduates who were employed were in professional occupations at 2 years post-graduation (Figure 1). Smaller proportions of Māori graduates were clerical or administrative workers, managers, and community and personal service workers, among other occupations.

Figure 1. Occupations of employed Māori graduates (N = 433)* at 2 years post-graduation.

Note: *Weighted Sample N who are currently employed.

Field of study by industry of employment

Table 1 shows the industries of employment of Māori graduates at 2 years post-graduation as a function of their field of study. At 2 years post-graduation, the top industries that Māori graduates were working in were education and training, followed by health care and social assistance (Table 1). Overall, Māori graduates who had studied towards qualifications in Commerce, Humanities, and Sciences were working in a diverse range of industries at 2 years post-graduation. In contrast, the vast majority of Māori graduates who had studied towards qualifications in Education or Health were working in the education and training or the health care and social assistance industries, respectively.

Table 1. Industries at 2 years post-graduation of employed Māori university graduates as a function of field of study.

	Field of Study (%)
Industry of employment	Commerce	Education	Humanities	Health	Sciences	Total Māori Sample
Weighted Sample N (Currently employed)	90	99	135	67	52	433
Education and Training	13 . 1	82 . 2	16 . 9	8.6	10 . 9	28.5
Health Care and Social Assistance	9.8	2.3	19 . 2	87 . 9	6.0	22.0
Legal and Accounting Services	19 . 7	1.5	11 . 5			7.8
Arts and Recreation Services	2.7	1.9	6.8	2.8	10 . 2	5.0
Administrative and Support Services	8.0		9.1		4.1	4.6
Information Media and Telecommunications	8.8	1.7	4.9		3.7	4.4
Public Administration and Safety	8.9		5.6		2.4	3.6
Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services			2.9		20 . 2	3.5
Retail Trade	5.0	1.7	4.0		5.0	3.1
Financial and Insurance Services	4.6	1.7	4.7			2.6
Wholesale Trade	3.4	1.8	0.6		4.9	1.9
Scientific Research Services	0.4			0.8	10 . 6	1.6
Mining			1.9		6.3	1.4
Accommodation and Food Services		2.0	3.6			1.4
Management and Related Consulting Services	4.8		1.1		0.9	1.4
Manufacturing			1.6		6.1	1.2
Transport, Postal and Warehousing	1.9		0.5		5.1	1.2
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services	1.3		2.4		1.4	1.1
Market Research and Statistical Services	4.4					1.1
Rental, Hiring, and Real Estate Services	2.5	1.8				0.9
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing			1.0		2.4	0.6
Construction	0.6	1.6				0.5
Veterinary Services			1.3			0.4
Miscellaneous			0.4			0.1

Note: Numbers in bold represent percentages of more than 10%.

Destinations and employment status at 2 years post-graduation

Very few Māori graduates (2.7%) were actively seeking work and were not currently in employment, education or training (Table 2). On average, 27% of Māori graduates were currently enrolled in some form of tertiary education. Education graduates (13%) were the least likely to be currently enrolled in tertiary education, χ²(1, 534) = 13.01, p-val = 0.0003, whereas Science (37%) and Humanities (33%) graduates were the most likely to be currently enrolled in tertiary education, smallest χ²(1, 534) = 4.55, p-val = 0.03. There were some differences in rates of full-time and part-time employment across fields of study; Commerce and Education graduates were more likely than were other graduates to be in full-time employment, smallest χ²(1,534) = 4.20, p-val = 0.04, whereas Humanities graduates were less likely than were other graduates to be in full-time employment, χ²(1, 534) = 15.04, p-val = 0.0001 (Table 2). Most Māori graduates were living in New Zealand (91%).

Table 2. Māori university graduate destinations and job-related variables at 2 years post-graduation as a function of field of study.

	Field of Study (%)
Variable	Commerce	Education	Humanities	Health	Sciences	Total Māori Sample
Weighted Sample N**	103	105	176	74	76	534
Not currently in employment, education/training and currently seeking work***	3.7	1.6	4.4	0.6		2.7
Currently enrolled in tertiary study	23.3	13.4*	33.0*	27.9	37.2*	26.8
Employed:
Full-time	76.3*	79.4*	56.2*	67.6	61.8	67.7
Part-time	11.2*	15.6	22.8	25.7	15.4	18.1
Overall employability & skills (Good or Excellent)^a	89.6	83.8	78.6*	91.9*	84.0	83.7
Study was worth the money/time/effort (Yes or Definitely yes)^b	78.4	77.9	75.2	87.2*	75.3	78.1
Living in New Zealand	89.4	94.1	90.0	86.7	92.9	90.5
Weighted Sample N** (Employed)	90	99	135	67	52	443
Current industry of employment matched to planned industries in final year of study	69.4	76.8*	55.5*	81.7*	52.1*	66.6
See themselves continuing this kind of work for the next 3 years (Probably or Definitely yes)^c	71.5	75.7	67.1	85.4*	62.9	72.4
Satisfied with current job (Satisfied or Very satisfied)^d	75.2*	59.8	60.2	68.0	53.7	63.4
Work related to field of study (Quite a bit or Very much)^e	59.2	74.2*	49.1*	87.1*	45.2*	63.2
Can apply skills gained from study to job (Quite a bit or Very much)^f	62.4	78.9*	50.9*	88.3*	61.9	67.2
Knowledge/skills used in current work (High or Very high extent)^g	73.9	83.2*	59.5*	88.4*	64.9	72.5

^aQuestion: How do you rate your overall employability and skills? Scale ranged from 1 = Poor to 5 = Excellent.

^bQuestion: Overall, was your study programme worth the time, cost, and effort? Scale ranged from 1 = Definitely No to 5 = Definitely Yes.

^cQuestion: Do you see yourself continuing this kind of work for the next three years? Scale ranged from 1 = Definitely No to 4 = Definitely Yes.

^dQuestion: How satisfied are you with your current work? Scale ranged from 1 = Very Dissatisfied to 5 = Very Satisfied.

^eQuestion: How much is this work related to your field of study? Scale ranged from 1 = Not at All to 5 = Very Much.

^fQuestion: How much are you able to apply the skills you gained from your studies to your primary job (e.g., communication, analytical, teamwork, leadership, etc.)? Scale ranged from 1 = Not at All to 5 = Very Much.

^gQuestion: To what extent are your knowledge and skills utilised in your current work? Scale ranged from 1 = Not at All to 5 = To a Very High Extent.

Note: *Denotes significant differences (p < .05) between those in the individual field of study (e.g. Humanities) and those in all other fields of study (e.g., non-Humanities).

**Total weighted sample size equalled N = 567 at 2011 and 2014, however, the totals for individual variables do not necessarily sum to n = 567 due to missing data or non-response.

***Too few observations to run a significance test.

Employability and the perceived value of study

The vast majority (84%) of Māori graduates across all fields of study rated themselves as having good or excellent overall employability and skills (Table 2), with Humanities graduates being slightly less likely, χ²(1, 534) = 5.28, p-val = 0.02, and Health graduates being more likely, χ²(1, 534) = 4.38, p-val = 0.04, to rate their overall employability as good or excellent. In addition, the majority (78%) of Māori graduates across all fields of study agreed or strongly agreed that their studies were worth the money, time and effort. Once again, Health graduates were more likely to agree or strongly agree with this statement, χ²(1, 534) = 4.25, p-val = 0.04.

Actual versus planned industry of employment

Overall, 67% of employed Māori graduates at 2 years post-graduation were working in an industry of employment in which they had planned to work according to their survey responses in their final year of study (Table 2). This number differed as a function of Māori graduates’ field of study; Education and Health graduates were more likely than were graduates from other fields of study to be employed in an industry that matched their plans in their final year of study, smallest χ² (1, 443) = 6.04, p-val = 0.01. In contrast, Sciences and Humanities graduates were less likely than were graduates from other fields of study to be employed in an industry that matched their plans in their final year of study, smallest χ² (1, 443) = 5.52, p-val = 0.02. Note, however, that despite these differences, more than half of the graduates in each field of study were employed in the industries in which, 2 years previously, they had planned to work.

Employment characteristics

At 2 years post-graduation, the majority (72%) of Māori graduates intended to continue in their current type of work for the next three years (i.e. up to 5 years post-graduation) (Table 2). Health graduates were the most likely to indicate that they would continue in their current type of work, χ²(1,443) = 15.04, p-val = 0.0001. Overall, 63% of Māori graduates were satisfied or very satisfied with their current job, Commerce graduates particularly so, χ²(1,443) = 6.55, p-val = 0.01. Just under two thirds of Māori graduates responded that their work was quite a bit, or very much, related to their field of study, with higher ratings given by Health and Education graduates, smallest χ²(1,443) = 11.92, p-val = 0.0006, and lower ratings given by Sciences and Humanities graduates, smallest χ²(1,443) = 8.05, p-val = 0.005. Health and Education graduates were also more likely than were other graduates to report that they could apply skills (to a large or very large extent) gained from study to their job, smallest χ²(1,443) = 8.1, p-val = 0.004, and that their knowledge and skills were used to a high, or very high, extent in their current work, smallest χ²(1,443) = 7.49, p-val = 0.006. In contrast, Humanities graduates were less likely than were other graduates to give these responses to the two questions, smallest χ²(1,443) = 16.03, p-val < 0.0001.

Discussion

Building a skilled Māori workforce is critical for positive Māori futures. In a knowledge-driven global economy, Māori graduates are also important for New Zealand’s future, particularly as the majority Pākehā population ages, with many heading towards retirement (Schulze and Green 2017). At present, we know little about what happens to Māori graduates when they leave universities. This information, however, is important for potential students and their whānau to help them make informed decisions about what to study in terms of careers and incomes post-graduation. It is also important for iwi and Māori organisations, who have developed or are developing education plans, inclusive of tertiary education, to meet the needs of their communities (Ministry of Education 2013). Evidence-based graduate insights are also essential for schools (e.g. for career advisors) and higher education institutions. As well, graduate surveys can provide useful data for industries looking to attract and employ graduates and for policy makers interested in the broad range of contributions that graduates and universities make to New Zealand society.

To this end, in this paper we describe Māori university graduates’ labour market aspirations, early career destinations and ratings of the usefulness and relevance of their studies to their jobs at 2 years post-graduation. In terms of occupations, the majority of Māori graduates were already in skilled occupations 2 years after leaving university. Skilled occupations are less susceptible to new technologies that automate lower-skilled work or to the impacts of economic recessions (World Economic Forum 2016). In the general population, however, Māori are more likely to work in lower-skilled occupations (e.g. labourers) (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment 2017).

The longitudinal design of the present study allowed us to investigate whether graduates’ plans for their future work came to fruition 2 years later. Our results showed that 67% of Māori graduates worked in industries post-graduation that matched their planned industries of employment in their final year of study. There was some variation in this proportion as a function of graduates’ field of study, however, ranging from 56% for Humanities to 82% for Health graduates. We also found that Commerce, Science, and Humanities graduates were employed in a diverse range of industries at 2 years post-graduation, whereas Health and Education graduates were working primarily in a smaller number of industries that were more directly related to their fields of study. Note, however, that this may be related to the diverse range of subject areas that are included within Humanities, Commerce and Science fields of study. For example, Humanities includes subject areas like creative arts and architecture and building.

Our findings are consistent with previous New Zealand and overseas research showing that graduates in Health and Education are more likely to work in fields aligned with their tertiary qualification, whereas Science or Humanities graduates may be more likely to work across a range of industries (Mare and Liang 2006; Coates and Edwards 2009). Our findings relate to Māori university graduates’ entry into the labour market. These findings differ somewhat from those of the large Research into Employment and professional FLEXibility project, which surveyed more than 35,000 participants from 16 European Union countries at 5 years post-graduation. Their results showed that nearly 75% of all graduates were in employment that matched both their level and field of higher education (Støren and Arnesen 2011). It may take years for graduates to settle into their chosen career paths given the nature of contemporary work (Coates and Edwards 2009). At present, it is too soon to determine whether current Māori graduate occupations or industries will be those that they remain in long-term, but our preliminary data showed that, on average, 72% of Māori graduates foresaw remaining in the same line of work over the following three years (i.e. at 5-years post-graduation). Moreover, we will be able to ascertain whether graduates do remain in the same line of work at our next follow-up survey.

Twenty seven percent of Māori graduates indicated that they were currently enrolled in tertiary study at 2 years post-graduation. Science graduates were the most likely to be completing further study (37%). Education graduates were the least likely to be undertaking further study (13%), which may be due to them entering into teaching careers following the completion of undergraduate degrees. These findings align with previous research showing higher rates of further study for Science graduates compared to graduates of other fields (particulary Education) in the United Kingdom (Higher Education Statistics Agency 2017) and Australia (Coates and Edwards 2009). Note, however, that by 5 years post-graduation these differences seem to reduce (Coates and Edwards 2009).

Despite some differences across fields of study, nearly all (84%) Māori graduates rated their overall employability as good or excellent and 78% rated their study as worth the money, time and effort. Sixty three percent of Māori graduates described their work at 2 years post-graduation as being quite a bit, or very much, related to their field of study. This percentage did vary, however, from 45% for Science graduates to 87% for Health graduates. Sixty seven percent of Māori graduates said they could – quite a bit or very much – apply the skills gained from their studies to their jobs. Again, this figure varied as a function of graduates’ fields of study, ranging from 51% for Humanities graduates to 82% for Health graduates. These results are consistent with findings from the Australian Graduate Pathways Survey (Coates and Edwards 2009) in which Science and Humanities graduates perceived their study to be of less relevance to their work at 1 year post-graduation, but perceived their study to be of greater relevance over successive years post-graduation. In contrast, the perceptions of the relevance of study to work for graduates of other fields were relatively high at 1 year post-graduation and remained stable over time. In terms of job satisfaction, 63% of Māori graduates in our study said that they were satisfied, or very satisfied, with their current job. Based on previous research (Coates and Edwards 2009), we would expect satisfaction to increase over time and we will be able to track this in planned follow-up surveys.

Our labour market findings provide important information on the early career destinations of Māori graduates. Māori graduates were employed at a high rate; less than 3% were not in any type of employment, education or further training and had been actively seeking work at 2 years post-graduation. These findings underscore the importance of higher education to reduce current ethnic inequalities in New Zealand labour market outcomes.

Increasing participation in higher education requires a lifelong approach because educational disparities for Māori compared to Pākehā begin in early childhood and continue throughout formal schooling (Bishop et al. 2009). Change requires culturally-responsive primary and secondary education to set Māori up for lifelong learning opportunities and the skills required to enter into universities and other higher education institutions (Bishop et al. 2009; Schulze and Green 2017). We have previously reported findings from the GLSNZ on the factors that were helping Māori in their final year of study to complete their courses, including external factors (e.g. family support), institutional factors (e.g. Māori staff, Māori curricula), and student/personal factors (e.g. a desire for a better future) (Theodore et al. 2017). Factors that hindered Māori students’ successful completion included balancing multiple obligations, such as parenting, study, and work; financial stressors; and institutional factors (e.g. issues with supervisors; content, delivery of academic papers). Māori students in their final year of study are more likely to be parents compared to non-Māori (Theodore et al. 2016). Strategies to support Māori students (e.g. flexible delivery of courses) are important so that they do not have to compromise family or work commitments (Tertiary Education Commission, 2012).

A particular strength of the present study is that the GLSNZ is a nationally-representative graduate study. Another strength is that data were collected at two time points on multiple outcome measures. Notwithstanding these strengths, limitations of the present study must also be considered. Although our study is longitudinal in nature, data were only collected at two time points to date which is insufficient to determine trends over time. However, the future follow-up surveys at 6 and 10 years post-graduation will assist in confirming trends. Due to relatively small numbers we are unable to provide meaningful information about the outcomes of Māori graduates from specific disciplines (e.g. psychology) or to report on the percentage of Māori graduates who worked in specific jobs (e.g. psychologists) at 2 years post-graduation.

Conclusion

Graduate surveys can provide evidence-based information on the pathways that graduates take after completing their degrees. Findings from the present study suggest that a university education can transform career opportunities for Māori. Future follow-up surveys will enable us to follow Māori graduates as they settle into their careers post-graduation. Overall, given the benefits of having a university education, the need to reduce ethnic inequalities in higher education remains an imperative for Māori futures and the future of New Zealand.

Acknowledgements

We thank the participants and participating universities who facilitated this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The 2011 Graduate Longitudinal Study New Zealand (GLSNZ) baseline survey was supported by the Tertiary Education Commission, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and Ministry of Education. Funding for the 2014 first follow-up survey was provided by Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara and has been ongoing. Reremoana Theodore was supported by a Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) Māori Health Emerging Leader Fellowship [Grant number 18/644]. Jesse Kokaua was supported by a HRC Pacific Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship [Grant number 17/466].

Notes

1 The authors of this report defined the ethnic groups as Māori, European, Pacific Peoples and Asian.

2 This included skilled occupations (e.g., managers, technicians) and semi-skilled occupations (e.g., clerks, sales)

3 Stratified by university.

4 For detailed information on the measures see Tustin et al. (2012) and Tustin et al. (2015).

5 The totals for each individual variable, however, do not necessarily sum to n = 567 due to missing data or non-response.