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Graduates from Åbo Akademi University remain satisfied with their education and working life situation
Every year, a national career follow-up survey is conducted in which all Finnish universities participate. The aim is to gather feedback from those who graduated five years ago. The survey examines how the education has been useful in working life, what significance it has had for their careers and how well their work tasks correspond to the expectations created by the education. It also provides a picture of the types of jobs graduates have obtained and their income levels.
This year’s survey period begins on 1 October. Everyone who graduated in 2020 will receive a personal link to the Arvo survey tool via text message, email or regular mail. The link begins with arvovastaus.csc.fi. Responses are anonymous, even though the links are unique to each participant. The deadline for responses is 8 December. In parallel with the national survey, Åbo Akademi University will send out a shorter survey of its own to those who graduated in 2024.
The alumni’s views on how well their education has prepared them for working life are valuable to the entire university when new course and education plans are being designed. The results thus serve both as feedback and as guidance for future development.
“Another, more practical reason is that each individual survey response translates into financial support for the universities. Of the total amount allocated to universities by the Ministry of Education and Culture, €36 million depends on the number and quality of responses to these surveys,” says Matias Erlund, Alumni and Career Counsellor.
Competition for responses
The amount of support each university receives from the ministry depends on how many responses they manage to collect and how positive the results are. The idea is to reward universities whose programmes are perceived as relevant to working life. During the period 2018–2020, each individual response was estimated to be worth an average of around €5,400 for Åbo Akademi University.
Getting alumni to respond to the surveys is not always easy, and since all universities are competing for the same money, certain common guidelines have been introduced to ensure a fair process.
“We send out invitations by email if we have the information, otherwise by post. A reminder about the survey is sent out by post after a month if no response has been received by then. But we don’t start calling people up, for example, as we have agreed,” says Erlund.
Alumni view their education positively
Having a degree does not always guarantee employment, but in general it significantly improves your chances. Most graduates also find jobs in areas that are less sensitive to economic cycles. This year’s report shows that unemployment among university graduates has fallen slightly, despite the general economic situation.
When asked if they are satisfied with the education they have received, 90 per cent answer yes – a result that is in line with previous years. Most also say that they would make the same study choice again. The changes that alumni wish they had made in hindsight mainly concern taking advantage of opportunities for internships or exchanges during their studies. On a more personal level, several mention that they wish they had been more disciplined in their own work.
If you want to dig deeper, all the data is online
For those who really want to dive into all the figures and data, Vipunen, the statistical service of the education administration, is the place to go. Vipunen data goes back to the survey conducted in 2017. Some working knowledge of Finnish or Swedish is required.
You can find all the figures on the “Career monitoring” page. On that page, under the heading “Visualizations”, you will find links to the results of the survey for masters and doctors.
The presentation views may make you feel like you’re in over your head at first, but by filtering and choosing which bars and graphs to display, you should eventually get to grips with the tool.
