Industry Expectation Of Australian Property Higher Education Programs

Purpose: Property education is predominantly taught at undergraduate level, supported by post-graduate programs at many Australian universities. This paper examines undergraduate property programs from the perspective of one of the major stakeholders; the property industry. The current offerings have evolved from highly applied practical valuation-centric programs in the 1970s to broader, more academic programs in the current era. This change has created different expectations for both students and industry._ _Methodology: Initially a focus group of six property industry employers was held and their discussion is included in the paper and informed the development of a questionnaire using the online delivery vehicle Qualtrics. This questionnaire was emailed to 460 industry leaders, as listed on company websites and university Employer of Choice databases. 95 people responded to the questionnaire.Findings: After surveying students, recent graduates and industry leaders, it appears as if there is a gap between what the universities claim about their graduates and what many employers of property graduates find. Despite the best efforts of the universities and their staff, despite robust and rich curricula, it would appear that evidence from industry and the Australian Property Institute who register practitioners, is that most graduates require specialist training and additional study before they can be considered work ready.Value: This paper offers valuable insights with regard to how higher education property programs are regarded by the property industry in Australia.