The University of Hong Kong

Careers Education and Placement Centre

Where did the 1997 Food & Nutritional Science graduates go?

I. Introduction

The information contained in this paper is extracted from the Graduate Employment Survey of 1997 to answer the following questions about Food & Nutritional Science majors : -

How were they employed six months after graduation ?
Of those who pursued further studies, what programmes did they follow ?
Of those who were employed full-time, how long did it take them to secure their first job offer ?
In which sectors were they employed ?
How much did they receive in salary ?
How many job offers did they receive ?
Who were their employers and what were their job titles ?

II. Employment Situation in 1997

Altogether 51 persons graduated from the University with a B.Sc. degree in Food & Nutritional Science. Among them, 41 (80%) responded to the survey. Most (83% or 34 graduates) of the 1997 Food & Nutritional Science graduates were in full-time employment within six months of graduation. 12% (or 5 graduates) went on for further studies. Another 4.8% (or 2 graduates) were still seeking full-time employment at the time of the survey. (Table 1)

	Food & Nutritional Science																		HKU Overall*
	Total					Male							Female
	‘97		‘96		‘97				‘96			‘97				‘96			‘97		‘96
	No.	%	No.	%			No.	%		No.	%			No.	%		No.	%	No.	%		No.	%
No. of respondents	41	100	43	100			8	100		9	100			33	100		34	100	2272	100		2139	100
F/T employed	34	82.9	29	67.4			7	87.5		5	55.6			27	81.8		24	70.6	1829	80.5		1743	81.5
P/T employed seeking F/T job	1	2.4	3	7.0			0	0		2	22.2			1	3.0		1	2.9	37	1.6		34	1.6
Unemployed seeking F/T job	1	2.4	1	2.3			0	0		1	11.1			1	3.0		0	0	53	2.3		34	1.6
Further studies	5	12.2	7	16.3			1	12.5		0	0			4	12.1		7	20.6	339	14.9		314	14.7
Emigration/home country	0	0	0	0			0	0		0	0			0	0		0	0	4	0.2		6	0.28
Not seeking F/T job	0	0	3	7.0			0	0		1	11.1			0	0		2	5.9	10	0.4		8	0.4

Table 1. Employment situation

* HKU overall refers to the figure for the total HKU population and includes M.B.,B.S. and B.D.S graduates.

III. Further Studies

Three graduates pursued further studies in the same discipline as their first degree and were enrolled in local tertiary institutions. Table 2 shows the academic programmes Food & Nutritional Science graduates were engaged in and Table 3 shows the source of finance.

	Academic programmes
Field of Study	M.Phil.	Master (Coursework)	Postgraduate Certificate
Science	1	1	1

No Response = 2

Table 2. Academic programmes

Source of Finance	No. of Graduates
Own Fund	3
Teaching Assistantship/Studentship	1
Government Grant + Loan	1

Table 3. Source of finance for further studies

IV. Time Taken to Secure Employment

Among those graduates who were in full-time employment, 82% secured their first job offers before the end of August. The percentage increased to 100% by the end of October. (Figure 1)

Figure 1. Time taken to secure employment

V. Employment Sectors

Most (85% or 29 graduates) of the Food & Nutritional Science graduates were employed in commerce and industry, followed by 8.8% (or 3 graduates) in the civil services. The remaining 2.9% (or 1 graduate) each joined the community, social & personal services and the education sector. (Figures 2 & 3)

Figure 2. Employment sectors

Figure 3. Employment sectors by sex

VI. Basic Salary and Gross Income

In general, the average income of 1997 Food & Nutritional Science graduates was similar to that of their predecessors in the previous year. (Table 4)

	Basic Salary				Gross Income
	Food & Nutritional Science		HKU Average*		Food & Nutritional Science		HKU Average*
	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96
Mean	$11,002	$10,310	$15,749	$14,457	$13,584	$11,928	$17,552	$15,902
Median	$10,000	$10,000	$12,500	$12,000	$11,917	$11,158	$14,521	$13,542
Minimum	$7,000	$3,000	$4,400	$3,000	$9,833	$8,008	$5,000	$5,500
Maximum	$18,010	$16,050	$59,000	$55,000	$37,933	$17,632	$74,000	$60,000

Table 4. Basic salary and gross income

* HKU average refers to the figure for the total HKU population and includes M.B.,B.S and B.D.S graduates

VII. Number of Full-Time Job Offers

71% of the graduates in full-time employment had more than one job offer. 41% reported having received three to seven job offers. (Figure 4)

Figure 4. No. of full-time job offers

VIII. Names of Employers and Job Titles

The job titles of the Food & Nutritional Science graduates in full-time employment and the names of their employers are listed below.

Employers :	Job Titles :
CIVIL SERVICE -
HKSAR		Health Inspector II
HKSAR - Regional Services Department		Health Inspector
HKSAR - Urban Services Department		Health Inspector II

EDUCATION -
The Chinese University of Hong Kong		Library Assistant II

COMMUNITY, SOCIAL & PERSONAL SERVICES -
Wiser Club		Health Care Consultant Trainee

COMMERCE & INDUSTRY -
A S Watson Industries Ltd		Quality Control Technician
Amoy Food Ltd		Management Trainee
Armadic Far East Ltd		Medical Representative
Caltex Oil HK Ltd		Administrator
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd		Airport Services Officer
Health Guard (Far East) Ltd		Management Trainee
Holman Fenwicu & Willan Solicitor		Administrative Assistant
Hongkong Bank		Counter Services Officer
Lee & Lam Financial Consultants Co Ltd		Executive Assistant
N C M Corporation Ltd		Assistant Sales Manager
Organic Gardens Ltd		Shop Manager
Oriental Corp		Graphic Designer
P Plus Communications Ltd		Customer Service Officer
Park’N Shop		Food Technologist
Tensco Ltd		Assistant Sales Manager
Termeray Electronic Co Ltd		Buyer
Universal Industrial Equipment Ltd		Assistant Marketing Manager
Vogue Laundry Service Ltd (Swire Group)		Marketing & Customer Services Officer
Xerox (HK) Ltd		Sales Representative
Organization’s name not reported		Medical Representative
Organization’s name not reported		Sales Representative

No Response = 8

Table 5. List of employers and job titles

Note: Some alumni have indicated willingness to talk to individual students about their work. Their contact telephone number can be obtained from counsellors at CEPC.

IX. Similar information on graduates from other disciplines are available for reference in the Careers Library. Please enquire with the CEPC.

Careers Education and Placement Centre

3/F Wong Chuang Lai Wah Building

Meng Wah Complex

The University of Hong Kong

Pokfulam Road

Hong Kong

Telephone : 2859 2314

Fax : (852) 2559 5238

E-Mail : CEPC@HKUCC.HKU.HK

Homepage : http://www.hku.hk/cepc

Opening Hours : Monday - Friday (9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)

Saturday (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)

Margaret Lee

Nelson Yip

June, 1998

The analysis is based on information provided by the respondents, and the Careers Education & Placement Centre should not be held responsible for any errors arising therefrom.

No part of this report may be reproduced in any form or by whatever means,

without written permission from the Director of the Careers Education and Placement Centre,

The University of Hong Kong