Co op-future-leaders-index-white-paper-june-2013

The Co-op Future Leaders Index
White Paper Part 1: Employment and Politics
June 2013
1 of 27White Paper Part 1 – Employment and Politics

Table of Contents
Executive Summary 3
Introduction 4
Background 5
Employment and Politics: Detailed Findings 6
Future Leaders: A Generation of Entrepreneurs 7
Future Leaders Immediate Job Opportunity Perceptions Subdued 10
How Much Will I Get Paid? Future Leader Salary Expectations Explored 15
Future Leaders and Political Apathy 18
Australia Today 22
Conclusion 25
Coming Up 26
Appendix: Research Approach 27
Co-op Future Leaders Index
June 2013

Executive summary
Against the backdrop of weakening employment conditions and during an election year, the Co-op commissioned
a landmark research project to capture the true opinion of the young minds of Australia. In the first of a series
of three white papers, an enlightening and unique understanding of Australia’s Future Leaders has emerged.
• Future Leaders: the entrepreneurial and
independent generation: the Future Leaders
Index found a significant 4 in 10 are planning
to start their own business in the future. The
results clearly demonstrate Australia’s Future
Leaders are entrepreneurial in nature and are set
to continue Australia’s significant predisposition
towards work independence. However, critically
almost 6 in 10 stated universities don’t do enough
to help students learn how to run a business
• Future Leaders pessimistic about immediate
employment prospects: The Index uncovered that
half of Future Leaders feel the global downturn
has significantly reduced overseas and local
Australian employment opportunities for them.
Furthermore, over half believe prospects for
employment in their chosen field after university
is not strong
• Many considering staying on at university due to
paucity of employment roles: Over 4 in 10 Future
Leaders (and over half of international students)
stated they are considering staying on at
university to undertake more study, citing paucity
of job prospects in the current environment as
the cause
• The majority considering postgraduate or
master’s courses down the track: Almost 7 in
10 stated they were planning on a postgraduate
course or master’s at some point in the future.
The results paint an acute picture of the concern
Future Leaders have about work opportunities,
with uni becoming a very realistic safe haven in
the short term
• Whilst economic downturn presents greater
work challenges, Future Leaders still expect
a befitting salary: Study found Future Leaders’
graduate salary expectations broadly sensible,
with overall salary expectation of $50,700 soon
after graduating. Findings emphasise Future
Leaders’ realism about remuneration when
entering the job market
• Underlying longer term confidence regarding
relevance of degree to job market: Despite
the employment pessimism, most still remain
very confident that their degrees are both
viable and recognisable in the job market and
for their career. Results suggest pessimism
around immediate employment prospects due
to a more short term situational factor broadly
outside of their control, rather than due to lack of
confidence in their degree
• Future Leader political interest tepid: Future
Leaders do not rank politics highly as an interest
and see little differences between the main
parties. However, whilst over half admit they don’t
feel politically knowledgeable, they recognise that
this lack of understanding is unsatisfactory
• Future Leaders however do care who gets
elected, and moreover, are significantly more
likely to vote Green: Future Leaders do care
who gets elected, with only one third stating
they don’t care who gets in at the next election.
Investigating voting intentions in greater detail,
it’s clearly evident that Future Leaders are
leaning more strongly towards the Green vote,
when compared to the total voting populace
• Future Leaders surprisingly negative regarding
Australia’s cultural advancement: Almost half
(48%) of Future Leaders believe Australia is
still culturally behind much of the rest of the
developed world. The findings clearly indicate this
is an issue Australia now must start to seriously
challenge itself on
• Australia deemed by Future Leaders as a key
player in Asia, but lacking punch globally:
A substantial 7 in 10 believe Australia has
significant influence in the Asia region. However,
this was simply not the case at a global level.
Future Leaders still saw Australia as lacking
punch on a worldwide scale with almost 6 in 10
seeing Australia having little influence globally.
June 2013

Introduction
This detailed investigation into Australia’s Future Leaders in 2013 provides a completely unique and fresh
look at the young tertiary educated minds of Australia.
The Future Leaders Index, a first of its kind in
Australia, confirms Australia’s Future Leaders
are significantly concerned about the impact of
the current economic situation in Australia on
their own immediate employment prospects. As
a result, many are using university as a buffer to
protect them from the reality of the job market.
Furthermore, the research highlights that a sizable
proportion are contemplating setting up their own
business in response to the paucity of employment
opportunities at this time.
However, despite the employment pessimism, most
still remain very confident that their degrees are
both viable and recognisable in the job market in
terms of their career. The Future Leaders Index
findings suggest pessimism around immediate
employment prospects are a more short term
situational factor broadly outside of their control,
rather than due to lack of confidence in their
education.
At a political level, the results objectively confirm
the tepid interest in the political landscape and the
little perceived difference between the main parties.
However, whilst Future Leaders admit they don’t
this lack of understanding is unsatisfactory. Clear
opportunities for all the political parties present
themselves, so long as they start to talk to this
group about the things that really matter to them.
On the subject of Australia at an international level,
the Future Leaders Index has clearly identified our
young minds see the country as a credible player in
Asia. Furthermore, they are unquestionably positive
about the future of Australia. However, there is
a raft of core concerns about this country going
forward that they want answers on.
This report, the first of a series of three white
papers to be launched in 2013, takes a detailed look
at three core areas, including:
• Future Leader attitudes to employment
• Attitudes to politics
• Australia today
Based on a wide-ranging market research program
involving interviews with more than 2000 young
Australians nationwide, this report breaks new
ground in providing a validated understanding of
Australia’s Future Leaders in 2013.
1
Full details of the qualitative and quantitative research approach are shown in the Appendix.
June 2013

Background
The Co-op commissioned the insight room to run
a multi-staged research program to uncover the
attitudes and perceptions of their younger members
and determine how and what they are thinking
today as well as what they believe will be happening
tomorrow.
The process followed a three-staged approach,
involving an initial workshop with key Co-op
staff members to brainstorm and uncover core
issues, followed by a comprehensive multi-layered
qualitative and quantitative research program to
unearth and validate Future Leaders’ attitudes and
opinions.
As part of a major launch of the research findings,
a series of Future Leader white papers are being
released across three phases in 2013:
• Phase 1: Employment and Politics (May)
• Phase 2: Lifestyle and Technology (July)
• Phase 3: Education and Australia (October)
Research Objectives
• To provide an informed, insightful portrait of the
nation’s Future Leaders’ thoughts and opinions
towards a range of important and topical issues.
Focusing on:
• Perceptions of Australia now and foretelling life
in 2020
• Attitudes to the environment
• Involvement in politics
• Students’ life skills and perceptions of
employment opportunities
• Life plans post university
• Attitudes to property ownership
• The ‘coolest’ brands now
• Predictions on future brand popularity
• Inspirational people
1
Full details of the qualitative and quantitative research approach are shown in the Appendix
June 2013

Part 1: Employment and Politics
Detailed Findings
June 2013

Future Leaders – A Generation of Entrepreneurs
“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree I would spend six hours sharpening my axe.”
– Abraham Lincoln.
Australia – the small business
nation
Australia is often described as ‘a nation of small
businesses’ and ABS statistics attest to this. Of the
2.1 million businesses in Australia (ABS June 20112
),
over 1.3 million are non-employing with a further
740,000 employing less than 20 people.
Small business plays a critical role in the Australian
economy, particularly in terms of contribution
to employment, where they account for almost
half of employment in the private non-financial
sector. Small businesses are also essential in
terms of both production (responsible for 35%) and
innovation, with small business representing almost
90% of all businesses engaging in innovative activity3
.
According to the OECD, the contribution of small
business to innovation is also on the rise as a result
of new technologies reducing barriers to entry and
increasing access to larger markets.
Future Leaders: entrepreneurial
and independent
Against this statistical backdrop, the Future Leaders
Index examined the likelihood of the nation’s Future
Leaders to start their own business. Intriguingly, it
found that a significant 4 in 10 are planning to start
their own business in the future.
2
8165.0 - Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits , Jun 2007 to Jun 2011
3
RBA Small Business Finance Roundtable | May 2012 http://www.abs.gov.au/website
Recent ABS statistics highlight the prevalence
of small businesses in Australia:
• 2,132,412 actively trading businesses in Australia
as at June 2011.
• However, non-employing businesses account for
the greatest proportion of both total businesses
and business entries (61.2% of all businesses
operating in June 2011 and 67.6% of business
entries in 2010-11 were non-employers).
• In 2010-11, most business entries (93.5%)
continued to occur in the micro business
population, which comprises non-employing
businesses and businesses employing between
1-4 employees.
• Of those businesses that survived from June 2010
to June 2011, both inflow and outflow were highest
for businesses employing between 1-4 employees
(65,523 and 91,232 respectively). Not only does
this signify a high degree of churn in this category,
but the relatively high outflow resulted in a net
movement (outflow) of 25,709 businesses.
• All other employment size categories recorded
net inflows and were led by non-employing
businesses, with a net inflow of 23,788. This
indicates that a large amount of businesses who
employed between 1-4 employees at June 2010
dropped to be non-employing businesses at June
2011.
Source: 1. ABS Statistics (June 2011). 8165.0 -
Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries
and Exits , Jun 2007 to Jun 2011
June 2013

Breaking the results down further, significantly
almost half (45%) of males are planning on
running their own business compared to just over
one third (35%) of females. The results clearly
demonstrate that Australia’s Future Leaders are
entrepreneurial in nature and are set to continue
Australia’s significant predisposition towards work
independence. This desire for autonomy in the
workplace is likely being driven in part by the more
precarious current state of the job market i.e. the
sentiment may be to go it alone as other options are
limited right now. However, it also may be because
the global financial crisis highlighted to Future
Leaders that they can no longer necessarily trust
big companies for employment opportunities or
even in terms of their ethics in the way they once
did.
Total Female Male 17 - 20
Years Old
21 - 23
Years Old
24 - 29
Years Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
Start your
own business
39% 35% 45% 38% 40% 39% 36% 39% 41% 41% 35%
Table: Proportion of Future Leaders planning on starting their own business in the future by gender, age, education status and location
However, Australian business failure
rates are high, suggesting it’s a
challenging path
Revisiting ABS statistics in more detail, it is evident
that business failure rates are high, particularly
among the non-employing segment. This implies
that many of Australia’s Future Leaders are likely
to face quite significant head winds if they do take
on the challenging path of setting up their own
business:
“While non-employing new businesses account for
9 out of 10 start-ups, they are the most likely to fail,
with a survival rate of just 4 in 10 (43%). Business
survival rates in Australia are heavily influenced
by the size of the business, with small businesses
taking the brunt. New businesses with 20-199
employees have the best chance of survival (68%),
followed by businesses with 5-19 employees (65%),
1-4 employees (59%) and 200+ employees (57%).
At an industrial level, start-ups are most likely to
survive in Healthcare and Social Assistance (62%),
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services (56%),
and Financial and Insurance Services (55%). They
are least likely to survive in Public Administration
and Safety (38%), Administrative Support Services
(41%), and Arts and Recreational Services (43%).”
Why do small businesses and
entrepreneurs fail?
Examination by Tony Featherstone (a specialist in
the area of small business and entrepreneurs) of
2005 to 2010 external administer reports supplied to
ASIC, suggested that much of small business failure
is self-inflicted, with poor strategic management,
inadequate cash flow or high cash use ranking
highly as causes for failure:
“First, poor financial control has risen from being a
nominated cause of business failure in about 30 per
cent of all external administrator reports to 33 per
cent in 2010. Poor strategic management is easily
the highest cause of business failure, featuring
in about 43 per cent of all external administrator
reports and remaining fairly constant over the past
six years. Inadequate cash flow or high cash use
also ranks high.
Poor economic conditions, although lower than
several other causes, has jumped from 11 per cent
in 2004 to 26 per cent in 2010, with a big rise in the
past two financial years.”
June 2013

His research, whilst only focusing on solvency data
(i.e. not covering the many more scenarios where
businesses spend time in “work-outs” with banks
in attempts to stay alive, or the vast number of
ventures that technically have not failed but have
performed below their owner’s expectations for
years and thereby become prohibitive to support),
concluded it was critical to ensure the business
had a clear overriding strategy and ensure
practical financial systems and record keeping
are implemented, whist always watching cash
flow. The oft quoted advice about working on
your business rather than in it therefore remains
poignant:
“The takeout from this analysis is simple: if you
want to avoid business failure, focus first on
strategy. Implement strong financial controls and
record keeping, and keep a close watch on cash.
That sounds like obvious advice, yet too many
small business owners I know don’t have detailed
strategies. They often have poor records and weak
cash flow controls.”
Are universities doing enough to
equip students to run their own
business?
The Future Leaders Index also questioned whether
Future Leaders felt that universities were doing
enough to equip students to learn how to run a
business. Almost 6 in 10 agreed that universities
don’t do enough to help students learn how to run a
business (with only minor variations by subgroup),
suggesting Future Leaders feel universities should
be doing more to help them prepare for business
ownership.
Whilst clear that many universities do have such
courses (or courses with self-employed related
components), perhaps this sentiment points more
to a lack of course awareness or possible perceived
lack of course content relevance.
However, irrespective of the cause, it is clear both
theoretical and practical training around business
planning and strategy, as well as education
establishing sound fundamental understanding
of financial systems - in particular managing
cash flow - should be at the top of any business
related course agenda. Helping Future Leaders to
understand what core elements they need to focus
on to survive (read the importance of sharpening
their business axe), will help breed a nation of
successful businesses, not just small ones.
Table: Universities don’t do enough to help students learn how to run a business (% agree) by gender, age, education status and location
Years Old
21 - 23
Years Old
24 - 29
Years Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
Universities
don’t do enough
to help students
learn how to run
a businesss
58% 58% 58% 51% 62% 59% 50% 58% 65% 61% 51%
June 2013

Future Leaders Immediate Job Opportunity Perceptions
Subdued
“At its May meeting, with inflation a little lower than had been expected, and growth of
economic activity likely to remain below trend into next year, the Board judged that a further
reduction in the cash rate would help to support sustainable growth in the economy”
RBA, May Statement of Monetary Policy
Darker clouds on the employment
horizon
Research by Graduate Careers Australia4
(June
2012) of over 100,000 graduates highlights the
precarious nature of graduate employment over
the past few years when compared to prior to the
global economic downturn. The considerably sized
survey, conducted in 2011 and reported in 2012,
highlights that 76% of graduates were in full time
employment in 2011 within 4 months of completing
their degrees, down from 79% in 2009 and more
significantly from 85% in 2008. The study
concluded that:
“While employment prospects for new graduates
showed continued improvement between 2004 and
2008, the global economic downturn negatively
impacted these figures in 2009 and immediate
employment prospects have remained flat since
then. While many anticipated a recovery in the
labour market for new graduates in 2010 and 2011,
this did not eventuate, and these new employment
figures suggest that recruiters have remained
cautious in their hiring plans following the global
economic downturn.”
More recent ABS and job ads data5
compounds
the gloomy perspective regarding Australian
employment situation in general:
• Downward employment trend evident, including
DEEWR job ads which were down 3.6% in April
2013, and SEEK job ads whose number declined
2.2% in April 2013 – the third consecutive monthly
decline.
• Whilst ABS statistics in April ‘13 showed positive
employment growth mom (month on month), this
is against the backdrop of the broader general
downward unemployment trend over the past
year (April 2012 (4.9%) to April 2013 (5.5%)).
Whilst the monthly figures tend to bounce
somewhat around due to seasonality and other
short term factors, the overriding sentiment is clear
– there just aren’t as many jobs going around – and
Future Leaders are cognisant of this.
4
Graduate Careers Australia, June 2012. Employment and Salary Outcomes of Recent Higher Education Graduates. http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/
wp-content/uploads/2012/01/gca002770.pdf
5
ABS Job Vacancy Data. http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2013/03/abs-job-vacancies-fall-to-3-year-low
June 2013

Future Leaders pessimistic about immediate employment
prospects
When questioned, Future Leaders’ attitudes
mirrored the pessimistic employment outlook
outlined in the ABS and job vacancy data.
The Future Leaders Index uncovered that half of
Future Leaders feel the global downturn has
significantly reduced overseas (47% agree) and
local Australian (51% agree) employment
opportunities for them.
Furthermore, over half (52%) believe the prospects
for employment in their chosen field immediately
after university are not very strong, perhaps offering
a possible explanation for at least some of the extent
of their entrepreneurial aspirations and this senti-
ment was consistent across all the different groups
surveyed.
Interestingly, international students were much more
likely to agree that the global economic downturn has
reduced local Australian (67% agree) and overseas
(60% agree) employment opportunities and were
more likely to believe prospects for employment in
their chosen field immediately after university are
not very strong (62% agree), reflecting a much more
uncertain attitude amongst this group regarding
imminent job prospects.
Table: Employment outlook by gender, age, education status and location
Table: Employment outlook by gender, age, education status and location
Years
Old
21 - 23
Years
Old
24 - 29
Years
Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
The global economic downturn
(GFC) has significantly reduced
the overseas employment
opportunities for me
47% 45% 49% 41% 47% 50% 42% 47% 53% 49% 40%
The global economic down-
turn (GFC) has significantly
reduced the local Australian
employment opportunities
for me
51% 53% 47% 47% 52% 53% 50% 48% 53% 51% 51%
The prospects for employment
in my chosen field immediately
after leaving university are/
were not really strong
52% 55% 48% 47% 55% 54% 47% 49% 58% 53% 50%
Total Local
Student
International
Student
The global economic downturn (GFC) has significantly reduced the
overseas employmentopportunities for me
47% 45% 60%
The global economic downturn (GFC) has significantly reduced the
local Australian employment opportunities for me
51% 50% 67%
The prospects for employment in my chosen field immediately after
leaving university are/were not really strong
52% 51% 62%
June 2013

Consequently, over 4 in 10 Future Leaders (and
over half of international students) stated they are
considering staying on at university to undertake
more study, citing paucity of job prospects in the
current environment as the cause. Additionally,
almost 7 in 10 (68%) are planning on a postgraduate
course or master’s at some point in future. The
results paint an acute picture of the considerable
concern Future Leaders have about immediate
employment prospects, with university becoming
a very realistic safe haven option in the short to
medium term.
Furthermore, at a gender, age, education and geo-
graphical subgroup level there is broad consistency
in the results, suggesting that, like the employment
pessimism cited earlier, this is a nationwide attitude.
Table: Attitude to continuing education by local vs. international student
Table: Attitude to continuing education by gender, age, education status and location
Total Local
Student
International
Student
I’m considering staying on at university to undertake more
study as the job prospects in the current economic climate
don’t currently look that positive for me
47% 45% 60%
Do a postgraduate course/Masters 51% 50% 67%
Years Old
21 - 23
Years Old
24 - 29
Years Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
I’m considering staying
on at university to
undertake more study
as the job prospects in
the current economic
climate don’t currently
look that positive for me
42% 42% 41% 42% 42% 40% 41% 39% 54% 44% 35%
Do a postgraduate
course/Masters 68% 67% 69% 66% 67% 70% 65% 65% 77% 69% 65%
June 2013

Underlying longer term confidence regarding their degree,
but international students again less positive
When Future Leaders were asked whether they
believe their university degree will get them to where
they want to go in their career, most still remain
confident (73% agree) that their degrees are both
viable and recognisable. This suggests that their
pessimism around immediate employment prospects
is perhaps due to a more short term situational
factor broadly outside of their control (e.g. a weaker
economy), rather than due to a true lack of confidence
in their degree. It also points to a general satisfaction
with the nature and content of the degree itself, which
in itself is a reassuring note for universities.
However, consistent with their more negative
employment perceptions, international students were
much less likely to feel confident (56% agree) that
their university degree will get them to where they
want to go given their immediate career aspirations.
Perhaps it is unfair to directly compare local and
international students given the quite different set
of situational circumstances each cohort faces,
but nevertheless the findings point to international
students being a significantly less confident group
in terms of perceived career opportunities when
compared with their local Australian counterparts,
based on completing an Australian degree.
Table: Confidence in university degree regarding career aspirations by gender, age, education status and location
Table: Confidence in university degree regarding career aspirations by local vs. international student
Years Old
21 - 23
Years Old
24 - 29
Years Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
I feel really confident
that my university
degree will get me
to where I want to go
with my immediate
career aspirations
73% 73% 73% 77% 73% 66% 78% 72% 74% 71% 80%
Total Local
Student
International
Student
I feel really confident that my university degree will get me to
where I want to go with my immediate career aspirations
73% 75% 56%
June 2013

An unhappy international student?
Investigating the international student area
in more depth, the 2010-2014 International
Students Strategy for Australia, a collaboration by
Commonwealth, State and Territory governments
through the Council of Australian Governments
(COAG), made clear reference to current issues
affecting this group, helping to start unravel why
international students are less likely to see their
degrees as being a significant enabler to their
future career plans:
“International students are, by and large, satisfied
with their Australian education experience.
There are, however, a number of issues affecting
international students that have become apparent
and need to be addressed. Students have identified
issues such as education quality, health and
wellbeing, and the quality and accessibility of
information as particularly important.”6
It is in no doubt that international students
enhance Australia in a variety of ways including
bringing different cultural experiences, languages,
new ways of seeing and doing things as well as
expanding Australia’s global networks and more
broadly linking Australia back to the world. They
are also very important from a financial and labour
perspective:
“The international education sector is also very
important economically. It is Australia’s third
largest source of export income. International
students supplement and diversify our labour force
in the longer term if they meet Australia’s skills
needs and choose to stay in or return to Australia.” 7
International students are evidently a critical group
from an economic perspective and therefore they
need to be carefully nurtured and provided with a
fulfilling experience in Australia whilst they study.
With this in mind, the findings from the Future
Leaders Index highlights there is much greater
understanding required regarding issues presented
in the International Students Strategy for Australia,
in order to help improve this group’s sense of
confidence regarding the relevance of their degrees
to their chosen career.
The results suggest greater focus and resource is
required to help international students navigate
their way through the Australian education system
as ultimately this will a more satisfying university
experience and therefore continue to establish
Australia as being an inviting place for tertiary
study.
6
2010-2014 International Students Strategy for Australia. http://archive.coag.gov.au/reports/docs/aus_international_students_strategy.pdf
7
2010-2014 International Students Strategy for Australia. http://archive.coag.gov.au/reports/docs/aus_international_students_strategy.pdf
June 2013

How Much Will I Get Paid? Future Leader Salary
Expectations Explored
“It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating.”
– Oscar Wilde
Economic downturn presents
greater work challenges, but Future
Leaders still expect a befitting salary
As evidenced in the previous section, the Future
Leaders Index identified that there is considerable
apprehension felt amongst Future Leaders
regarding potential job opportunities in the present
economic climate. As part of the research, the
Future Leaders Index also investigated Future
Leaders expected pay and salary levels for their
first job.
The study has found that Future Leaders’ salary
expectations are broadly sensible, with the overall
mean salary expectation being $50,700 soon after
graduating. This very accurately matches the
median annual starting salary reported by recent
research from Graduate Careers Australia8
, a study
of over 100,000 graduates. In broad terms, what
this emphasizes is that Future Leaders are in the
main realistic about the kinds of remuneration they
are likely to receive when entering the job market.
However, males and postgraduate
students have higher expectations
When looking at the various Future Leader
subgroups however, some differences are
pronounced regarding salary expectations. Males’
expectations are significantly higher, with a mean
salary expectation of $53,580 (compared to females
$48,960), and over 4 in 10 (43%) of males in the
study stated they’d be disappointed if they were
on less than $60k, whereas just one third (32%) of
females said this. The findings clearly demonstrate
that male Future Leaders are already both more
aspirational and assertive in their financial desires
than their female counterparts, reflecting an
established longer term trend for males vs. females’
salary levels. It also suggests males may be in for
more of a shock than females when they come to
discuss salary with their future employers.
8
Graduate Careers Australia, June 2012. Employment and Salary Outcomes of Recent Higher
Education Graduates. http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/gca002770.pdf
June 2013

In light of their longer length of time in education,
postgraduate salary expectations are also
significantly higher compared to the norm, with
mean expectations of $56,750 and almost half of
them (48%) saying they’d be disappointed to be on
less than $60k per annum. Postgraduates obviously
see their extra training as deserving of higher
financial reward and perhaps these hoped for
increased rewards also point to why so many Future
Leaders are planning on a postgraduate or master’s
course in the future.
A salary ‘reality check’ in store for
Future Leaders
The same Graduate Careers Australia research
highlights that the 2011 median annual starting
salary for Australian bachelor degree graduates
was $50,000, representing 78% of the annual rate
of male avg. weekly earnings (MAWE: $64,000).
Reflecting the continued employer uncertainty
against the backwash of the global downturn, this is
lower than the 2009 graduate starting salary of 83%
of male weekly average earnings.
The Graduate Careers Australia results show the
graduate employment pay has tightened over the
past couple of years in response to the economic
downturn and indicates that employers are not
valuing graduates as much as they did previously.
In light of there being less full time graduate
opportunities and a tightening of pay, it clearly
reiterates that Future Leaders need to exhibit
greater assertiveness in job application and greater
caution around salary negotiation at this time.
Table: Universities don’t do enough to help students learn how to run a business (% agree) by gender, age, education status and location
Years Old
21 - 23
Years Old
24 - 29
Years Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
Average Wage $50,718 $48,959 $53,583 $48,571 $49,897 $53,259 $47,738 $51,138 $56,762 $51,303 $49,395
Proportion
stating
disappointed
if on lessthan
$60k
36% 32% 43% 32% 35% 41% 30% 37% 48% 38% 30%
June 2013

Salary expectations quite different by
course type
Further analysis of the Future Leaders Index
highlights some large differences by course type.9
Engineering, Medicine, and Law student salary
expectations are significantly higher, with 7 in 10
Engineering students, half of Law students and
almost 6 in 10 Medicine students in the study stating
they’d be disappointed if they were on less than
$60k. Unsurprisingly, in comparison, Creative Arts,
Humanities, Education/Teaching and Languages
student’s salary expectations are significantly lower
than others. The results point to quite different salary
expectations across different courses.
Table: Salary expectations average and proportion disappointed if $60k by course type
Total Education/
Teaching
Business/
Commerce
Law Anthropology,
Humanities,
Arts
Accounting/
Finance
Psychology Engineering Linguistics/
Languages
Medicine,
Medical
Science
Average Wage $50,718 $45,215 $53,583 $57,641 $43,520 $53,474 $51,845 $62,692 $44,951 $60,167
Proportion
stating
disappointed
if on lessthan
$60k
36% 22% 44% 51% 22% 37% 38% 70% 26% 58%
Total Biology Environmental
Science
Computer
Science/
Information
Technology
Nursing Management Creative
Arts/
FineArts
Economics Mathematics/
Statistics
Marketing
Average Wage $50,718 $49,749 $49,522 $54,263 $50,018 $53,745 $38,993 $56,576 $55,479 $52,198
Proportion
stating
disappointed
if on lessthan
$60k
36% 30% 32% 45% 27% 45% 22% 54% 47% 40%
9
Note that all courses shown have sample size of 60 or more. Higher than total in green,
lower than total in red, significant differences based on false discovery rate
June 2013

Future Leaders and Political Apathy
“The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”
– Plato
Party Promises
In light of the current economic situation and in
particular the more precarious recent employment
statistics, both main political parties are promising
to deliver more jobs in the lead up to the next
federal election.
ALP says it has found work for around 1.5million
Australians since 2009 and is introducing the
high-speed National Broadband Network to help
benefit businesses. Furthermore, Lib-NP promise
to deliver one million new jobs in the next five years
and create more jobs by reducing business costs
and cutting taxes as well as by cutting red and
green tape costs by $1 billion every year.
Future Leader political interest
is tepid
Despite these promises, the Future Leaders Index
found that Future Leaders’ political interest is, at
best, tepid. They do not rank politics highly as an
interest and see little differences between the main
parties. However, whilst over half admit they don’t
this lack of understanding is unsatisfactory.
Looking at the findings in more detail, only just over
one third (37%) state they are really interested in
politics, almost half (44%) believe that the political
parties are so similar that it doesn’t really matter
who wins the election and 6 in 10 (55%) state they
don’t feel very knowledgeable about politics in
general, with females and younger Future Leaders
even more apathetic. However, two thirds clearly
recognise they should know more, with just a
third (32%) stating they don’t feel they need to
understand politics, at least for now.
Table: Political interest by gender, age, education status and location
Years Old
21 - 23
Years Old
24 - 29
Years Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
I’m really interested
in politics
37% 32% 46% 32% 35% 43% 35% 38% 44% 38% 35%
The Australian
political parties are
so similar that it
doesn’t really matter
who wins the election
44% 44% 45% 42% 44% 46% 38% 42% 47% 46% 42%
I don’t feel very
knowledgeable
about politics in
general
55% 63% 42% 62% 55% 50% 59% 55% 52% 54% 58%
I don’t really feel I
need to understand
politics, at least for now
32% 34% 27% 38% 35% 24% 35% 29% 34% 32% 31%
June 2013

The results definitively show that Future Leaders
do not rank politics highly as an interest, with little
perceived differences between the main political
parties yet whilst over half admit they don’t feel
knowledgeable about politics, they recognise this
lack of understanding is far from ideal. The quotes
cited right, from well-respected commentators help
illustrate how such political apathy is widespread
across the Australian populace and The Future
Leaders Index demonstrably shows that it also
spreads to the brightest young minds in Australia .
Future Leaders, however, do care
who gets elected, and moreover,
are more likely to vote Green
Nevertheless, Future Leaders are concerned about
who gets elected, with only one third (34%) stating
they don’t care who gets in at the next election.
Investigating voting intentions in more detail, it’s
clearly evident that Future Leaders are leaning
more strongly towards the Green vote10
, when
compared to the total voting populace. In terms of
subgroups, the Greens are especially popular with
females, older Future Leaders and postgraduates.
10
Recent Roy Morgan Polls showed 11% of the nation vote for the Greens, whereas the Future Leader index showed a much higher stat amongst Future Leaders
of 22%. Lib-NP’s popularity is down amongst Future Leaders, with 34% voting Lib-NP’s compared with the national figure of 47%.
“Indifference to politics: In Australia today
there is a dangerous indifference to politics
accompanied by a simmering resentment of
politicians. Citizens who haven’t enough interest
in the democratic process to stay even vaguely
informed of the issues of the day have only one
profound political conviction: that politicians
can’t be trusted. Politicians show reciprocal
cynicism in an electoral climate where a lie about
mortgage rates has more impact than the truth
about lies.”
(Senator John Faulkner, 2005)
“We have the self-satisfied, Australian electorate
with its enormous sense of entitlement. Each
and every perceived challenge to our incredibly
comfortable, materially privileged way of life
that is able to be confected by the mass media
produces a ‘Pavlovian’ grumpiness with the
government in the electorate. So politically
apathetic are we that a widely quoted and
much discussed recent Lowy Institute Poll
revealed that just 60 per cent of Australians
say democracy is preferable to any other kind
of government, with only 39 per cent of 18 to 29
year olds supporting this proposition.
(Doug Evans, Climate Activist, 2010)
Table: Concern regarding who gets into power at next election by gender, age, education status and location
Years Old
21 - 23
Years Old
24 - 29
Years Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
To be honest I don’t
really care about
who gets in at the
next election
34 34% 34% 39% 34% 30% 32% 33% 35% 34% 33%
June 2013

11
Note that the total voting intention score is skewed towards females, reflecting the nature of the Co-op database, which has an approximate 60/40 female skew.
Even with this in mind, both Females and Male Future Leaders skew towards the Greens
12
http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2013/4880/
Table: Future Leader voting intention by gender, age, education status and location 11
Table: All voter voting intention by gender 12
Voting intention
(future leaders)
Years Old
21 - 23
Years Old
24 - 29
Years Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
ALP 29% 31% 26% 33% 27% 28% 28% 29% 29% 29% 30%
Lib-NP 34% 32% 37% 33% 36% 32% 34% 37% 28% 34% 33%
Greens 22% 24% 19% 18% 23% 23% 21% 22% 27% 23% 19%
Independant/Others 15% 14% 18% 17% 14% 16% 18% 12% 16% 15% 17%
Total 100% 100% 34% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Voting intention-Roy Morgan
Poll (All voters)
(March 2013 average
4 data points)
Total Female Male
ALP 29% 31% 26%
Lib-NP 34% 32% 37%
Greens 22% 24% 19%
Independant/Others 15% 14% 18%
Total 100% 100% 34%
June 2013
Whilst voting for the Greens is often seen by
political commentators as more of a strategic
vote (i.e. more of a vote against the main political
parties rather than a positive vote for the Green
party), these voting results and also Future Leaders’
strong concern around the environment (which will
be covered in subsequent papers), suggest this is
a positive vote for an alternative party rather than
a display of ‘back-turning’ against the two major
parties.

10
Recent Roy Morgan Polls showed 11% of the nation vote for the Greens, whereas the Future Leader index showed a much higher stat amongst Future Leaders
of 22%. Lib-NP’s popularity is down amongst Future Leaders, with 34% voting Lib-NP’s compared with the national figure of 47%.
11
Note that the total voting intention score is skewed towards females, reflecting the nature of the Co-op database, which has an approximate 60/40 female skew.
Even with this in mind, both Females and Male Future Leaders skew towards the Greens
12
http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2013/4880/
Tables: Voting intention by course studied
Voting intention
(future leaders)
Total Education/
Teaching
Business/
Commerce
Law Anthropology
Humanities,
Arts
Accounting/
Finance
Psychology Engineering Lingustics/
Languagees
Medicine,
Medical
Science
ALP 29% 36% 32% 22% 29% 21% 37% 18% 32% 34%
Lib-NP 34% 31% 46% 41% 16% 57% 25% 45% 22% 31%
Greens 22% 18% 8% 24% 39% 8% 27% 13% 31% 14%
Independant/Others 15% 15% 13% 14% 16% 15% 12% 24% 15% 22%
Total 100% 100% 34% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Voting intention
(future leaders)
Total Biology Environmental
Science
Computer
Science/
Information
Technology
Nursing Management Creative
Arts/ Fine
Arts
Economics Mathmatics/
Statistics
Marketing
ALP 29% 32% 28% 37% 24% 37% 29% 32% 24% 31%
Lib-NP 34% 26% 28% 27% 48% 44% 27% 44% 36% 49%
Greens 22% 24% 36% 23% 10% 6% 27% 14% 32% 10%
Independant/Others 15% 18% 8% 12% 18% 13% 17% 10% 7% 10%
Total 100% 100% 34% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
June 2013
The research points to a group of people who are
concerned about the environment that they will
inherit (and likely manage) and are voting Green as
a heartfelt response to what they see as being very
real growing future environmental concerns.

Australia Today
“When in Straya mate ave an avo. Yea, put one in me Maccas”
The dumbing down of Australia, Michelle Henson
Is Australia still culturally inferior?
Views about the unsophisticated nature of
Australian culture are well documented and the
negative perception has persisted ever since
arrival of the First Fleet of British ships in Sydney
established the penal colony of New South Wales.
In the 1950s the Melbourne critic AA Philips coined
a neat description of the ‘disease of the Australian
mind’: and his aphorism took hold: ‘the cultural
cringe’.
Other work at the time (such as Patrick White’s The
Prodigal Son, Robin Boyd’s The Australian Ugliness
and Donald Horne’s The Lucky Country) contributed
to this ‘cringe’ belief and for the next few decades
set in place a confined perspective of Australia on a
cultural level:
“‘Lucky country thinking’ came to have a similar
emasculating effect as ‘cringe thinking’. Horne
and Phillips framed the national debate so rigidly
that it was hard for dissenting intellectuals to
escape its confines. More depressing still, few
seemed to want to – bagging Australia became a
badge of sophistication: European sophistication.
To be cultured in Australia was to deny Australian
culture.” 13
However, over the past few decades there has been
an explosion of internationally recognised and
acclaimed Australian actors, directors, writers,
poets, musicians, architects, dancers and artists,
many of whom are regarded are leaders in their
field. In his thought provoking essay, ‘Cultural
Creep’, Nick Bryant highlights how Australia is now
remedying this issue:
“What of cringe-thinking? Gough Whitlam’s
nationalism, and the artistic advancement
it nourished, dealt it a severe blow, as did
celebrations for the Bicentennial and Sydney
Olympics. An ever more interconnected world
has made foreign books and films immediately
available; the cultural lag is not so limiting, nor
is there the nagging feeling that the country’s
location means trailing the zeitgeist. Yet vestiges
of the cringe still linger, like a once-virulent virus
that has been controlled but not cured. Happily, a
remedy lies beyond these shores, where something
more communicable and infectious has taken hold:
Australia’s cultural creep. Local artists are no
longer inhibited by the crippling self-consciousness
once the norm, nor do they exhibit national
loathing.”
13
Thanks to Nick Bryant’s Great Essay: Cultural Creep by Nick Bryant. Griffith Review:
A Quarterly of New Writing and Ideas.
June 2013

However, when considering Future Leaders’
perceptions on the subject, it appears that the
‘culturally inferior’ label is still stuck to ‘the lucky
country’. When asked how Australia performs at
a cultural level when compared to the rest of the
developed world, Future Leaders were surprisingly
negative with almost half (48%) of Future Leaders
believing Australia is still culturally behind much of
the rest of the developed world.
Furthermore, this statistic is consistent across
males, females, different age groups, student status
and even where people live, worryingly suggesting
it is more a ‘blanket’ opinion, than one particular
group’s attitude. The only place found where this
attitude was less prevalent was in Melbourne, where
just 4 in 10 (42%) agreed with the cultural inferiority
sentiment, suggesting that the capital of Victoria
continues to be more likely to believe it can assert
itself at a cultural level globally, when compared to
the rest of Australia.
Without further investigation it’s impossible to tell
what specific rationale this sentiment is referring
to (e.g. whether it refers to a lack of cultural events,
relative lack of depth of history, buildings, Australian
societal conduct, relative lack of home grown artists/
thinkers, etc.). However, the results themselves
speak volumes about the underlying negative attitude
this group has towards Australia on a cultural level
and in many ways is a sombre reflection given how
much this country does actually do (and succeeds in)
in the arts and culture sphere - and has done over
the last 30 years.
Not with-standing the more isolated Melbourne
attitude, these research findings are surprising in so
far that the results tell us that half of our educated
young Australians believe the country they live in
is inferior at a cultural level when compared to
‘equivalent’ developed countries. The findings clearly
indicate this is an issue Australia now must start to
seriously challenge itself on.
The Asian Century
The 21st century is often described as the Asian
Century. Clearly outlined in the Australian
Government’s Australia in the Asian Century White
Paper, it is well documented that the impact of the
dynamic rise of Asia over the past few years has
already significantly transformed the local Australian
economy and society:
“Asia’s extraordinary ascent has already changed
the Australian economy, society and strategic
environment. The scale and pace of the change
still to come means Australia is entering a truly
transformative period in our history.
Within only a few years, Asia will not only be the
world’s largest producer of goods and services, it
will also be the world’s largest consumer of them. It
is already the most populous region in the world. In
the future, it will also be home to the majority of the
world’s middle class.”14
Table: Australian cultural attitudes vs. developed world by total, gender, age, education status and location
Years Old
21 - 23
Years Old
24 - 29
Years Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
Culturally,
Australia is still
behind much of
the rest of the
developed world
48% 49% 47% 47% 49% 49% 48% 48% 53% 49% 48%
Note that all courses shown have sample size of 60 or more. Higher than total in green, lower than total in red, significant differences based on false discovery rate
14
Australian Government: Australia in the Asian Century White Paper. http://asiancentury.dpmc.gov.au/white-paper/executive-summary
June 2013

The paper goes on to outline this transformation in
more detail, in particular referencing the need for
closer educational, cultural and people ties:
“For several decades, Australian businesses,
exporters and the community have grown their
footprint across the region. Today, for Australia, the
minerals and energy boom is the most visible, but
not the only, aspect of Asia’s rise. As the century
unfolds, the growth in our region will impact on
almost all of our economy and society.
An increasingly wealthy and mobile middle class is
emerging in the region, creating new opportunities.
They are demanding a diverse range of goods and
services, from health and aged care to education to
household goods and tourism, banking and financial
services, as well as high quality food products.
Beyond economic gains, there are many valuable
opportunities for building stronger relationships
across the region, including through closer
educational, cultural and people to people links.”15
Australia deemed by Future Leaders
as a key player in Asia, but as
lacking punch globally
The Future Leaders Index delved into perceptions
regarding how influential they perceive Australia to
be at both an Asian and global level. The results
were enlightening, with Future Leaders seeing
Australia having strong relevance within the Asia
Pacific area, with a substantial 7 in 10 (72%) believing
Australia has significant influence in the region.
Furthermore, the results were very consistent by all
the major subgroups.
However, this is simply not the case at a global
level. Future Leaders still see Australia as lacking
punch on a worldwide scale with almost 6 in 10 (55%)
believing Australia has very little influence at a global
level and this was again broadly consistent across all
major subgroups.
The contradiction in these two statistics points to how
Australia has significantly repositioned itself over the
past 10 years towards Asia and the Future Leaders
Index concludes that Future Leaders already believe
Australia sits with strong presence and influence at
the ‘Asian table’.
Table: Australian Asian and global influence by total, gender, age, education status and location
Years
Old
21 - 23
Years
Old
24 - 29
Years
Old
Year 1/2
Under-
grad
Year 3/4
Under-
grad
Postgrad
Student
Metro Regional
Australia has very
little influence at a
global level
55% 54% 57% 51% 58% 55% 53% 55% 52% 55% 55%
Australia has
significant
influence in the Asia
Pacific region
72% 73% 71% 74% 75% 69% 73% 74% 74% 72% 72%
15
Australian Government: Australia in the Asian Century White Paper. http://asiancentury.dpmc.gov.au/white-paper/executive-summary June 2013

Conclusion
The first of three Future Leaders Index white papers
being launched in 2013 reveals young tertiary
educated Australians are significantly concerned
about their employment prospects in light of the
current economic headwinds.
As a result Future Leaders are striving to be their
own boss, are using university as a short term
buffer to protect themselves from the reality of the
job market, whilst, encouragingly, remain confident
about the relevance of their degree to their long
term careers.
Part 1 of the Future Leaders Index has also
confirmed apathy regarding the political landscape,
a worrying perspective of Australia culturally and
also of the limited influence of Australia globally.
However, Future Leaders clearly recognise Australia
has turned its head towards the Asian subcontinent
and is deemed a critical player in the region as we
move further into the ‘Asian century’.
The first Future Leaders Index white paper reveals
the emerging issues facing young educated
Australians in 2013 are both significant and wide
ranging. Contextually, this group will enter a job
market shaped by the ongoing global macro-
economic climate, the resultant impact of the end
of an unprecedented resources boom on living
standards and the national sacrifices it will create,
the rapid change in the technological landscape and
its effect on their employment choices, a greater
savings conscious Australia as well as declining
national productivity rates. These issues will likely
prove a rude awakening; especially given Future
Leaders have only experienced buoyant economic
growth in Australia in their lifetime.
June 2013

Coming Up…
The Future Leaders Index is the first of its kind in taking a unique look at the opinions and attitudes of our
educated young minds. As part of an extensive program of research being delivered in 2013, the Co-op will
be launching two more white papers this year to complement this first detailed report:
Part 2: Lifestyles and Technology:
The second of three white papers being launched
in July will identify Future Leaders’ life intentions,
individuals who inspire them, property ambitions,
the distractions of technology, attitudes towards
social media and perceptions of brands both today
and tomorrow.
Part 3: Education and Australia:
The final white paper, to be launched in October,
will delve further into Future Leaders’ education
attitudes and opinion on Australia today and
tomorrow. The paper will cover attitudes to
preparedness for life after university, perceptions
towards their university degree, opinion towards
Australia today and in 2020 and thoughts on the
environment.
June 2013

Appendix
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research
Significance testing was conducted on the quantitative data using False Discovery Rate statistical method.
Data coloured in green is significantly higher and data coloured red is significantly lower than other scores in
that dataset at p0.05 (95% confidence level).
Focus Groups with Co-op Members
Year 1 and 2 Students, 18 – 21 years 1
Year 3 and 4 Students, 21 – 24 years 1
Post Graduates, 24 – 32 years 1
Co-op Members and Lapsed Members1 Sample Weighted Sample2
Group 1: Year 1 and Year 2 Students 932 641 (31%)
Group 2: Year 3 and Year 4 Students 585 595 (29%)
Current Members, Not Students 385 484 (24%)
Lapsed Members, Not Students 151 333 (16%)
Female 1431 1272 (62%)
Male 622 781 (38%)
Total 2053 2053 (100%)
1. Current members defined as having bought from Co-op in 12 months, Lapsed members defined as having bought from the Co-op in 12-24 months
2. Sample data rim weighted by Group Size, Age, Gender and Location to match the Co-op Member Population.
June 2013

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