According to the career monitoring survey, graduates from Centria are satisfied with their degrees and find employment in positions corresponding to their education
The national career monitoring survey of universities of applied sciences is conducted annually among those who completed a bachelor’s (AMK) or master’s (YAMK) degree five years earlier. The 2025 survey shows that graduates from Centria University of Applied Sciences in 2020 are well employed in their own fields and are satisfied with their degrees. Centria’s master’s graduates ranked among the top in several sections of the survey.
According to the survey, 84% of Centria bachelor’s graduates are satisfied with their degree, while 91% of master’s graduates reported being satisfied. Among age groups, those over 40 were the most satisfied with their degree. By field of study, graduates from the field of technology reported the highest levels of satisfaction.
Satisfaction among those who completed a master’s degree at Centria is particularly emphasized in the survey. Centria received the highest national NPS score (Net Promoter Score, based on the question “How likely are you to recommend your education to others?”) from master’s respondents, with a result of 54.5. Centria’s master’s graduates also ranked first nationally in the following areas:
- “I am able to make good use of the skills and knowledge acquired at the university of applied sciences in my current job” (5.06)
- “Proportion of graduates from universities of applied sciences in 2015–2020 who have been continuously employed since graduation” (90.9%)
- “My current job corresponds well to the level of demand of my university of applied sciences education” (5.00)
- “How well UAS studies developed the relevant skills” (4.55)
“Through the career monitoring survey, we are able to follow with great interest what kind of skills graduates feel they need in working life and how they assess the role their studies played in developing those skills. During studies, it is not always easy to predict which skills will later prove most important in working life. That is why it is particularly rewarding to see that studies at Centria have developed precisely those competencies that our alumni genuinely feel they need in their careers,” says Vice Rector for Education Jennie Elfving.
The majority of respondents feel that their degree is well recognized in working life. Most respondents (74%) felt that their degree provided sufficient skills for working life (on a scale from “fully agree” to “somewhat agree”).
Graduates from Centria assessed their education on a scale of 0–6. They were most satisfied with the skills gained through their studies and the correspondence of their work in the following areas: independent work and time management (4.53), initiative and self-direction (4.51), ability to learn and adopt new things (4.48), key terminology, methods and principles of the field (4.38), and interaction and negotiation skills (4.24).
Respondents felt that the university of applied sciences degree particularly developed initiative and self-direction (4.51) as well as the ability to learn and adopt new things (4.48).
The survey examined graduates’ responses concerning the importance of various skills and the level of competence they achieved during their studies. By comparing these two aspects, a so-called skills gap can be identified – the difference between the importance of skills and how well they were learned during studies. This provides valuable insight into areas where students would have wished for more emphasis during their education. In universities of applied sciences where respondents felt they had gained more skills, the gap between acquired skills and those needed in working life – the skills gap – was smallest.According to the responses, the best skills gap situation among those who graduated in 2016–2020 was found at Centria.
Centria graduates find permanent employment in positions corresponding to their education – 90.9% of master’s graduates have been continuously employed since graduation
Graduates from Centria University of Applied Sciences are mainly employed in permanent positions and in jobs that correspond to their field of study. A total of 68% of respondents work in their own field. Permanent full-time employment was reported by 73% of respondents, while 11% were in fixed-term employment. Three percent of respondents work as entrepreneurs or self-employed professionals. Overall, 88% of respondents reported being satisfied with their career as a whole.
Centria’s 2020 master’s graduates hold the national top position in terms of continuous employment after graduation, with 90.9% of respondents having been continuously employed since completing their degree. Additionally, 64% of master’s graduates obtained a new job either during or after completing their studies. Another 64% reported receiving a salary increase after completing their master’s degree. Furthermore, 63% of master’s graduates felt that the degree had helped them advance into supervisory or managerial positions.
Both at the time of graduation and five years later, respondents most commonly worked in Central Ostrobothnia or North Ostrobothnia. Five years after graduation, the largest number of jobs are still located in these same regions.
Response rate to the career monitoring survey increased from the previous year
The career monitoring survey is conducted among those who completed an bachelor’s or master’s degree five years earlier. The purpose of the survey is to examine graduates’ career paths, labor market situation, and satisfaction with their degree. Differences between universities of applied sciences are small, which reflects the consistent quality and high standard of Finnish higher education.
A total of 522 alumni who graduated from Centria in 2020 were invited to participate in the survey. In total, 270 graduates from Centria’s bachelor’s and master’s programs responded, resulting in a response rate of 51.7%, slightly higher than the previous year. The national response rate was 44%.
The results of the career monitoring survey provide important information on employment, career opportunities, and the relevance of degrees for the development of education. The survey is organized by the Finnish National Agency for Education and the Ministry of Education and Culture. The next survey will be conducted in autumn 2026 among all degree students who graduated in 2021.
More detailed information on the results of the career monitoring survey can be found in Vipunen, where responses can also be reviewed by degree or according to the national field-of-study classification.