In 2001-02, a project team at Griffith University undertook Stage 4 of the Griffith Graduate Project. Stage 4 used a survey and focus group discussions to gather graduates' and employers' perceptions of the role of the university, work placements and postgraduation employment in the development of generic skills and abilities. This article will compare findings from Stage 4 with four challenges facing the new graduate commencing employment that were identified by Candy and Crebert (1991). The purpose of the article is to compare these findings with other research studies and some of the recent literature, particularly those relating to the development of generic skills and abilities in the three contexts listed above. It is argued that, despite the increasing emphasis in many universities on work-integrated learning programs, today's graduates face many of the same challenges as they confronted at the beginning of the last decade.