The Australia vs UK Issue

Welcome to the first issue of Asia Careers Group SDN BHD’s International Employability Insight, we are delighted you and your colleagues have subscribed to this valuable source of data and insight into the employment of international graduates back in their home countries.

We are publishing this first newsletter at a time of unprecedented challenge for international education globally. With the rise of populist governments and in what has been a record year for elections worldwide, widespread anti-immigration policy and rhetoric from politicians of all colours, particularly in the largest English-speaking study destinations: Australia, Canada, UK and the USA, and in the UK significant social unrest.

With this in mind we feel the international education sector is on the verge of pivoting, away from a fixation on the benefits of post-study work, to date widely unfulfilled when it comes to international graduates obtaining graduate level jobs in their field following their graduation, and a move towards universities supporting international graduates transition to successful careers back in their home countries, straight after graduation or following a period of post-study work in their country of study.

Now is the time to make the change, governments are increasingly looking to higher education to prove their value and “earn their keep.”  What has been made abundantly clear is that despite increasing financial challenges for universities, more government funding is unlikely to be forthcoming-universities “are on their own!”

The only question is how will universities respond? It is clear that the status quo will not cut it and alternative models to fund higher education will have to be on the table.  This is where we think International Employability Insight can perform three valuable functions,

• Inform universities of their graduate outcomes and leading destinations in major source markets, so they can better support their international students get great jobs in their home countries
• Plicate government with proof that the majority of international students return home following their studies and enable western governments to build their soft power base overseas
• Strengthen the relationships between universities in English speaking countries and overseas businesses providing future revenue streams, including direct placement of graduates into jobs back in their home countries, directly following their graduation.

We are delighted you have chosen to subscribe to our newsletter, and we look forward to providing you with the tools to make this a reality.

Through the next cycle of 10 issues, we will provide all subscribers with an international graduate employability rating monitor (IGEM), which they can leverage to protect their student recruitment and importantly support international graduates transition to the workforce back in their home countries.

In our next issue we will be comparing government mandated domestic graduate outcomes data, HESA Higher Education Statistics Agencies’ Graduate Outcomes from the UK and QILT from Australia, with Asia Careers Group SDN BHD’s International Graduate Outcomes data for students returning to their home countries, following their studies in Australia and the UK.

Refer a friend

1. Do graduates from Australia or the UK find jobs more quickly back home?

Asia Careers Group SDN BHD data shows that UK International graduates find jobs more quickly back in their home countries than Australian graduates, by around 2 months. In China and Thailand, this extends to three months.

We feel this is primarily due to Australia having established post-study work rights for the last decade, whereas the UK revoked post-study work visas for a significant period 2012 to 2020, during which time international students that had not secured a sponsored skilled worker visa within three months of graduation had no choice but to return to their home countries.

Whereas in Australia, many students, whilst they may not take advantage of post-study work, will stay in Australia for a period post-graduation to travel or perhaps undertake further study for up to two years before they return home.

The graph provides a comparison of the average time taken for international graduates to secure their first job across four groups: Australian universities, UK universities, the Group of Eight, and the Russell Group of Universities.

UK international graduates generally secure jobs faster than their Australian peers. Notably, graduates from Australia’s Group of Eight universities find employment more quickly than those from other Australian institutions and achieve similar job-search timelines as graduates from the UK's Russell Group universities. Interestingly, the top two universities where international graduates quickly obtain their first job within seven months are UK institutions not part of the Russell Group. However, it is important to highlight that Russell Group international graduates still find jobs faster than those from most other universities in the UK.

The fact that Australian international graduates work in Australia is good for the economy and encourages skilled migration of international graduates, encouraging them to stay in Australia permanently. With recent increases in visa charges and changes in government policy to cap international student numbers, it remains to be seen as to whether Australia remains such an attractive destination for international students, particularly those from South Asia where students are more price sensitive and likely to put off by the hike in student visa charges.

While the UK Conservative government retained the Graduate Route and the new Labour government is, for the time being supportive of international students and the Graduate Route, which entitles undergraduate and postgraduate taught students to remain in the UK for 2 years (PhD students 3 years) following their graduation to work without being sponsored by an employer, we may in the future see a longer lag between international students graduation from the UK and them taking up employment back in their home countries.

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When it comes to comparing the Russell Group to the Group of Eight, Group of Eight graduates secure work more quickly back in their home countries, that said the difference is only around 1 month. This is an advantage to The Group of Eight when recruiting overseas.

From the UK’s point of view the government should be promoting the fact that international graduates returning home secure employment more quickly than those from Australia, as this is an added benefit from studying in the UK.

2. Which graduates are more employable when they return home, Russell Group or The Group of Eight graduates?

The data shows that graduates from Australian universities are more likely to be employed compared to those from UK universities. Notably, two UK universities have employability rates comparable to Australian universities, with one of these being a member of the Russell Group. In general, prestigious universities within Australia’s Group of Eight exhibit better employability percentages than those in the UK’s Russell Group.

Australian graduates exhibit higher employability rates (a higher percentage are in work) than their UK counterparts when they return home.

This extends to the Group of Eight when compared with the Russell Group.

There could be several reasons for this, firstly UK graduates are more likely than their Australian counterparts to undertake further study in the UK post-graduation, undertaking a post-graduate qualification in the UK takes around half their time as it does in Australia, making the UK a more attractive post-graduate study destination.

That said, enhanced employability of their graduates provides a significant advantage for Australia when recruiting overseas and should be front and centre of all future overseas marketing and recruitment campaigns.

We know from numerous studies that international students primary motivating factor for undertaking overseas study is their future employment, therefore the fact that Australian and Group of Eight graduates secure employment more quickly than their UK counterparts, puts Australia at a significant advantage when it comes to international student recruitment.

One could argue that in both countries, more efforts should be made to support international graduates transition to the workforce back in their home countries with focused employer outreach to specific employers overseas in major source countries.

3. Who are the top employers of Australian & UK graduates, when they return to their home countries?

Broadly, Australian and UK graduates are employed by the same leading firms globally.

That said higher concentrations of Australian graduates are working for the leading firms globally than UK graduates, this despite the fact that UK universities are older and have a tradition of recruiting to leading firms over a far longer period than their newer Australian peers.

We feel this comes down to Australian universities having more boots on the ground overseas and doing more to engage with both governments and employers. While Australian universities may not have the history, they more than make up from it in terms of branding and recruitment effort. This has led to more companies particularly in Asia favouring Australian graduates due to its proximity to Asia, this is particularly apparent in ASEAN countries where outreach from all Australian agencies has been a priority for the last decade.

If more efforts were made by both Australia and the UK to engage with overseas employers to support their international graduates transition to the workforce and universities focused on more graduates from their institutions working for leading firms internationally this would not only enhance their employability but also their global reputations.

4. Do Chinese Tech firms prefer Australian or UK graduates?

No one can doubt that recruitment by tech firms has increased significantly over the last decade, and even with the advent of AI and significant tech redundancies post-pandemic there are still far higher numbers of graduates working for the leading tech firms globally.  Whereas the headlines tend to focus on the FAANGs (Facebook (Meta), Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (Alphabet). The rise of the Asian tech giants particularly in China and India should not be underestimated, Alibaba, Baidu, ByteDance, Cognizant, Huawei, Infosys, Tata, Tencent, also employ significant numbers of graduates globally, so should be a focus for universities in Australia and the UK when engaging in employer outreach overseas.

Asia Careers Group data shows that at the present time, UK graduates are more likely to be employed by Chinese Tech firms than Australian graduates. This probably has much to do with the number of Chinese Stem graduates returning the China from the UK at the end of their courses.  Australian universities traditionally recruit more Business students from China comparatively. That said Australia could do more to engage with overseas tech firms in China and beyond.

5. Graduates from which country, Australia or the UK are more entrepreneurial and which universities do they attend?

When it comes to entrepreneurship, UK graduates are slightly more entrepreneurial overall than Australian graduates and the same is true with Russell Group graduates being more entrepreneurial than Group of Eight graduates. This may be due to more STEM graduates coming from UK universities and returning to their home countries to start businesses and could also be due to a strong tradition of university business/science incubators in UK universities.

All universities could increase the support they provide to students looking to start new businesses particularly back in their home countries and ensure they tap into international start-up ecosystems for the benefit of their graduates that return to their home countries.

Fostering an entrepreneurial spirit in international graduates goes a long way to drive economic growth and inward direct investment back into Australia and the UK, particularly if individuals that have studied there are pre-disposed to their country of study when making future business investments.

UK race riots a perfect storm before the start of the academic year

Are aggregators out to eat agent’s lunch?

One could be fooled into thinking that the traditional agent model, of overseas bricks and mortar offices with enthusiastic counsellors on hand to provide prospective overseas students and their parents information, advice and guidance on studying abroad was doomed!

Governments in three of the major English speaking destinations Australia, Canada and the UK are talking increased agent regulation and while various voluntary codes of conduct have been introduced it is looking increasingly likely that the use of agents by education institutions will be regulated by government in the not-too-distant future. Politicians of all colours will use reducing immigration and the increasing numbers of so called “unscrupulous agents” to force through legislation, despite protestations from international education sector that has become increasingly reliant on agents to facilitate what is highly lucrative international student recruitment.

During the last decade the agent market has ballooned, with Australian federal government data showing that over 75% of international students are recruited through agents. When it comes to the UK there is no data to reveal an accurate picture of the numbers of students recruited through agents despite the voluntary schemes in place, but we estimate 60% of UK international students coming through agent referrals.

We at Asia Careers Group SDN BHD have long argued that total transparency is the way forward from both agents and the universities that work with them, as all transactions involve a cost per student usually in the form of a commission payment, this would not be difficult to achieve and would enable students to differentiate good from bad agents if degree completion rates were factored into the equation.  Plus, it would give senior managers within universities a more realistic picture of their cost of acquisition of international students, something badly needed in what are financially challenging times.

Whether governments legislate for regulation with all the cost that would involve or mandate total transparency from the sector, is not within our hands to dictate, that said whatever the outcome, the costs of doing business will likely increase for agents.  All this at the same time as governments are making it increasingly difficult to recruit international students in the first place, with increased visa applications fees, Australia recently increased their visa charges from AUD710 to AUD1600, making Australia the most expensive study destination for which to apply for a visa, with no guarantees of success.

In both Canada and the UK governments have raised the required proof of funds for international students, as a prerequisite for visa application and allocation.  Plus, with additional costs such as the NHS surcharge in the UK, studying overseas at one of the major English-speaking destinations has just got significantly more expensive, these changes will impact the agent model across the board with students and their funders increasingly looking to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of their overseas education before they take the plunge.

Simultaneously the agent aggregators once the darling of edtech are finding it increasingly difficult to make their bottom line add up for investors, with margins squeezed by international student caps in Canada and probably Australia, plus the lucrative vocational and private international education market becoming more challenging, with significant barriers to recruiting international students. 

Their solution is to turn to AI to create so called “virtual counsellors” that can advise prospective students and their parents from the comfort of their own homes. So, will this undermine the traditional agent model, particularly if one considers the costs involved in maintaining the bricks and mortar model, staff salaries at a time when the international student recruitment market is becoming increasingly challenging?

So, here’s the thing – it is not only the aggregators that can play this game, arguably traditional agencies with numerous human counsellors on hand for the AI to learn from, have the best chance of creating a best of breed “virtual counsellor,” if they record in person sessions and feed it into an AI framework.  In our opinion it would be madness not to be doing this as we speak.  The issue with technology as aggregators know all too well, is that there are few barriers to entry hence the proliferation of their kind during the pandemic, so there are few if any barriers to larger education agencies coming up with their own virtual counselling tools, but with the advantage of offering in person counselling to boot!

So, in answer to our original question are aggregators out to eat agent’s lunch, they may well be, but we doubt they will be successful.  That said the environment when it comes to international student recruitment is likely to get significantly more difficult in the foreseeable future and if it is not “virtual counsellors” what is the special sauce that will come to the rescue and save the day?

We feel strongly it is international employability, with increasing costs we have already mentioned that students and their families are increasingly looking to calculate the Return on investment in their overseas education, and to date there is little if any data on international graduate outcomes, particularly for students that return to their home countries.  This being the case the first agent network or aggregator to take this on board and provide their clients robust representative graduate outcomes and destinations data, be it through a virtual or in-person counsellor is likely to gain in market share when it comes to prospective students seeking out their services and be in a strong position add value to their university clients.