It should be possible to wholeheartedly welcome UUKi’s Conference ‘International graduate employability: Making good on the promise’ because it is an important topic. But I doubt we will see 90% of the time devoted to employability for students leaving the UK after study, although that’s the percentage that will probably look for jobs in their home country. Neither is the Conference likely to have the necessary quality of data about graduate outcomes and views despite the investment made in UUKi’s International Graduate Outcomes 2019 publication.
Even more discouragingly, the publicity for the event majors on the point that ‘we have the post study work visa we have argued for for so long’. This encourages those who want to focus on short-term enrollment growth by maximising the post-study work windfall rather than serving the broader international graduate community. A more balanced view would reflect that providing careers services, alumni relations and employer networks suited to international students returning home will be a key point of strategic differentiation in the long term.
In addition to getting the balance of time in the Conference right it would be good to see discussion and commitments on how to make progress in four key areas:
Make Sure Data Reflects Reality
Several assertions in the International Graduate Outcomes 2019 report are heavily caveated and require detailed explanation in a footnote or the annexes. The most egregious is the claim that “The balance of respondents to the i-GO survey by nationality was broadly similar to that of international students studying in the UK.” (page 17). With only 6% of the total respondents from China this is nonsense and, as a footnote confirms, “in the year 17-18, Chinese students made up 33% of the total non-EU student population…”.
Assertions on comparative salaries (page 49) for UK graduates working in other countries are problematic and confusing. For the diligent reader these anomalies are explained away but the headline claims seem to be a naïve overstatement of the benefits based on data that is not comparable and in some cases is very limited. If this begins to work its way into university marketing materials we are likely to see the Advertising Standards Authority called into action again to correct misleading claims.
Other sources and methodologies, which have more substantial samples and better reflect the nationality mix of UK-enrolled international students, are available. They also offer the potential to compare performance across competitor countries and give substance to claims about the pay premium that returning students can expect. Individual universities are already buying these services but the competitive future of UK HE seems worth a sector-wide approach.
Get Serious About Careers Service and Advice
In the foreword to UUKi’s report Chris Skidmore Minister of State of Universities, Science, Research and Innovation comments, “Together we can build on this research to help ensure that international students who graduate from the UK’s world leading universities are in the best possible position to go on to further employment be it in the UK, or their home nation”. The latter will be difficult if not impossible if there is no concerted effort to build relevant support and services for international students.
The report highlights that only 2% of international students found jobs through their University Careers Service. It is arguable that few of those Services are equipped technically, with funding or with genuine insights, to help international students engage with employers in their home countries. Whatever the reason, it is a dismal outcome and an indictment of the services international students receive for their fees.
Pay More Attention to International Alumni Relationships
Details on response rates are not wholly clarified but the Report stated it was, “… less than 1% of total international graduates from UK higher education institutions” during the sample period. It seems plausible that those who did respond are outliers in the alumni community who feel particular affinity or allegiance to their institution and/or the UK. If so, it is dangerous to assume that high levels of approval and support for the educational experience are commonplace.
Most service organisations are more interested in finding out about customers who are dissatisfied so that they can improve their offering. Lack of engagement means that institutions may be getting highly selective feedback and missing information that could help them build more effective curricula and better support. Even if the responses are representative and the low rate just the result of inertia, it means universities are missing opportunities to develop networks of graduates around the world who may be supportive of future students seeking employment.
Target Connections with Employers Through Better Data, Insight and Graduate Support
HEIs should know the destinations of international graduates and develop targeting to match graduates with relevant skills to employers who need them. The importance of this is apparent in markets such as Malaysia where students ranked nine Asia-Pacific regional companies as the most desirable employers in their top ten for business and commerce according to Universum 2017. In terms of graduate employability many Asia-Pacific based corporations would also benefit from universities providing better information about courses and the strengths of their students.
There are major opportunities for universities that are able to fit together the jigsaw of graduates and employers. Better employment prospects and evidence of thriving careers is a siren call for both potential students and major organisations who are seeing job-prepared employees from favoured institutions. The best way to achieve that level of synchronicity is through data that is individualized to each university delivered with insights about regional economies.
A Strategic Advantage and Virtuous Circle
I would like to give three cheers to the UUKi for staging a Conference on an important issue and their effort to develop a worthwhile piece of evidence that underscores the UK’s position as a high-quality study destination that delivers enhanced career and life prospects. For now, I can only manage one-and-a-half because the Report errs on the side of marketing at the expense of more hard-edged insights, and the Conference may simply reinforce short-term, narrow thinking about finding jobs for students who stay in the UK.
More positively, both are good starting points which, with imagination, conviction and investment, could become the basis for a genuine strategic advantage. This would mean investment in demonstrating through data and insights that the UK produces a global network of alumni with thriving careers. With graduates choosing to work overseas getting appropriate support as they start their working lives, businesses around the world would better understand the value of a UK higher education, and international students would choose the UK knowing it gives them an employment advantage. It’s a virtuous circle worth considering.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay