Global perspectives on international student employability
1 July 2019
The following is an excerpt from a newly released research paper, ‘Global perspectives on international student employability’, co-authored by University of Auckland Director International, Brett Berquist.
In recent years, employability has become a key driver in international education. In the United States, the wage premium for a four-year degree has doubled over the past 40 years, primarily because of decreases in unskilled wages, while the cost of that degree has tripled (Carlson, 2017). Universities New Zealand calculated a $1.6m lifetime earnings premium for a university graduate (UNZ, 2016). However, as access to education is rising in the developed world, a first degree may no longer be a sufficient distinguisher for some labour markets.
With the ever-accelerating pace of change and futurists predicting further class divides in the automated world of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, students, their families and governments are calling on education providers to deliver employability outcomes. Return on investment (ROI) – sizeable as it has become – dominates the global education marketplace.
The main English-speaking destination (MESD) markets have experienced a general de-funding of public education and have turned to international student markets to subsidise their education systems, with the support of their governments.
It is no surprise then that these markets, which also charge the highest differential tuition fees for international students, have sought to position their brands around employability through policies that allow international students to work during their studies and to stay in the host country and work for a fixed period after graduation. These same countries also recognise the value of retaining the highly qualified graduates in their labour market and periodically revise their immigration policy settings to align with changing market conditions. Policy alignment to facilitate the transition from student status to employment and residency is captured in a new OECD online tool1 that illustrates a country’s attractiveness for migrants. Attraction and retention are key drivers for national policies.
1http://www.oecd.org/migration/talent-attractiveness, launched 29 May 2019.
Berquist, B., Hall, R., Morris-Lange, S., Shields, H., Stern, V., & Tran, L. T. (2019), ‘Global perspectives on international student employability’, International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), retrieved from www.ieaa.org.au.
The paper was commissioned for the IEAA Employability Symposium 2019, and published by the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA).