The International Education Association of Australia has recently published a report into the outcomes of post-study work rights in Australia through the country’s temporary graduate visas. The research analyses issues such as the uptake of post-study visa options in Australia, growth over time and the types of jobs these graduates take up. Its findings may help to show the likely effects of the upcoming changes to post-study work rights in the UK with the newly announced 2-year graduate route.

One of report's major findings is that the number of temporary graduate visas issued have grown greatly in popularity since the former skills-based visa system was reformed in 2013-14. The number of post-study work visas granted has grown from fewer than 20,000 in 2013-14 to almost 50,000 in 2018-19. More than 40,000 of these were issued through the post-study work route, which allows graduates with degrees at the bachelor's level or above to stay in the country for up to 2 years (or 4 years for PhD graduates); the remainder were issued through the graduate work route aimed at applicants with sub-degree qualifications in fields with skills shortages.

However, take-up of temporary graduate visas varies greatly by country of origin. The report finds that 63 per cent of Indian graduates receive a temporary graduate visa, which is similar to the proportions in other South Asian countries but substantially higher than other regions - only 39 per cent of Vietnamese students take up this option, and the proportion among Chinese graduates is less than a third.

Despite these differences in take-up, the report cites a student survey that shows that post-study work was important to students from all countries. 70 to 89 per cent of respondents in each country said that the opportunity to work after studying was important or very important in their decision to study in Australia.

The report also notes that fewer than half of employed graduates are working in high-skilled occupations. Some of the remainder are working in entry-level white collar positions, but many are employed in low-skilled fields such as food service, retail and hospitality. As with overall PSW participation this varies greatly by country of origin - around 53 per cent of Chinese temporary graduate visa holders are classed as being in high-skilled occupations compared to only 39 per cent of Indians. These figures do not include around a quarter of temporary graduate visa holders who were classed as either unemployed (11 per cent) or not in the labour force (12 per cent) - with a large proportion of the latter group saying that they were currently studying rather than working. 

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst, British Council International Education Services

The new graduate route for international students that the UK aims to introduce in the 2020/21 academic year will probably be similar in many ways to the Australian temporary graduate visa. This means that Australia's experience will be very relevant to UK universities when considering the effect this will have on their student recruitment and the support they should provide to their graduates.

The higher uptake of these visas among students from India and other South Asian countries suggests that the new policy will have a much higher impact in this region compared to China, with developing countries in South East Asia somewhere in between the two. At the same time, the high proportion of students in all countries saying that this is an important factor in their study decisions shows that students worldwide value the option to work abroad even if they are unlikely to actually take advantage of it.

The large proportion of international graduates who are unable to find graduate-level jobs also shows that post-study work rights are not sufficient on their own. The new graduate route will increase demand for UK universities to support their international graduates in finding suitable work opportunities. 

Source 

International Education Association of Australia – Economic opportunities and outcomes of post-study work rights in Australia: https://www.ieaa.org.au/documents/item/1715