Summary:

The Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE), a department under the Ministry of Education, recently published information on Chinese students returning from overseas studies. According to a survey carried out by the CSCSE, the most important factor these students take into account when looking for a job is career development, followed by location and salary.

China’s four “tier one” cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen – were the top choices for returnees, with a total of 58 per cent of returned students planning to settle in these cities. When asked about career direction, 30 per cent of returnees planned to pursue a career in finance, with the education sector increasing in popularity to make up 12 per cent of students while software and IT was the third most popular choice. A relatively high proportion planned to find jobs in state-owned companies, with 27 per cent of returned overseas students expressing a preference for this sector.

The proportion of Chinese students returning to the country has increased substantially over the last few years, and around 364,800 students came back from overseas study in 2013 – 79 per cent of the number going abroad that year. As students typically stay abroad for several years and the number of overseas students is increasing, the true proportion of returnees is even higher than this.

Figures from the UK Home Office tell a similar story. According to the most recent statistics, covering the period up to the end of 2013, only a small proportion of Chinese students remained in the UK after finishing their courses. Of Chinese students that started their studies in 2008, just 7 per cent held a non-student visa such as work, family or settlement five years later (excluding those that still held valid student visas). This is a significantly lower proportion than most other major non-EU sending countries, with the exception of the US and Saudi Arabia.

Analysis by Liu Xiaoxiao, Education Services Manager and Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst:

Growing rates of Chinese students are pursuing careers back in China after their overseas studies. This high proportion of returnees, in addition to increasing domestic university enrolment and a large proportion of students choosing the same popular subjects, has led to fierce competition in the employment market after graduation.

The proportion of returnees from the UK is particularly high, due to stricter graduate immigration policies. It would therefore be helpful for UK institutions to consider providing more internship opportunities or industry related programmes for students during their stay in the UK, in order to provide students with work experience and enhance their employability.

Sources:

1. http://xmwb.xinmin.cn/html/2015-06/11/content_8_1.htm

2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrant-journey-fifth-report/migrant-journey-fifth-report

3. http://www.moe.edu.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/s5987/201503/184499.html

4. http://www.moe.gov.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/s8442/201411/178787.html