Increasing recruitment targets in Pakistan through engagement with education agents

With competition rising from providers of international higher education in countries such as China and Malaysia, institutions in UK also strategically plan to recruit the best international students.

With budget constraints being faced by UK institutions particularly for staffing and maintenance, there arises a need to maintain or increase the number of suitable non-EU students bringing income to their institutions. UK institutions’ dependence on international student recruitment income is well understood by the international student recruitment agents. They have emerged to meet demand for professional support from both the institutions and prospective students. 

With the need to maintain the quality for recruitment standards set by UK institutions, the agents are expected to possess skill, knowledge, experience or contacts which ultimately are advantageous to the UK institution.The potential market in Pakistan is large, dynamic and competitive. Hence, a considerable number of HEI’s engage with agents as a necessary pillar of their recruitment strategy to help deliver annual intakes. 

Some institutions, however, have limited interaction with agents. They are convinced that agents are only useful in selected countries, or in the initial stages of institutional market development. In the case of Pakistan, the numbers for agent engagement are higher.  Institutions regularly work with agents as part of their recruitment strategy as Pakistan offers potentially strong student numbers in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.

British Council commentary:

The need for agents has been partly founded on the size of the country for which they are responsible. This responsibility is heightened if UK institutions find it more feasible to rely more on local agents and lessen their travel expense.  Recently the British Council Pakistan has provided increasing avenues for direct student engagement and this has been received with much popular support and requests for more similar events from Pakistani students and educational institutions.  Pakistan, was also previously being cited as an un-safe country, however, the country currently favours a more stable political and economic environment.

Generally, brand establishment leading to increase in recruitment numbers depends on local knowledge of a country, understanding of culture, specific information about educational qualifications, the reputation and ranking of the institutions, and subject specialities and strengths.  UK institutions can undertake this research effectively through face to face channels and services provided by the British Council in Pakistan.

Agents can also offer additional services in supporting existing partnerships, linking with alumni, raising brand image and a positive impression in the increasingly competitive market. Most UK institutions already effectively lead on their marketing plans solely without agent support; however, restrictions in time, resource and opportunity cost do not allow that in a number of situations. It is imperative that in an agent-heavy market as Pakistan’s, UK institutions choose their representatives carefully and cautiously.  Brand credibility and due diligence with suitable representation are closely linked. 

The British Council is interested in understanding what draws high-calibre students from across the world to

higher education in the UK. The Student Insight survey 2015 conducted by British Council provides a general snapshot of students who hold aspirations for foreign study. This report focuses on prospective students from Pakistan, using data gathered from an on-going study of 10,186 respondents living in-country at the time they were surveyed.

According to the survey, potential undergraduates considered important agent services to be, as selected in the order of priority: advice on which country to study in (16.3%), information on obtaining a visa (14.7%), advice on which institutions to apply to (13.6%) and information on accommodation (10.5%).

Just over 18 per cent of prospective postgraduates expected other services from agents, which were not featured in the questionnaire, suggesting that students have specific needs that might require agents to be more proactive with the services they provide. Curiously, prospective students did not seem to consider agents’ supplying information on scholarships as important, even though scholarship availability was a significant influence on the choice of institution when considering study abroad.

British Council Pakistan offers two agent training courses.

1.       Foundation Education UK Agent Certificate. Registrations open in April 2016.

2.       British Council Advanced Agent Certificate (BCAAC) – Registrations open in January 2016, valid for only candidates who have taken Foundation training

This course enables agents to promote UK education and to provide high-quality information, resources and services to potential international students helping them to better prepare for their experience as an international student in the UK.

It is recommended that institutions take on services of agents who are trained for the role; institutions should  recommend that their agents keep their qualifications updated.
British Council Pakistan has trained over 500 agents since 2012 to date. All trained agents are listed on the Global Agent List (GAL).
You may search and connect with certified agents in Pakistan through the GAL link.

Article source: http://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/managing_education_agents_report_for_bc_2.pdf