International experience, universities support and graduate employability – perceptions of Chinese international students studying in UK universities

Abstract

Biographical noteDr. Rong Huang is an Associate Professor in Tourism Marketing at Plymouth University. Her research interests focus on aspects of the tourism phenomenon and published articles in relation to international student travel, food tourism and intermediation. She is also known as an expert for experience of international students in the UK and published many articles related to Chinese students travel and employability related issues.Dr Rebecca Turner is an Educational Developer at Plymouth University. Her research interests include examining the role of research and scholarship in college-based HE, the contribution evaluation can make to educational development practice and student transitions. International experience, universities support and graduate employability ---Perceptions of Chinese international students studying in UK universities AbstractRecent policy developments in English Higher Education have resulted in employability placed in the spotlight, whereby the success of universities will be measured based on graduate employment. This represents the latest focus placed on employability in the sector, as universities are increasingly expected to provide employment-ready graduates to meet the demands of a global economy. In response universities have invested considerable energy into initiatives and services to enhance the employability outcomes of graduates. However, institutions have largely been UK-centric on their focus, with limited attention paid to the employability needs of international students. In this paper, we report the outcomes of a study centred on the largest group of non-EU domiciled international students in the UK, those from Mainland China. Drawing on survey data we examine Mainland Chinese students' attitudes to their employability and the support they engage with through their UK University. We pay specific attention to the opportunities presented through the 'international' nature of the HE experience, and consider how these are utilised by both the students, and their institutions, to develop their future employability. We conclude by proposing recommendations for universities and institutions to enhance the support offered to this often overlooked, but significant group of students.

Time, class and privilege in career imagination: Exploring study-to-work transition of Chinese international students in UK universities through a Bourdieusian lens

“…He thus appeared to experience fewer adjustments in pursuing his career ambitions. Inclusion of on-the-job reflection, retrospection and prospection of international students is thus a useful way to unpack the embedded temporal dimension of career imagination, which has been missing in career support policy and practices, as well as empirical research (AGCAS, 2016; Huang and Turner, 2018).…”

“…Take the case of Chinese international students with British higher education degrees for example: much existing research on these students has been focused on their perceptions of employability and approaches to getting hired immediately after graduation. Huang and Turner's (2018) and Huang et al's. (2014) survey of Chinese students' attitudes towards employability finds approaches such as players, careerists, retreatists or rebelists and echoes extant research about British graduates' approaches to employability (Tomlinson, 2007).…”

Challenges in obtaining employment in China: Lived experiences of Australian Chinese graduates

“…Against this background, very little is known about the barriers to getting jobs for international graduates in China (Huang & Turner, 2018;Tharenou & Seet, 2014), although studies (e.g. Cooke et al, 2017) have argued that being an international graduate is a golden ticket to obtaining employment there.…”

International postgraduate students' labour mobility in the United Kingdom: A cross‐classified multilevel analysis

“…More specifically, governments may be able to design and deliver more effective plans in managing international student migration (ISM; Szewczyk, 2014; Teichler, 2012; Wiers‐Jenssen, 2013). HEIs may better prepare their international graduates for employment in a global economy (de Wit, Hunter, Howard, & Egron‐Polak, 2015; Huang & Turner, 2018; Teichler, 2009). As prior international study experience and employment mobility have been argued to have considerable importance in shaping international graduates' onward migration choices in post‐study lives (Collins, Ho, Ishikawa, & Ma, 2017; Czaika & Toma, 2017; Tan & Hugo, 2017), a better understanding of ISM may assist students to make more knowledgeable choices in deciding where to live and work after graduation.…”

“…The descriptive statistics show that only 9% of the employment of international graduates was found on the basis of job information provided by HEIs. What is more, HEIs in the United Kingdom are less helpful in facilitating international students to find employment outside the United Kingdom, as they generally have not paid enough attention to the employability needs of international students(Huang & Turner, 2018). Descriptive statistics of employment location of international postgraduate students, in 2013/2014-2014/2015 (N = 38,812)…”