Supporting International Student Employability Enhancing the international student experience: effective strategies for 2017 and beyond Supporting International Student Employability Esther de Perlaky, University of Warwick Cate Linforth, University of Birmingham

Importance of employability “Employability is the most important aspect that Chinese students look for when applying to university. If universities can demonstrate a high level of success at helping Chinese graduates to find jobs then this will allow them to attract the most promising students.” China Recruitment Representative How do your student recruitment team use employability to recruit international students?   Employability is a key buzz word amongst international students, and their parents, and is increasingly a growing differentiator for international students when choosing an overseas university.

Imagine…. Imagine how different it is for international students? What do you do to prepare your international students for your careers fairs? What can you do more of? SHARE ON YOUR TABLE – what are some of the things that your careers service could do to help international students?

What do you think are the opportunities and challenges for careers services to support international students?

Challenges Expectations: Brexit and UK visa situation On-course work experience/employment Post-graduation UK employment Brexit and UK visa situation Little knowledge of the UK/Western graduate employment sector No prior work or volunteering experience English fluency and cultural differences

What do you think are the opportunities for careers services to support international students?

Opportunities Extremely engaged with careers services On campus activities Bespoke International Student Careers Services Online resources Peer to peer support

Careers Level Initiatives Enhancing the international student experience: effective strategies for 2017 and beyond Careers Level Initiatives

Birmingham Dedicated international careers service International Careers Consultant International Employer Liaison Officer Postgraduate Employer Liaison Officer International Students Peer to Peer Team International Student Mentoring Programmes International careers fairs Bespoke online career resources and courses

Joint China Careers Fair Warwick, plus Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Aston, Lancaster, and Liverpool university students 2,000 students 25+ employers Presentations plus careers support

Regional and Sector Level Initiatives Enhancing the international student experience: effective strategies for 2017 and beyond Regional and Sector Level Initiatives

Standing Out and Fitting In Warwick-led HE wide research into enhancing Chinese student employability Clear gap between Chinese employer and student’s career expectations 60% students have no career planning Opportunities for HE-wide and institutional support for Chinese students

Midlands International Group 16 universities from East and West Midlands Sharing of best practice and collaboration on events New website and blog

HE-wide Pre-Arrival Careers Support www.prepare2getahead.co.uk

Going forwards Supporting the positioning of UK-HE as the country of choice for overseas study Through the employability agenda Increased ‘home-country’ based activity And opportunities for HE-sector careers collaboration

Discussion What are the challenges and opportunities you, your service and your institution face in terms of international student employability? How can employability initiatives help support the attraction and recruitment of international students? What are the needs/opportunities for closer collaboration between services e.g. careers, international offices, study abroad teams?

Contact us: Esther.de-perlaky@warwick.ac.uk c.cherco@Birmingham.ac.uk