Mobile Graduates: Who stays, who goes; what do they do there; and what kind of barriers do they experience? Dr Heike Behle Institute for Employment Research University of Warwick

Some recent figures… HESA data show that he number of undergraduates from the UK and EU taking jobs overseas has increased over the last few years. 22 % of all students stated that in order to get a ‘good graduate job’ they would have to go abroad (Trendence Institute 2013). Over the last years, the largest group of migrants from the UK to other European country belongs to ‘professional or managerial’ occupations (UK Home Office 2011)

Mobility within Europe Strengthen the academic and cultural internationalisation of European HE; Knowledge-transfer; Extended labour market for graduates; Personal development and employability; Hallmark of the new EHEA; Mobility is changing within Europe (EUROSTARS), in terms of - human capital - value added to education - continuity of process

Three groups of UK-educated mobile graduates UK home students UK mover International non-European students Other mobile graduates European students Returners

The big questions: Who goes? How can the social composition of leavers be compared to those remaining in the UK? How does the career paths compare to those remaining in the UK? Which benefits and barriers do mobile graduate educated in the UK experience?

The data base – the Futuretrack survey and it’s qualitative follow-up study Futuretrack was a national longitudinal survey of UK undergraduate students of all full-time UCAS applicants including EU and overseas applicants. The following analysis is based on the forth wave of the survey, two or three years after graduation (depending on the time of graduation) - Winter 2012 The following quantitative analyses are based mainly on weighted data of the forth wave (n = 17,075, 7 per cent of which moved to a different European country). The qualitative analysis is drawn from interview with returners, UK graduates and other mobile graduates: GroupNumber of interviewees Returner, Employed 2 Returner, Further study 2 UK graduate, Employed 3 UK graduate, Further Study 2 Other mobile graduate, Employed 1 Other mobile graduate, Further Study 2

Who goes? More likely to be mobile are… Personal characteristics: age group of year olds (when starting HE in 2006); male graduates; higher SES; citizenship of other European countries. HE-related impacts: those from highest and high tariff HEIs and those from general and specific HEIs; languages or interdisciplinary subjects; those with previous experiences abroad (as part of their course). Activity related variables: those with a graduate job; and other activities.

What do they do there? - Employment

What do they do there? Employment in non-graduate occupations

What do they do there? Unemployment

What do they do there? Further Study

Benefits of mobility – personal growth Meeting new people, making friends, meeting partners (networking, socialising) Openness (different cultures, way of thinking), broadening views and horizons Flexibility, adaptability, tolerance Shaping self ‘ would be a totally different person if I hadn't travelled’ ‘You turn into another person’ ‘makes you a better person’

Benefits of mobility experience – skill growth Language skills Flexibility, adaptability, tolerance Compare and contrast in professional setting Skills necessary to initiate and sustain cooperation with people from different cultures (research team) Relate easily and liaise more effectively to people from all over the world Mobility Capital

Benefits of Mobility - Reflecting on national/European/Global identity Rethinking national culture, perceptions and social norms “ Meeting many people from different place, it makes it easier for you to rethink your culture which I think is very important.(EU4, returner, employed) Enhancing European identity

Barriers to mobility Barriers to further study General barriers Admission to further study Level of skill obtained Barriers to employment Employers / Admission officers lack of information UK qualification worth less than qualification from home HEI Lack of networks

Concluding Remarks Mobility is changing Europe. Mobile graduates come from highest SES and have graduated from the highest tariff HEIs. Mobile graduates are a part of a new form of inner-European elite Post-graduation mobility is employment-driven for UK students; and education-driven for returners. No prolonged experiences of unemployment due to mobility. Benefits of Mobility include personal growth; skill growth; national / European / global identity Even though the transfer of degrees within the EHEA is politically desired, many graduates have experienced barriers in the transferability of their skills.

This research was based on a previous project: The research was sponsored by the For further information see: Behle and Tzanakou (2014) 'The transferability of (under-) graduate knowledge gained in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) within the European Higher Education Area.', Behle (2014) 'European Mobility of UK educated graduates. Who stays, who goes?', Higher Education Quarterly, 68 (3), 288 – 304 Behle (2015) ‘The early Career Paths of UK -educated Intra-European mobile Graduates’, currently under review. Tzanakou and Behle (2015) ‘The Intra-European transferability of graduates’ skills gained in the UK ‘, currently under review Follow me on Follow me on