1. International Student Life 21 June 2016
Olivia Doyle
International Student Life
21 June 2016
CRICOS 00111D TOID 3059

2. Provide professional insights and guidance
International Student Life – Employability Support
Specialist support for international students aiming to work in partnership with you to develop your employability
Provide professional insights and guidance
Monthly Employability Newsletter
Employability seminars
Student appointments
Industry connections
Networking events
Australian workplace cultural events
Job Club

3. Events – Winter Term Interview skills & practice with recruiters
Wednesday 6 July
1.30 – 3.30 pm
Business Insight Industry Visit
Thursday 14 July
9am – 12 noon
HDR career planning & industry guest speaker
Tuesday 12 July
4.45 – 6 pm

4. Overview of seminar Aims
To provide you with useful insights to build your employability and launch your professional career
Themes
Communication
Networking for success
Career planning & research strategies
Job readiness
Job search strategies “learning to search outside the square”

5. Agenda Welcome & market update
Creative job search strategies & LinkedIn – Sue Ellson
11 am BREAK – 15 mins
Writing effective job applications (cover letters & resumes)
12 pm LUNCH – 30 mins
Interview skills overview & demonstration – Wei Li Wong
Alumni guest speakers - Liz Rodriguez & Amit Pattnaik
Swinburne support services
2pm CLOSE

6. PowerPoint slides from today’s seminar will be available on line later in the week:

8. Bachelor graduates available for full time employment 1990 - 2015

9. Labour market change: Traditional pyramid & new workforce diamond
Concentration of workers at the bottom
Intelligence, talent & decision making at the top in hands of few
Strong link between length of service and promotion
Lots of chances to enter at the bottom, lots of chances to stay there
Considerable differentiation between ‘blue collar' and ‘white collar' professionals
Concentration of workers in the middle
Fewer entry points
Still small numbers at the top, but earning big money
Rising replaced by moving laterally or multidirectional careers
Strong team focus
Project & contract work
Less opportunity for low skilled / inexperienced workers
Crumbling differentiation - ‘aqua collar’ workers are emerging as tasks distinctions blur
Note that this change has occurred in the last 60 years
Ask students to reflect on their own and their families’ experiences of the labour market?

10. Five year industry employment growth - Victoria
UPDATED 23 May 2013
Looking at change in annual average employment levels in over the past five years,
All but 3 of the 19 broad industries grew in employment over this period, with Health Care and Social Assistance – the largest employing industry in the region – performing strongly and consistently over the last five years, driven by continued population growth, the ageing of the population and increasing use of social services such as child care. Only recently has growth in this industry shown signs of tapering off, with employment actually falling by 700 over the year to February 2013.
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services was the second largest growth industry in Victoria over the past five years, and the fourth largest employing industry in the state. Recent employing growth in this industry is still strong, with an increase of 17,100 workers over the year to February 2013.
The greatest employment losses in Victoria over the past five years were concentrated in the Manufacturing industry (down 31,400). These losses are a continuation of the trend which began over ten years ago in Victorian Manufacturing. That being said, Manufacturing is still the third largest employing industry in Victoria.
(Note: all industry employment data in this chart are four quarter averaged original data, year to February 2013 compared to year to February 2012.

11. National employment growth by industry
As illustrated in the chart above, this group of service industries (including Construction) have experienced somewhat mixed outcomes over the last ten years and all are projected to see reasonably solid growth over the coming five years. Health Care and Social Assistance performed strongly and added the greatest number of net new jobs over the decade (463,800), equivalent to an average rate of growth of 4.1 per cent per annum. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services – which includes engineering, accounting and legal services – also recorded the robust rate of growth over the decade equivalent to 4.1 per cent per annum, for a net gain of 300,300 in employment. Health Care and Social Assistance is projected to continue to grow strongly over the next five years, with a further net employment gain of 177,800 (over our projection timeframe of November 2012 to November 2017), while employment growth in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is projected to moderate as the resources boom tapers off (a further net gain of 62,800 is projected).
Construction showed the strongest rate of growth of all within this group of industries for much of the ten years to February 2013, but employment in this industry declined quite sharply from August 2011, due to the prevailing climate of economic uncertainty and caution among prospective home buyers and builders, and has only shown signs of recovery over the last two quarters. Over the decade as a whole, Construction saw a net employment gain of 298,700, which is equivalent to an average rate of growth of 3.5 per cent per annum. With continuing recovery, growth over the next five years is projected to be solid, with a net gain of 100,200.
(Note: Historical employment data are trend, projections are 2013 DEEWR projections to November All data are at the national level.)
Actual
Projected
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey (Trend) and DEEWR projections

12. Structural change in the labour market
This chart illustrates how the industry composition has changed in recent decades.
In February 1988, Manufacturing made up 15.4 per cent of employment. By February 2013, that proportion had declined significantly to 8.2 per cent. There has also been a significant reduction in the share of total employment accounted for by Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (from 5.8 per cent to 2.7 per cent).
In contrast, the remaining industries in this chart – which are the primary focus of this workshop – have all claimed an increasing share of national employment over this period. The largest gain in employment share was in Health Care and Social Assistance, which grew from 8.2 per cent of national employment in February 1988 to 12.0 per cent in February 2013.
The Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry (which includes engineering, architectural, legal and accounting services) also recorded a large increase in employment share over this period of 3.4 percentage points.
(Note: National trend ABS employment data)

13. Job Outlook
Job Outlook is a careers and labour market research information site to help people decide their future career. 
Use the search options to find a wealth of information covering around 350 individual occupations.

14. Job Outlook DEMONSTRATION
Provides data on:
Job prospects
Weekly earnings
Occupation size
Typical tasks
Skills
Links to job advertisements
Depending on your student cohort – show relevant data for 2 – 3 jobs
Encourage some discussion about how this could relate to career planning

15. Crafting your career story to manage long term employability
Your career is your story - conduct research to support informed career decision making
Employability is about on going skill development
Understand the trends in the labour market:
Jobs growth in your industry
Think global
Seek out / create opportunities
Final slide: Restate the key messages from the first three seminars:
1. Your career is your story – know who you are, what you value, what skills have , what knowledge you are building and what interests you.
2. Employability is about skill development – Non technical, technical , language, literacy and numeracy
3. Be informed – understand the trends in the labour market find out where the jobs growth is for your industry and develop your skills so that you have
Evidence of competency beyond academic transcript. Prepare a portfolio of work

16. Presentation slides can be accessed at:
Your professional career starts NOW
Presentation slides can be accessed at:
UPDATE LINK

17. What skills and attributes do employers look for in a graduate….
Explain:
Now we have clearer knowledge of sought after “employability skills” let’s now focus on what specific skills employers may look for and in our next activity you will self-assess your current “employability skills gaps”.
Before the activity, let’s get a better understanding of ‘Graduate Programs’.

18. Employer expectations activity
Rank
Jumbled Key Selection Criteria
Teamwork skills
Aptitude
Leadership skills
Cultural fit
Adaptable
Communication skills
Academic results
Interpersonal skills
Work experience
Motivational fit
Cultural fit: When a graduate fits into the organisation’s culture, because their personality and values align with the culture of the organisation.
Some examples from employers: “cultural fit with organisation” “fit in with company culture” “corporate fit” “fit for organisation”
Aptitude: When a graduate can convey to the employer that they have the capability, the skills and the talent to be successful within the organisation.
Examples: “Potential for growth” “ability to achieve” “ability and aptitude shown” “achieves results”
Motivational fit: When a graduate is motivated and interested to work for the organisation, and that this motivation will carry forward in their work ethic.
Examples: “Motivation” “Interest and motivation to work with us” “interest/motivation”
SSourource

19. Employer expectations activity - ANSWERS
RANK
Ordered Key Selection Criteria 1
Communication skills % 2
Academic results % 3
Teamwork skills % 4
Aptitude % 5
Interpersonal skills % 6
Leadership skills % 7
Work experience % 8
Cultural fit % 9
Motivational fit % 10
Least desirable skills
Poor communication
Poor motivational fit
Arrogant
Poor teamwork
Lack of passion
Adaptable %
Source: Graduate Outlook 2014, Graduate Careers Australia

20. Barriers to employment for international students
Employers seek ‘work ready’ graduates
“They need to come in job-ready, to hit the ground, become a project team member almost straight away.”
Senior Manager, large engineering firm
Work readiness is a key priority among Australian employers.
Employers talk about wanting graduates who are ‘job ready’ or can ‘hit the ground running’.
Work experience is highly valued

21. Soft skills
“We're not looking for who's the best engineer. The degrees have sorted that out to some extent.
It's how do they cope in that communication area, the soft skills. How you can be an effective team member with your technical toolbox under your arm”.
Human Resources, large engineering firm
Employers are looking beyond the qualification for well rounded gradates who can demonstrate a range of ‘soft skills’
Employers emphasise team work, initiative, highly developed communication skills, motivation and attitude

22. Communication skills
“The question I ask is: ‘Can I see this person as someone that I can sit in front of a client?’ It comes down then to a language issue.
It’s being able to talk technically but they also need to be able to talk on the phone and present themselves as a professional”
Midsize accounting firm company
Employers are looking for graduates who have a confident command of English and can express their ideas freely in a team environment.
Graduates need communication skills that can span a range of workplace situations (clients, colleagues, social situations)
Written communication skills are also highly valued ( s, report writing, etc)

23. International employer skills expectations
Source:
Rob Lawrence
IEAA International Employability Symposium: Discussion Paper
May 2015

24. Self reflection
Think about your own skills in these key areas
How do your skills compare?
How are you working to further develop your skills?
Do your own self assessment and put together a development action plan

25. Meet Ella Chan Former international Master of IT
student at Swinburne University
Now Senior Business Analyst with large
Australian consulting company
While at uni Ella:
Moved into a flat with local students
Attended lots of social events with Australians
Joined uni clubs- was Vice President of the IT Society
Barracked for a footy team
Part time job at McDonalds
Volunteer website developer for Hawthorn Community House
Joined group projects with local students
Joined Australian Computer Society and attended events
Developed strong IT skills – Excel, Access etc

26. Meet Anh Nguyen Former international Bachelor of Business
student at Swinburne University
Now part time accounts clerk still looking for
full time professional employment
While at uni Anh:
Focussed hard on his studies – gained a distinction average
Lived with Vietnamese relatives
Worked part time in family Vietnamese restaurant
Played soccer in a Vietnamese student team
Joined uni group project teams with other international students

27. Which international student are you?
What can you do to improve your employability?

28. International students’ expectations
“I mean just try really hard with your English, and keep an open mind. Don’t just hang your hat on going to work with the Big Four, because there’s some pretty good work that small firms do and with good clients”
Director, small accounting firm
Many international students have unrealistic expectations of post study employment
Careers are often non-linear and impacted by unpredictable factors
Be open to exploring different paths and ‘stepping stones’ towards achieving your career goal.
Think outside the box

29. Strategies to your employability
Make a career plan 
Start planning as early as possible
Make the most of the services and opportunities available at Swinburne to fine-tune your skills
Make an appointment with a careers adviser, attend workshops and industry events

30. Step out of your comfort zone
Participate in a wide range of extra curricula activities at uni and in the local community
Create networks in the community – this will assist you to find work experience & employment

31. Work experience
Relevant work experience is ideal, but a part-time job is also valuable
Consider getting overseas work experience – either at home or elsewhere

32. The message to employers - international student’s have unique value
International students need to market themselves to employers as unique, value adding employees
Focus on what you have, as opposed to what you lack
In addition to the standard graduate - you can offer:
- Bi-cultural advantage
- Latest industry developments and insights from overseas
- Provide ‘intelligence’ – assist employers to understand new markets and tap into different networks
- Improve import & export opportunities
- Motivated, keen, loyal workers