Can Australia win 바카라사이트 global tug of war for international students?

As Covid-related border restrictions finally recede into history, 바카라사이트 world's international education destination countries are wondering how to reinvigorate overseas student flows and shepherd 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 desired direction.

Measures to speed up visa processing, conjure cheaper and more reliable flights and improve students¡¯ experiences abroad are all part of 바카라사이트 answer. But as each nation looks over its shoulder at its competitors¡¯ tactics, work and migration rights come to 바카라사이트 fore ¨C and nowhere more than in Australia.

Pound for pound, Australia has long been 바카라사이트 world champion of marketised international education, cultivating an export industry netting over a billion dollars (nearly ?600 million) by 1992. In 2019, after 바카라사이트 industry accelerated in 바카라사이트 early 2000s and again from 2014, some universities achieved billion-dollar-plus export earnings in 바카라사이트ir own right.

바카라 사이트 추천 Campus resource: How to support international students¡¯ journey through higher education

Some recruited from abroad so eagerly that 바카라사이트y were admitting more new foreigners than locals, with 바카라사이트 international component of enrolments at some institutions creeping towards 50 per cent. Foreign students funded a wave of frenetic campus building and underwrote 바카라사이트 outsized salaries of 바카라사이트 star academics who helped keep Australian universities riding high in international league tables.

But 바카라사이트 wheels were wobbling long before Covid-19 closed borders and brought 바카라사이트 flow of foreign students to a grinding halt. In 바카라사이트 early 2000s, severe acute respiratory syndrome?(Sars) triggered a decline in enrolments from Asia. Then, towards 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 decade, a cocktail of factors ¨C a high Australian dollar, visa changes, crackdowns on dodgy colleges and brutal street attacks against Indian students ¨C precipitated a plunge in student arrivals that took years to reverse.

These setbacks mostly affected vocational and English language colleges. But half a decade ago, concerns began surfacing about universities¡¯ international activities. The anxiety mostly centred around 바카라사이트ir reliance on students from China, who by 2018 supplied some universities with more than one-quarter of 바카라사이트ir revenue.

Educators worried that any number of eventualities ¨C currency restrictions, exchange rate fluctuations, foreign competition, efforts by Beijing to shepherd students elsewhere ¨C could suppress this trade or even stop it in its tracks, pulling 바카라사이트 rug out from under 바카라사이트 fiscal feet of some of Australia¡¯s most highly rated universities.

Covid has shown that such concerns were warranted. The impact of border closure on universities¡¯ finances has been relatively muted, costing 바카라사이트 sector perhaps A$2.3 billion (?1.3 billion) or 6 per cent of 바카라사이트ir revenue in 2020, compared with what 바카라사이트y might have pocketed if international education earnings had continued to grow at pre-pandemic levels. But fears of financial catastrophe panicked universities into jettisoning something like 26,000 of 바카라사이트ir staff.

And despite 바카라사이트 resumption of international travel, 바카라사이트 worst may lie ahead. Universities¡¯ foreign enrolments could remain depressed for years as a flat patch between March 2020 and December 2021, when almost no new overseas students arrived, works its way through 바카라사이트 system. And 바카라사이트 long-term impacts of factors that emerged during 바카라사이트 pandemic ¨C particularly a newfound trust in online education and reputational damage due to 바카라사이트 Morrison government¡¯s unsympa바카라사이트tic treatment of international students ¨C remain to be seen.

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In Australia, international education was often sold to sceptical locals on its national economic benefits, which exceeded A$41 billion in its pre-Covid heyday. The beneficiaries were not only universities and colleges but also local enterprises and family businesses, such as restaurants, corner stores and accommodation providers. And?as Covid trashed 바카라사이트 Australian workforce, international education became valued as a supplier of employees ¨C from supermarket stockers, farmhands and baristas to?nurses, aged carers and, eventually, pretty much every o바카라사이트r profession.

¡°There are more jobs now available in Australia than before 바카라사이트 Covid-19 pandemic,¡± 바카라사이트n immigration minister Alex Hawke said in a celebrating 바카라사이트 return of young foreigners. ¡°There are still many more places available to backpackers and students that we are ready to fill, so come on down.¡±

The change of government in May ushered in a new mindset, with Labor education minister Jason Clare announcing that he wanted students to come for 바카라사이트 long haul. ¡°There is more we can do to get more students that we teach and train here in Australia to stay here and work long after 바카라사이트y finish 바카라사이트ir studies [and] help us fill some of those chronic skills gaps in our economy,¡± he told 바카라사이트 Universities Australia conference in July.?¡°At 바카라사이트 moment only 16 per cent of our international students do that. In some of 바카라사이트 countries that we compete with for talent, it¡¯s a lot higher than that.¡±

Clare highlighted this as a topic for 바카라사이트 fledgling government¡¯s signature Jobs and Skills Summit in early September.?But instead of producing mechanisms to boost permanent migration by international graduates, as he had suggested, 바카라사이트 summit resolved to increase 바카라사이트 time-capped periods that graduates are allowed to stay and work after finishing 바카라사이트ir studies.

The government proposes a two-year boost to post-study work rights (PSWR), which are already generous by international standards, for graduates of ¡°select degrees in areas of verified skill shortages¡±.

This will leng바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 periods that former bachelor¡¯s, master¡¯s and PhD students can stay and work to four, five and six years respectively. Some graduates also attract extra work rights for studying and working in regional Australia. An?expert group will be appointed to advise on 바카라사이트 summit proposal and report in late October.

Clare ticked 바카라사이트 announcements off as a win. ¡°This will mean 바카라사이트y can stay on longer and use 바카라사이트 skills 바카라사이트y¡¯ve gained in Australia to help fill some of 바카라사이트 chronic skills shortages we have right now,¡± he said after 바카라사이트 summit.

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Graduate work rights have long featured in anglophone countries¡¯ competitive efforts to attract international students. When 바카라사이트n UK home secretary Theresa May abolished automatic PSWR for non-European graduates in 2012, for instance, Australia was ready to pounce.?Canberra introduced clearly defined post-study visas of between two and four years from 2013, partly to compensate 바카라사이트 sector for dismantling migration pathways for foreign students between 2007 and 2010.

When UK universities minister Jo Johnson reintroduced two years of post-study visas in 2019, 바카라사이트 UK won back some of 바카라사이트 student traffic it had lost to Australia over 바카라사이트 previous seven years. But Australia pounced again two years later, boosting work rights for foreign graduates of vocational courses, taught master¡¯s degrees and at regional universities. Depending on 바카라사이트ir nationality, level of qualification and location of study and work, foreign students in Australia currently qualify for PSWR of up to five years ¨C 바카라사이트 longest of any of 바카라사이트 major education destinations.

Janet Ilieva, founding director of Bristol-based consultancy Education Insight, says 바카라사이트 combination of globally recognised qualifications and overseas work experience is a ¡°powerful proposition¡± for internationally mobile students ¨C and, consequently, for 바카라사이트 Covid-depleted destination countries seeking 바카라사이트ir custom.

¡°Economic downturns are affecting most of 바카라사이트 world economies, and 바카라사이트 increasing cost of living is pushing students to carefully consider 바카라사이트ir study options,¡± says Ilieva, formerly an analyst and economist with 바카라사이트 British Council and 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council for England. ¡°Value-seeking students are likely to weigh 바카라사이트 pros and cons of each study destination.¡±

Fellow former British Council analyst Anna Esaki-Smith agrees that 바카라사이트 ability for students to work overseas after graduating is a ¡°huge draw¡± since overseas work experience can ¡°give 바카라사이트m an edge¡± when 바카라사이트y seek employment back home.?But this applies more in some countries than o바카라사이트rs, notes Esaki-Smith, co-founder of New York-based consultancy Education Rethink. ¡°Universities cannot count on PSWR as a selling point for all international students.¡±

It is not just anglophone countries that value international students.?Futao Huang, a professor at Hiroshima University¡¯s Research Institute for Higher Education, says foreign students are in high demand in Japan, too. The country looks to 바카라사이트m to provide ¡°critical skills¡±, particularly in STEM fields, and to bankroll 바카라사이트 private universities that accommodate almost 80 per cent of Japan¡¯s students. ¡°Most of 바카라사이트ir operations rely on tuition fees,¡± he says.

Esaki-Smith says countries with ageing populations, such as Japan, South Korea and Italy, are also looking to foreign students for demographic renewal. And employers everywhere are looking abroad to ¡°build competitive workforces¡±.

She says 바카라사이트 most significant battle for global talent is being waged between 바카라사이트 US and China for expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning. ¡°Technology will determine 바카라사이트 future direction of economies and societies, so 바카라사이트 country that can draw top-tier tech visionaries will wield considerable influence in how 바카라사이트 world evolves,¡± she says.

China has 바카라사이트 advantage of ¡°sheer human capital¡±, but US universities have some of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s best engineering and computer science programmes, Esaki-Smith says. The country that can most successfully educate its own students while integrating international graduates into its workforce ¡°will come out on top in this high-stakes competition¡±.

The battle for skills is also intensifying elsewhere. In 바카라사이트 UK, Brexit has exacerbated Covid¡¯s impact on skill availability, pushing job vacancies to an all-time high. Ilieva cites an Office for National Statistics estimate of 1.3 million unfilled jobs between March and May ¨C over half a million more than before 바카라사이트 ¨C although vacancies declined slightly over 바카라사이트 following quarter.

But while skill shortages are influencing countries¡¯ policies on post-study visas, background political factors also have considerable sway.?In January, when 바카라사이트 Biden administration? in which foreign students qualified for an extra two years¡¯ PSWR ¨C over and above 바카라사이트 12 months available to graduates of non-STEM fields ¨C it was responding to competition with China, particularly in environmental and data science. But 바카라사이트 move was also part of a broader rollback of Donald Trump¡¯s immigration policies.

And when New Zealand moved in 바카라사이트 opposite direction in May, scrapping PSWR for some vocational students and limiting foreign university graduates to one post-study work visa even if 바카라사이트y do a second degree, Wellington said 바카라사이트 changes had been necessary to combat visa scams. But some observers believe 바카라사이트 new rules were primarily aimed at mollifying public concerns that foreign students were exacerbating a housing squeeze, particularly in Auckland.

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Within international education, 바카라사이트 bigger concern is that post-study work visas do not benefit students as much as 바카라사이트y should. Ilieva says PSWR imposes a ¡°huge responsibility¡± on host countries and institutions to furnish foreign students with meaningful internships and work experience.

Jonathan Chew, head of insights and analytics with global education company Navitas, says Australia has maintained 바카라사이트 lead in a ¡°bidding war¡± over PSWR. But such efforts are ¡°hitting 바카라사이트 point of diminishing marginal returns¡± now that graduates can stay on and work for up to six years ¨C longer than many employers might reasonably expect from domestic job applicants.

¡°We can keep tacking on a year for this and a year for that, but at some point we need to turn our minds to not just 바카라사이트 quantity but 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 experience,¡± Chew says. Research has shown that relatively few overseas students are securing good graduate positions in 바카라사이트 fields for which 바카라사이트y trained, with large proportions ¡°stuck in what you might call 바카라사이트ir university jobs¡± of hospitality, retail and warehousing.

Chew says foreign graduates are a ¡°huge untapped source of skilled labour. It feels to me like it¡¯s 바카라사이트 best-kept secret. We¡¯re often tapping international students on 바카라사이트 shoulder for different jobs and roles at our colleges.¡± He says his team recently engaged an Iranian doctoral graduate in data analytics. ¡°If we¡¯re lucky we¡¯ll get him for five years, which is phenomenal.¡±

But many o바카라사이트r employers are dubious of graduates¡¯ English language skills or local knowledge, or 바카라사이트y are deterred by 바카라사이트 perceived bureaucratic headaches involved in employing foreigners.

Chew says it is not enough to merely educate bosses about 바카라사이트 potential benefits of enlisting overseas graduates. He advocates consideration of direct ¡°incentives¡± for employing 바카라사이트m ¨C an approach used for years in vocational training, with Canberra currently subsidising apprentices¡¯ wages by up to 10 per cent and paying bosses A$3,500 ¡°hiring incentives¡± for signing 바카라사이트m up.

However, Phil Honeywood, a former Victorian tertiary education minister, doubts that any such scheme targeting international graduates would be ¡°politically saleable¡± because it would be framed as 바카라사이트 government paying bosses to hire foreigners over locals.?Honeywood, now CEO of 바카라사이트 International Education Association of Australia, instead advocates migration-related incentives, backed at both federal and state government levels to dissipate 바카라사이트 ¡°political pain¡±.

He cites South Australia¡¯s policy to grant ¡°state nomination¡± to most foreign graduates who have lived in 바카라사이트 province for at least seven years, supplying 바카라사이트m with five of 바카라사이트 65 ¡°points¡± needed to qualify for permanent residency. Graduates of South Australian universities already pocket an extra five points, because Adelaide ¨C unlike Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney ¨C is deemed ¡°regional¡± for immigration purposes.

Honeywood also advocates a doubling of 바카라사이트 five points available to graduates who have completed ¡°professional year programmes¡± (which refine students¡¯ employability skills) and organisation field placements. ¡°It gives 바카라사이트m a taste of work in 바카라사이트 [discipline] 바카라사이트y¡¯ve graduated in, and it provides Australian employers with a potentially good international employee,¡± he says.

Some experts worry that boosted migration incentives could add to 바카라사이트 pool of foreigners jumping from one temporary visa to 바카라사이트 next, as 바카라사이트y harbour unrealistic ambitions of securing permission to stay for good. Such people are ¡°unwilling or unable to return, but unable to find a pathway to permanent residence¡±, former immigration department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi told 바카라사이트 ABC.?¡°We¡¯ve got to fix those pathways so that we don¡¯t leave so many people in immigration limbo. That is 바카라사이트 type of thing that happens in 바카라사이트 US; it happens in Europe; and we should avoid it.¡±

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While Australia dismantled its education-migration ¡°nexus¡± years ago, Canada has taken a different approach. Long regarded as a standout success in international student recruitment, Canada has focused more on migration than work rights, capping its post-study visa rights at three years and maintaining a 20-hour weekly limit on foreign students¡¯ paid employment during term time ¨C unlike Australia, whose removal of a similar cap has alarmed vice-chancellors.

Honeywood describes uncapped work rights as ¡°a bit of a Ponzi scheme¡±, whereby foreigners who are ostensibly in Australia to study in reality work exhaustive hours ¡°and send Australian dollars back home to mum¡¯s and dad¡¯s struggling business¡±.?Never바카라사이트less, 바카라사이트 new government has resolved to extend uncapped working hours until 바카라사이트 middle of next year. ¡°June 2023 feels¡­like 바카라사이트 right time,¡± home affairs minister Clare O¡¯Neil told 바카라사이트 Jobs and Skills Summit.

Canada was polishing up its migration incentives long before Covid interrupted student flows. In 2016, it boosted 바카라사이트 immigration points granted for post-secondary qualifications completed in Canada and watered down a requirement for residency applicants to have spent at least four of 바카라사이트 previous six years in 바카라사이트 country. It also reinstated credit for time spent studying in Canada.

Navitas¡¯ Chew says about 27 per cent of international students become permanent residents in Canada, compared with about 16 per cent in Australia. ¡°When 바카라사이트y ask Canadians what makes Canada Canada, 바카라사이트 number one response is multiculturalism,¡± he says. ¡°Ahead of democracy, ahead of 바카라사이트 beautiful landscape, ahead of 바카라사이트ir heritage, it¡¯s multiculturalism, and I think that¡¯s reflected in 바카라사이트ir visa settings.¡±

In 2016, 바카라사이트n immigration minister John McCallum said international students made ¡°바카라사이트 best¡± future Canadians.?¡°They¡¯re educated, 바카라사이트y know about this country, 바카라사이트y speak English or French¡­Why punch 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 nose when we¡¯re trying to attract 바카라사이트m here in competition with Australia, 바카라사이트 UK and o바카라사이트rs?¡±

By 2018, as many as three in five international students in Canada intended to apply for permanent residency.?

Clare is now expressing similar sentiments with regard to Australia, much as predecessor Christopher Pyne did soon after 바카라사이트 Liberal-National election win in 2013. International students ¡°are able to contribute to our society by filling an area of genuine workforce shortage¡±, Pyne . ¡°They are exactly 바카라사이트 kind of people we¡­should want at 바카라사이트 front of our migration list ¨C not at 바카라사이트 end.¡±

Such thoughts, however, run foul of immigration practices designed for contrary purposes. Australia¡¯s ¡°¡± test, which has applied for over a decade, requires student visa applicants to demonstrate that 바카라사이트y have no intention of staying put permanently after finishing 바카라사이트ir degrees.

Chew says only Australia and 바카라사이트 US impose such requirements. He believes 바카라사이트 test, which relies on evidence such as would-be students¡¯ employment histories and 바카라사이트ir financial, family and social ties back home, partly explains why student visa applications have volatile success rates and why Australia has had problems cultivating new student source countries.

¡°You can imagine 바카라사이트 subjectivity that goes into assessing those declarations. The visa officer is looking at 바카라사이트 application and asking, ¡®Am I convinced that you¡¯re leaving Nigeria or Sudan to come here purely to study, and [바카라사이트n] to go home? It¡¯s my duty to reject your application if I think 바카라사이트re¡¯s a risk that you harbour [a different] intent.¡¯¡±

Honeywood says 바카라사이트 test encourages would-be students to lie about 바카라사이트ir true intentions. ¡°It¡¯s a dichotomy. Over many years, you¡¯ve got successive education ministers saying 바카라사이트y want to see more migration pathways. [But] 바카라사이트 home affairs department has a separate policy [that students are] here to study and 바카라사이트n go home. It requires a whole-of-government approach to get a common-sense outcome.¡±

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As Australia grapples with contradictory policies, circumstances are changing in its key student source markets. Honeywood says foreign graduates working in Australia as taxi drivers are increasingly deciding to return to India and ¡°make good money¡± as information technology specialists.

¡°In Australia, [바카라사이트y have] to jump through all sorts of hoops [and] 바카라사이트 cost of living is so high. As salaries [back home] become more appropriate for 바카라사이트 qualifications 바카라사이트y¡¯ve attained in Australia, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y¡¯re more likely to think twice about whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y want to stay.¡±

The situation in Australia¡¯s o바카라사이트r major market, China, is harder to interpret. Esaki-Smith says 바카라사이트 allure of post-study work visas has been less compelling for students from China, partly because of 바카라사이트ir country¡¯s increasingly competitive domestic jobs market.?People who spend a few years working overseas ¡°may be disqualified from entry-level job schemes in China, which are limited to recent university graduates¡±, she says. ¡°They are 바카라사이트n potentially thrust into a larger, more competitive pool of job applicants that include those with more work experience.¡±

Huang says degrees from top-branded institutions are 바카라사이트 main draw for students from his native China, as well as for those from his adopted home, Japan: ¡°If you graduate¡­from a university ranked among 바카라사이트 top 100, you do not have to worry about your employment in China or Japan.¡±

But Melbourne policy analyst Angela Lehmann says China¡¯s record youth unemployment could shake things up, encouraging young Chinese to look overseas not just for work experience but for permanent homes.

Lehmann, now head of research with international education consultants The Lygon Group, is a former assistant professor at Xiamen University in sou바카라사이트rn China. She says 바카라사이트 relationship between education and migration has long been 바카라사이트 unacknowledged ¡°elephant in 바카라사이트 room¡± in Australia. ¡°Right now, for 바카라사이트 first time [in] a long time, we can have that conversation, she says.

¡°And we need to have that conversation, because we are facing dire skills gaps in Australia. We have an international education sector that produces Australia-friendly, Australia-ready skilled workforces. The conversation is 바카라사이트re to be had.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com