The going gets rougher: Exploring the labour market outcomes of international graduates in Australia
| Published date | 01 December 2022 |
| Author | Angelina Tang,Francisco Perales,Francisco Rowe,Janeen Baxter |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12977 |
International Migration. 2022;60:167–184.
|
167
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig
Received: 10 June 2 021
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Revised: 2 Novembe r 2021
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Accepted: 20 Dece mber 2021
DOI: 10.1111/imig.12977
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The going gets rougher: Exploring the labour
market outcomes of international graduates in
Australia
Angelina Tang1,2 | Francisco Perales2,3 | Francisco Rowe 4 |
Janeen Baxter1,2
© 2022 The Auth ors. Internation al Migration © 2022 IO M
1Institute fo r Social Science Res earch,
The Universit y of Queensland, Brisba ne,
Australia
2Australia n Research Council C entre
of Excellence f or Children and Famili es
over the Life Cou rse, The Universi ty of
Queenslan d, Brisbane, Austral ia
3School of Soci al Science, The Univ ersity of
Queenslan d, Brisbane, Austral ia
4Geographi c Data Science Lab, D epartment
of Geography a nd Planning, Unive rsity of
Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Correspondence
Angelina Tang, Ins titute for Social
Science Rese arch, The Universi ty of
Queenslan d, Long Pocket Precinct, Leve l
2, Cycad Buildi ng (1018), 80 Meiers Road,
Indooroopi lly, Queensland 4068, Au stralia.
Email : z.tang@uq.edu.au
Funding information
This researc h was supported by t he
Australia n Government throu gh the
Research Trainin g Program and the
Australia n Research Council C entre of
Excellence fo r Children and Famili es over
the Life Cour se (Project ID: 140100 027).
Abstract
Given emerging evidence on their troubled transition to
work, this study examines patterns, trends and changes
in the l abour market outcomes of internationa l gradu-
ates remaining in Australia at 4 months following cour se
completion b etween 1998 and 2015. Usin g the Australian
Graduate Survey, this study sh ows that the share of in-
ternational graduates who stayed on with the intention
to work doubled during this p eriod. The rece nt cohor ts
tended to come from non- English- speaking backgrounds,
hold temporar y visas and lack local work experience, all of
which have bee n linked to disadvanta geous labour market
outcomes. This st udy further reveals a clear t rend of rising
economic inactivity, unemployment, part- time employment
and qualification mismatch among international graduates
over time, r eflecting their vul nerability against a backdrop
of socio- politic al a nd e conomic changes in the country.
These findings i ndicate a need to review and streng then
existing policies and interventions to better help interna-
tional graduates inte grate into the labour market.
168
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TANG eT Al.
INTRODUCTION
In 1995, an estimated 1.7 million ter tiary stud ents worldwid e enrolled i n a higher education i nstitution loc ated
outside their country of origin (OECD, 2017). T his number ros e to approximate ly three mill ion in 2005 and five
million in 2015 (OECD, 2017) . Paralle l to this siza ble expan sion in the internat ional edu cation ma rket is the ch ang-
ing value of interna tional students to thei r host country. Other than b eing a consumer of educatio n, international
students are incr easingly seen as a convenient and advantageo us source of high- skilled lab our. Compared to high-
skilled labour recru ited offshor e, internationa l students graduating from local higher e ducation inst itutions (in-
ternational graduates hereinafter) are believed to stand a better chance of integrating into the host labour market
given their local aca demic credentials and familiar ity with the local language, legisl ation and customs (Hawthorne,
2005; Suter & Jandl, 20 08; Zigura s & Law, 200 6). They are also regarde d as ‘labour capacity wi thout the so cial
burden’ compared to their offs hore counterparts who are more likely to arrive with dep endants (Robertson , 2014,
1922). These presumptions , among other things, have contributed to the introduc tion of post- study migratio n and
employment pathways to retain international grad uates in many count ries— includin g the top five s tudy destina-
tions: Austral ia, France, Germany, the United States, an d the United Kingdom (OECD, 2014 a, 2017; Suter & Jandl ,
2008).
Despite their desir ability, international graduate s struggle to integrate into the host labour market (Bond et al.,
2007; Brekke, 2007; McG rath et al., 2017). Taking Austr alia as an exa mple, eme rging evide nce highlig hts the
higher prevalence of economic inactivity, unemployment, part- time employment and education- job mismatch
among internation al graduates compared to local graduate s and other skilled migrants (Birrell et al., 2006; Faggian
et al., 2016; Hawthorne, 2010; Haw thorne & To, 2014; Li & M iller, 2013; Trevelyan & Ti lli, 2010). These u nfa-
vourable outcom es are a matter of concern, as they under mine the rationale behind the re tention of international
graduates. A s Hawthorne (2005, 66 3) rightly points out, p ositive labour market inte gration is ‘the ultimat e public
justificat ion of the success of the prog ramme’. As could be expec ted, the poor integrat ion of international grad u-
ates in the Australian labour market has spar ked debates and anxieties about their merits and intenti ons, as well as
the policies governing internat ional education and skilled migration (ABC , 2015; Birrell & Healy, 2008; Birrell et al.,
2009; Faggia n et al., 2 016). Internat ional graduates have since be en reframed as the ‘deficie nt workers, sc hem-
ing backdoo r migrants o r hapless vic tims of a fl awed education and migration system’ (Robert son, 2011, 2206).
Importan tly, their poor prospects and the subsequent backl ash have threatened the attractivene ss and reputation
of Australia as a study destination among prospective international students (Blackmore et al., 2014; Rober tson,
2011). In the light of this socio - political and economic signif icance, this stud y further explor es the labour marke t
position of intern ational graduates in the h ost country using Aust ralia as a case study.
Australia i s widely considered a front- runner in international gra duate retention due to the development a nd
maintenance of post- study migration and employment pat hways over the last two decades (Gri bble & Blackmore,
2012; Peykov, 20 04). Growing efforts have since bee n devoted to study the integration of international gr adu-
ates into the Australian labour market . In addition to unveiling b road patterns of their lab our market outco mes,
existing studi es have explored the forces underlyin g their unfavourable position. Sp ecifically, low levels of English
language proficie ncy among international graduate s have been identified as the main driver (Arkoudis et al., 2009;
Birrell & Healy, 200 8; Blackmore et al., 2 017). Temporary r esidency status as well a s a lack of work readiness and
local d iscipline- re lated work e xperience are also found to have co ntributed to their poor outcomes (Bl ackmore
et al., 2017; Hawthor ne & To, 2014 ; Li & Miller, 2013). Mor e recently, there has been c oncern about workplace
discrimination against international graduates (Blackmore et al., 2017; Cameron et al., 2019; Coffey et al., 2021).
In addition to racism and xen ophobia (Blackmore et al., 2 014), the prejudicial t reatment can be mainly traced bac k
to stere otypes of international graduates as ‘deficient worke rs’ (Robert son, 2011, 2206) and ‘migration hunter’
(Tran & Vu, 2016, 20 4).
Much of the prior wo rk, however, offer s a fragmente d understand ing of the labour market experiences an d
outcomes of inter national gr aduates con sidering th e existing focus on sele cted subp opulations and indivi dual
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