Forms of capital and agency as mediations in negotiating employability of international graduate migrants

Employment of international education graduates: Issues of economy and resistance to change

“…However, the direct relationship between international education and better employment outcomes remains contested. Research shows that international education produces solid content knowledge (Cai, 2012;Hao et al, 2016;Pham et al, 2019;Wu et al, 2020), advanced soft skills (Cai, 2012;Pham, 2020), English proficiency (Abimbola et al, 2016;Wiers-Jenssen, 2007;Wu et al, 2020) and awareness of international standards (Hao et al, 2016;Perna et al, 2015) and makes graduates more attractive to employers, increasing the odds of securing employment (Hao et al, 2016;Pham, 2020;Pham et al, 2019;Wiers-Jenssen, 2007;Wu et al, 2020). However, research also demonstrates that there is no direct link between international education and better employment outcomes.…”

“…Sociocultural factors also have a significant impact, and local cultural expectations place tremendous pressure on international education graduates. Research on Chinese graduates showed that families expected them to smoothly transition from university life to a workplace (Gill, 2010), whereas employers expected them to be considerably superior to their local counterparts (Hao & Welch, 2012) making reintegration into the domestic cultural environment difficult (Gill, 2010;Hao & Welch, 2012;Hao et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020;Pham et al, 2019).…”

“…Hence, the deeper intercultural understanding gained through international education is an advantage when the graduates need to navigate between home and international contexts at the workplace (Gill, 2010). Conversely, perceived lack of understating of the local context makes graduates less attractive to domestic employers (Gill, 2010;Hao & Welch, 2012;Hao et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020;Pham et al, 2019). Traditional, often inflexible, cultures in workplaces in China, Kazakhstan and Uganda, and coworkers' unfriendly attitudes towards graduates with international diplomas prevented graduates from applying their knowledge and skills effectively (Amazan et al, 2016;Gill, 2010;Perna et al, 2015), and colleagues' resistance and resentment were also found to be a major challenge (Amazan et al, 2016;Pham, 2020).…”

“…Another social factor limiting graduates' domestic employment opportunities is the lack of social networks (Hao & Welch, 2012;Hao et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020). Recent studies suggest that an international diploma itself is no longer sufficient to secure employment (Amazan et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020;Pham et al, 2019). Rather, it is social relations with others that help international education graduates to land a job (Nachatar Singh, 2020;Pham, 2020;Pham et al, 2019), and good relationships with colleagues and supervisors are important for their career progression (Pham, 2020).…”

“…An additional challenge faced by international education graduates is a gap between knowledge and skills acquired at university and those required by industry (Amazan et al, 2016;Jumabayeva, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020;Perna et al, 2015;Pham et al, 2019). Many graduates with international education certificates are found to be overqualified for their positions (Amazan et al, 2016;Cai, 2012), work in fields outside of their degrees (Amazan et al, 2016;Nachatar Singh, 2020) or have a job that limits opportunities to use their knowledge and skills fully and effectively (Perna et al, 2015;Pham, 2020;Pham et al, 2019).…”