The International Student Employability Group (ISEG) has today launched new resources which highlight the positive impacts of hiring international student and graduates.
Despite the introduction of the Graduate route visa and the Skilled Worker route visa, simplifying the ways in which employers can hire international students and graduates, recent research from HEPI and Kaplan has shown that only 3% of employers stated that they knowingly used the Graduate route visa and 27% said they were not at all familiar with the Graduate route visa.
These new ISEG resources, which include several videos, an infographic for employers, and a guide for international students, will be distributed directly to students as well employer networks and business associations. Additionally, these resources will provide guidance to university staff and careers offices to help explain to employers the ease in which they can hire international students and graduates.
Included in these resources are several interviews and testimonies from employers and international graduates who discuss their experiences in using the new visa system and the benefits involved:
“When I started working (as a strategy intern) the idea was to gain some skills in a UK- based work environment. By the time I was about to graduate…I was able to talk them through the visa routes that are available to me and how they can get me on board permanently and make the process easier for themselves and myself.”
Simran Harichand, Paid Media Specialist at Hallam and graduate of the University of Nottingham.
“Gaining a sponsor licence has helped the strategy for our business in two main ways. One is recruitment and the other one is around diversity. For recruitment, a lot of businesses in the UK are really struggling to hire top talent. This has reduced the barriers of entry for us. We are a marketing agency, and in the UK it's predominantly a white and male industry. We're looking to be at the forefront leaders in terms of improving our diversity.”
Jake Third, Managing Director at Hallam
Chaired by UKCISA and comprised of various key sector organisations such as British Universities International Liaison Association (BUILA), Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) and Universities UK International (UUKi), ISEG was set up in 2020 in response to the findings from a joint research report on supporting international students, which recommended “establishing a cross-department working group or similar with responsibility for international student/graduate employability to support the delivery of the strategic approach”.
The resources can all be accessed on the ISEG page on our website:
Access the resources
