New report on graduate employment in Asia welcomed by Study Group
Study Group has warmly welcomed a new report by the British Council on Preparing students for the jobs of the future in East Asia. The report considers industry skills gaps in the region, and how UK higher education providers can support students to access subjects which open up career opportunities.
Speaking to PIE News, Jazreel Goh, director Malaysia at the British Council noted the changing nature of work on countries such as China, and the likely impact of digitisation and Artificial Intelligence. Persistent skills gaps lie in industries where time is needed to build expertise – high-tech manufacturing in robotics and electric vehicles, banking workers specialising in digital solutions, even 3D design.
Another crucial area of opportunity across the region is healthcare, with an expected growth driven in part by demographic change. As Jazreel Goh notes, this offers an important opportunity to link both higher education and the graduate route for a mix of training and experience that is invaluable once a graduate returns to their home country. “Working in the UK for a couple of years before returning to their home country is probably even better from a development perspective, because the graduates gain valuable experience that can help home countries.”
This focus on the broad range of health care programmes and post study experience which support both individual ambitions and public benefit at home is at the core of how Study Group sees the opportunity to open up graduate employment in Asia.
According to Executive Director of External Affairs Ruth Arnold, “Potential international students and their families naturally want to know how their studies will open up employment after graduation, and many are interested in medicine and allied health professions. Having said that, they are often less clear about the range of programmes and careers that feed into the wider ecosystem of jobs in a contemporary healthcare setting, or the opportunity to work for a period after graduation in the British National Health Service which is reflected around the world as an excellent place to gain professional experience.
“In this context, the UK Graduate Route visa offers real opportunities that benefit all concerned - the individual in their career development and employment prospects, the community at home which gains both an educated and experienced workforce, and the NHS which is fortunate to enjoy their dedicated services for a period. It’s a true win-win.”
To help potential students around the world understand the wide range of courses available to individuals considering careers in medicine or allied health professions, Study Group has launched a new film drawing on the experiences of its own alumni describing what study and work in this sector means to them.