International students and graduates come from a variety of countries, but mainly China, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. They have come to the UK to study, but many want to remain here to work after finishing their studies.
In terms of quality, as with any group of graduates there can be a wide variation in terms of skills and overall employability. But there are some very strong ones.
There is caution from a lot of SMEs about employing them. Many are worried that they may not be here for the long-term; and there can also be concern about the process to make the visa permanent.
This additional complication makes it difficult for international graduates to be competitive for many graduate jobs; especially in areas where there is a lot of interest, for example marketing.
Many international graduates will have experience from their home country, before they came to the UK to study. And often they are the only candidates available who have studied niche Masters degrees in the UK. This can make them a particularly good (and often overlooked) option; especially in areas where candidates are in short-supply. For example, some IT or engineering roles.
International graduates can (at their own expense) get a 2 years post-study visa allowing them to work in the UK with no issues. The two years starts from when they get the visa, so many will wait until they have a job offer before applying. From then, it can vary in how long it takes to be authorised, as some times are busier than others. I have seen it take 3 weeks or so.
It may seem like a risk offering a job before they get the visa, but in my experience most are keen to work, so will be eager to get the visa and get started.
You would check the visa as part of your onboarding process before they start.
CASE STUDIES
- A manufacturing business was looking for a project manager to manage a project related to the design and commissioning of a new production facility. They had been looking for someone for 8 months, but had come to the conclusion that there wasn’t anyone available with the right skills and experience. They had been looking for a more experienced candidate, and the subject came up in conversation when I spoke with them. I asked if they had considered international graduates as a possible solution. They hadn’t, and asked me to look into it. I found them a candidate from India, who had some directly related experience from before he came to the UK to study for a Masters. He got the job.
- An engineering consultancy wanted an Architectural Engineering graduate with experience designing Building Services. They had already had internal people looking, and put out adverts etc without any success. So they asked me to have a look. I did an in-depth search and came to the conclusion that there was literally nobody fitting the profile who was available. Apart from an international graduate who had done a Building Services internship in Sri Lanka before coming to the UK. I shared her details, and they loved her. She joined them and the business was able to sponsor her after the 2 year visa ran out.
- An environmental legislation consultancy was looking for a graduate BREEAM consultant. There were very few around who could demonstrate specific interest in the area. I introduced a graduate from Nigeria, who not only had some knowledge, but by way of a bonus he also had knowledge of some of the other areas that the business covers. They took him on and registered to become a licensed sponsor.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE 2 YEARS ARE UP?
Firstly, I should say that I’m not an expert in this area, as this will be 2 years after I placed the graduate, so I have no involvement with it. You may need to look into it further yourself. But I have done some research, and spoken with employers who reached this stage.
When the two years are up, you would need to help them get a new visa to stay in the UK. There are several types of visa, but the skilled worker visa may usually be most relevant. More information here
You would need to be a Home Office approved employer, and it’s a relatively straightforward process to get to this stage. More information here
When applying for the visa, there are some criteria to fulfil. The job needs to be on a list of ‘eligible occupations (there are loads, but you may need to pick the closest one).
And salary needs to be a certain amount; there are some variations but usually at least £26,200 per year. I would hope that most graduates would be on at least that after 2 years.
Some employers I work with have taken on an international graduate and reached the 2 years stage; their feedback was that they were surprised how straightforward it was to get a new visa. And the graduates are still with them and doing well.
A word of caution though: if you are looking to take on more than 1, there may be a difficulty. One employer told me that when they got their licence they were limited to one person; I’m not sure how common this is.
So, to summarise- 2 years guaranteed work, then a good chance of taking them on afterwards.
(Please note that this process takes place 2 years down the line, long after my involvement with placing the graduate, and it’s not something I would be involved with. The above information is from my research, and from speaking with people, but I’m not an expert in this stage and I would recommend doing your own research or taking advice before committing to anything.)