International education and the employability of UK students

Abstract

A common theme within the literature on higher education is the congested nature of the graduate labour market. Researchers have highlighted the lengths to which many students now go, in response to this congestion, to ‘distinguish themselves’ from other graduates: paying increased attention to university status; engaging in a range of extra‐curricular activities; and pursuing postgraduate qualifications. Studies that have focused on the strategies of Asian students, specifically, have pointed to the important place of studying abroad as a further strategy in this pursuit of distinction. Given that there is now some evidence that the number of UK students enrolling on a degree programme overseas is increasing, this article explores the extent to which an overseas education can be seen as part of a broader strategy on the part of British students to seek distinction within the labour market and whether such an education does indeed offer tangible employment benefits.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the British Academy for funding the study upon which this article is based and the respondents who gave up considerable amounts of their time to talk to us.

Notes

1. In Norway, for example, the government has supported overseas study as a means of responding to fluctuating demand for higher education places (Wiers‐Jensen, 2008).

2. As our data collection ended before those considering overseas study were required to make a final decision, we are unable to explore any differences between those who did go on to study abroad and those who did not (see Findlay and King [2010] for some discussion of those who decide not to pursue overseas education after giving it serious thought). However, in terms of the arguments advanced in this article, there were no significant differences between those who had completed a degree abroad and those who were seriously considering this option.

3. The FTSE 100 Index (Financial Times Stock Exchange Index) is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.

4. Research on mobile students from outside the UK has also tended to point to their relatively privileged backgrounds and middle‐class location. Indeed, many of the studies of Asian students, with which we make comparisons in this article, emphasise the significant cultural and economic resources often available to these young people.

5. See Waters and Brooks (2010b) for a further discussion of the ways in which particular overseas countries were valued for their perceived ‘difference’ from the UK.