International education, the formation of capital and graduate employment: Chinese accounting graduates’ experiences of the Australian labour market

Abstract

Since the late 1970s, international education has steadily gained in popularity in China. An emerging middle class seeks to strengthen its position in China’s rapidly stratifying society under its socialist market economy with the shift from wealth creation for all to wealth concentration for a few. Previously, a foreign qualification was considered a passport to success in either the host or home country’s labour market. But the growing popularity of overseas study, coupled with the massification of the Chinese higher education, means Chinese international students are seeking to distinguish themselves in an increasingly competitive global labour market. This longitudinal study of international graduates, backgrounded by Australian employer perceptions, examines the journeys of 13 Chinese accounting graduates as they attempt to transition from an Australian university into the Australian labour market. Bourdieu’s thinking tools of field, capital, disposition and habitus are utilised to consider how different cultural, social and linguistic capitals inform employer understandings of ‘employability’ meant Chinese accounting graduates significantly adjusted their life goals.

Keywords:

• accounting education
• Bourdieu
• Chinese students
• employability
• graduate employment
• international education
• skilled migration

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the members of the research team: Professor Lesley Farrell, Professor Marcia Devlin, Dr Ruth Arber and Lyndell Jacka. The authors would also like to thank Dr Julie Rowlands for her helpful feedback on an earlier version.

Notes

1. The Big Four are the four largest international professional services and accountancy networks. They are KPMG, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young.

2. IELTS refers to the International English language Testing System. At the time of writing, migration points were awarded for certain standards met on the IELTS examination (see www.immi.gov.au for further details).

3. The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) exam attracts five points towards a permanent residency visa.

4. Professional Year is a government-sanctioned post-study program for international graduates in the accounting, computer science and engineering disciplines. It attracts five points in the General Skilled Migration Points Test.

5. Thanks to a reviewer for pointing out this distinction.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council and IDP Education Ptd Ltd. [grant number LP0990875].

Notes on contributors

Jill Blackmore

Professor Jill Blackmore is Alfred Deakin Professor and Director of the Centre for Research in Educational Futures and Innovation, Deakin University.

Cate Gribble

Dr Cate Gribble is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Research in Educational Futures and Innovation, Deakin University.

Mark Rahimi

Mr Mohammad Rahimi is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Research in Educational Futures and Innovation, Deakin University.