Chinese students’ study in the UK and employability : the views of Chinese employers, students and alumni, and UK teachers

While not the only motive for Chinese students to come to study in the UK, employability must be one key factor. Yet there is relatively little research on perceptions among students, employers and teachers of how studying in the UK impacts employment prospects. This paper seeks to compare the views of these stakeholders on what are the essential skills needed for employability and whether these match those gained through study abroad. The data used was from an online questionnaire. The data showed that while there seemed to be some agreement about what skills were valued for employability and about what was learned in studying in the UK yet there was quite a strong mismatch between the two. Free text responses to the survey confirmed from previous research that reverse culture shock and work experience issues were important barriers to employability. They also revealed some types of challenge not identified or given emphasis before such as a reverse language shock and a misalignment between the timing of recruitment rounds and study in the UK. The data also confirmed the relative weakness of career advice for international students