Employment of international graduates from Finnish Higher Education Institutions

Transcription

1 Employment of international graduates from Finnish Higher Education Institutions KV-kevätpäivät, Lahti, 22 May 2012 Yuzhuo Cai & Yulia Shumilova Higher Education Group, School of Management University of Tampere 1

2 Main topics Main findings of two recent studies on international graduates employment VALOA study: international graduates ( ) from Finnish 15 HEIs (survey with 363 respondents, 10 interviews with graduates and 10 with employers) Employers views on Chinese graduates educated in Finland (interviews of 16 Finnish companies in China) 2

3 VALOA VALOA is a national project, partly funded by European Social Fund, promoting the employment opportunities of international degree students in Finland. In spring 2011, VALOA invited research institutes to conduct the study through a public tender in February The Higher Education Group (HEG), School of Management, University of Tampere eventually won the tender and started the investigation from June

4 VALOA study ( ) 363 eligible responses from international graduates of from 15 HEIs (part of VALOA network) response rate % Majority of respondents (62.4%) are university graduates 75 nationalities 20 complimentary interviews with graduates and employers Graduates: employed, unemployed Employers: IT, Production, servicers/consulting, public sector 4

5 Top five reasons to choose Finland as a study destination Free of charge education, Possibility to study in English, A chance to improve employability, A chance to explore a foreign country Reputation of HEIs 5

6 Location after graduation 90,0 % 80,0 % 77,9 % 70,0 % 60,0 % 50,0 % 40,0 % 30,0 % 20,0 % 10,0 % 12,6 % 9,5 % 0,0 % Settled in Finland Returned to home country 6 Moved elsewhere

7 Employment rate 70% of all respondents are currently employed (N=253) Among those who are not employed (N=110), 61% are undertaking further studies, 11% are doing internship, 29% are taking care of family, 12% are in other situation. 7

8 Employment by regions 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 86,36% 77,27% 77,78% 63,64% 67,53% 71,43% 55,10% n=49 n=44 n=77 n=105 n=22 n=18 n=44 Africa Non EU East Asia EU Other (South East Asia 7, Oceania 5, Latin America 10) 8 North America South, West, Central Asia

9 Employment rate by sectors 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 52,94% 56,25% 59,09% 66,67% 83,33% 33,33% 89,19% 61,19% 80,00% 83,33% Africa Non EU East Asia EU Other (South East Asia 7, Oceania 5, Latin America 10) 9 University UAS 71,43% 66,67% North America 84,38% 91,67% South, West, Central Asia

10 Employment rate by location 80% 70% 71,74% 70,21% 60% 50% 54,55% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Settled in Finland Returned to your home country 10 Moved elsewhere

11 #

12 Status of employment freelancing self-employed 5 % (Forced) self-employed by own initiative 3 % a fixed-term parttime job 9 % other 3 % a permanent full-time job 33 % a fixed-term fulltime job 38 % 12 a permanent part-time job 8 %

13 60,0 % Character 50,0 % of first and current job 40,0 % 30,0 % 20,0 % 10,0 % 0,0 % First Job Current Job 13

14 #

15 The relevance of current job to the level of education attained in Finland 70,0 % 64,3 % 60,0 % 50,0 % 40,0 % 30,0 % 20,0 % 10,0 % 10,7 % 14,3 % 10,7 % 0,0 % The job did not require a higher education degree A lower level higher education degree could be used in this job 15 The job was at the same level to my own education The job was at a higher level than my own education

16 Income The salary level is lower than the local average in the field. (the most typical gross salary level among those who settled in Finland is 2001 to 2500 euro) However, there is a tendency of salary increase when comparing the first job and the current one. 16

17 Job satisfaction very dissatisfied 4,0% dissatisfied 9,8% very satisfied 25,3% neutral 17,2% satisfied 43,7% 17

18 Skills own vs. required at work (Perceived by the graduates) According to the graduates perception: their skills are higher than those required at work Overeducated or underemployed? 18

19 q. Work experience in the filed p. Entrepreneurial skills a. Mastery of your own field or discipline 5 4 b. Knowledge of other fields or disciplines c. Analytical / research skills o. Computer skills n. Foreign language proficiency 3 2 e. Leadership skills m. Inter-cultural competences f. Team working skills k. Presentation skills j. Communication / social skills g. Problem-solving skills h. Ability to coordinate activities / projects i. Creative/innovative thinking Own level 19 Required at work

20 Skills that significantly matter a. Mastery of one s own field or discipline b. Knowledge of other fields or disciplines c. Analytical / research skills d. Ability to rapidly acquire new knowledge e. Leadership skills f. Team working skills h. Ability to coordinate activities / projects m. Inter-cultural competences o. Computer skills 20 q. Work experience in the field

21 Skills needed by employers (Valoa interviews) Employers requirement is generally higher than those perceived by the graduates Employers highlight the importance of generic/transferable skills (apart from subjectspecific knowledge): Energy, ambition, evidence of being an achiever, and goal minded person. Self-motivated characteristics and attitude negotiation & presentation skills (engineers sometimes lack these) (E1) fluent social skills, understanding of economic matters (E2) innovativeness and the independent research skills (E3) good team working skills and communication skills (E5) 21

22 a. Mastery of your own field or discipline 5 b. Knowledge of other fields or q. Work experience in the filed disciplines p. Entrepreneurial skills o. Computer skills 4 3 c. Analytical / research skills d. Ability to rapidly acquire new knowledge n. Foreign language proficiency 2 e. Leadership skills m. Inter-cultural competences f. Team working skills l. Ability to write reports and documents k. Presentation skills j. Communication / social skills g. Problem-solving skills h. Ability to coordinate activities / projects i. Creative/innovative thinking Required at work (perceived by graduates) 22 required by employers

23 Obstacles to finding a job for international graduates in Finland 23

24 Research assumption Most of these barriers will disappear when it comes to the Finnish companies in the graduates home countries 24

25 Employment prospect in Finnish companies in China ( ) 2010 Oct.-Dec. interviews of 16 Finnish companies in China Research questions: What are the China-based Finnish employers beliefs on Finnish-educated Chinese graduates as their potential employees? And how the employer s beliefs or perceptions have been developed? 25

26 Interviewed companies by sectors Trading & sales; 3 IT; 3 Production & sales; 4 Consulting; 3 Production only; 3 26

27 Employers positive perceptions Generally, the employers have positive attitudes to Finnish-educated Chinese graduates They are easy to communicate with due to their proficiency of English language and understanding of Finnish culture; they could help the companies to overcome the cultural challenges through cross-cultural perspectives; they have good professional knowledge and hand-on skills. For these reasons, most employers would like to offer job interview opportunities for those Chinese 27 job applicants with Finnish degrees.

28 Other soft skills valued by employers independent ability capability of adjusting to new environment straightforward way of communication initiative good work motivation teamwork spirit leadership skills Responsibility loyalty 28

29 Employers negative perceptions Overqualified in some works Cultural disadvantage Low quality Lack of work experience Over-demanding 29

30 Who are most welcomed by employers? Finnish employers strongly welcome those Chinese job applicants who have both Finnish education and work experience, and are willing to take a reasonable salary. 30

31 Dilemmas 1 Employers expect the graduates have more internship experience during their study vs. some employers are reluctant in receiving students as trainees. Finnish companies come to China for utilising the low cost labour vs. the higher expectations of the graduates on salaries. Some competent graduates do meet all expectations of Finnish employers vs. they are also attractive to other companies too. 31

32 Dillemmas 2 Studying in Finland can lead the graduates to cultural advantage vs. the long absence from home can result in the graduates difficulties in adapting to the Chinese business environment. Employers high expectation on the quality of the graduates vs. the source of students studying in Finland is not always the top quality. 32

33 Recommendations for HEIs Lessons from both studies 1 High quality of education can attract international students However, the quality cannot easily be measured, in practice students are inclined to judge the quality by its international reputation (Marginson, 2006) and the career success of graduates (Teichler, 2009, p. 15). More help and guidance with finding internships, jobs and networking Internship experience is often considered by employers as equivalent to work experience The university career centres were the least used when searching for a job Students simply don t know where are the potential employers 33

34 Recommendations 2 Enhance the labour market relevance of higher education studies Universities need to pay more attention to the needs in the labour market and have more cooperation with potential employers in curriculum design and teaching. Filling in the gaps between skills of graduates and needs of labour market does not only need students commitment but it is a responsibility of universities too. Relevant soft skills are expected to be developed during students study in the universities. 34

35 Recommendations 3 Universities should strive to make the curriculum offered in English equal to that of offered in Finnish Many important courses are available only in Finnish or Swedish. More opportunities to learn Finnish and Swedish language Essential in the Finnish labour market. The language study is not enforced and the teaching methods are criticised being too grammar oriented. 35

36 Recommendations 4 Promote graduates to employer Most employers perception of the skills of international graduates are intuitive More information and channels to be developed for the employers to have a true picture of the graduates. 36

37 Recommendations 5 Recruiting most gifted or relevant students is also a guarantee for the quality of the graduates. Little attention is paid in recruitment strategies. Wisely use finical incentives (fee paying programmes). Study the targeting student markets. 37

38 Recommendation to HEIs - 6 Finally Keep the database of your graduates and collect feedback from them on the relevance of HE to the world of work Track their employment situation for QA and marketing purposes! 38

39 Publications 1 Y. Shumulova, Y. Cai, & E. Pekkola, Employability of international graduates educated in Finnish higher education institutions (VALOA Report), to be released in June 2012 Shumilova, J., & Cai, Y. (2011, September). Factors influencing the employability of international graduates. Paper presented at the DEHEMS International Conference--Employability of Graduates & Higher Education Management Systems, Vienna, Austria. 39

40 Publications 2 Cai, Y. (2012). International graduates from Finland: Do they satisfy the needs of Finnish employers abroad? Journal of Research in International Education, 11(1), Cai, Y. (In review process). Employment prospects of Finnish-educated Chinese graduates in Finnish companies in China employers' perspectives. Tampere University Press 40

41 Thanks! Kiitos! 41