The University of the West of England, UK, has launched the first specialist careers website for Chinese students at UK universities. UK/China GradLink is designed to help the 75,000 Chinese studying in Britain access the competitive Chinese job market. It should also offset pressures to find work in the UK following the abolition of the post-study work visa.
David Gee, the global careers consultant at UWE who set up the site, told The PIE News: “This really is to help Chinese graduates do their research while from a distance and to start networking with employers while they are in the UK.
“Chinese graduates have to find a job before their student visa expires which is about three to four months”
“There have been statistics showing there are three million Chinese graduates unemployed. So while there are a lot of jobs there are also a lot of graduates, so there’s a lot of competition.”
He added, “There is also the dimension that the opportunity to work in the UK has been restricted… Chinese and other non-EU graduates have to find a job before their student visa expires which is about three to four months after they graduate, so there’s a real time pressure.”
Alongside a jobs board, GradLink provides connections to HR departments at top firms in China, such as Deloitte, Intel and Renren Inc. There is also advice on cover letters and CVs, and testimonials from former UK graduates now working in China.
Gee said UK/China GradLink had been a particular hit, with 2,000 unique visitors in six weeks – success he attributes in part to Chinese firms’ willingness to participate. The website follows GradLink sites for Malaysian and Indian students in the UK which Gee said had also been successful.
“Employers come to GradLink because they recognise the importance of taking on internationally educated graduates,” said Gee. “This has also been very much about telling Chinese employers about the unique selling points of a UK education.”
An increasing number of Chinese who study abroad are returning home after their degrees to find greater competition in the job market. In 2011 alone 186,000 returned, nearly 40% more than in 2010, although a recent study showed most viewed their overseas experience as invaluable.
