New Zealand retains foreign students' skills

Around one third of international students who come to New Zealand stay on following their studies to contribute to our economy and workforce says Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman.

Department of Labour research confirms around 31 percent of fee paying international students find work after their studies and around one-fifth gain permanent residence.

“Not only does New Zealand gain from the economic benefits of having them study here, many international students stay on providing longer-term benefits by contributing their skills to our workforce and economy,’’ Dr Coleman says.

“This research shows that New Zealand is an attractive place to study because of the quality and cost of education in an English speaking country.’’

Dr Coleman says the Government is currently reviewing international student policy to help strengthen the industry and maintain New Zealand’s reputation as a quality export education provider.

‘’Another plus for fee-paying foreign students is the recent introduction of interim visas which allows them to continue studying while applying for visas to further their studies. This will smooth the enrolment process for education providers.’’

Export education is one of New Zealand’s top five export industries. Last year, international education contributed over $2 billion to the economy in foreign exchange. The sector also supports around 32,000 jobs.

Dr Coleman says the industry is continuing to grow, despite the global recession. Latest enrolment figures show an almost five percent rise in the number of international students for the first eight months of 2010, compared to the same period 2009 (from 78,905 to 82,577).

Students from India had the highest rate of transition to work (72 percent) followed by students from China (43 percent). Similarly, students from India also had the highest rate of transition to permanent residence (47 percent), followed by students from China (23 percent).

The research also found 68 percent of former international students were in fulltime employment 18 months after gaining permanent residence. Nearly one-third – 31 percent – worked in professional occupations and 62 percent worked in a skilled job.

The Department of Labour's Employers of Migrants survey, released last year, found 87 percent of respondents rated their migrant employees good or very good.

Life after Study: International students’ settlement experiences in New Zealand, is available from http://dol.govt.nz/publications/research/life-after-study/summary.asp