Jobless in UK

Updated on: Monday, March 28, 2011

Fresh developments in the UK student visa system are likely to make it tougher for Indian students to study in Britain. A higher level of English language skills, limits on work entitlements and the closure of the post-study route are among the changes that were announced last week.

Elaborating on the new post-study options, Chris Dix, regional director, UK Border Agency (UKBA), said that students going to the UK for a degree will no longer be allowed a two-year timeline to look for job opportunities after their course ends. The Tier-I (poststudy work) route will be closed from April 2012. So long students had free access to the labour market for two years and it allowed them to do odd jobs/low-skilled jobs. According to the new rule, only graduates who have an offer of a skilled job from a sponsoring employer will be able to stay on to work. Further, the salary offered by a company would have to be a minimum of £20,000 a year. Dix added, "Also, the company has to be registered to accept overseas workers in the Tier 2 point-system ."

Most counsellors and consultants feel that the measures are fallout of the UK prime minister David Cameron's election campaign to reduce immigration levels. They stress that the reason why the UK government is not allowing students to do lowskilled jobs is because international students are eating into its home market, thus taking away a chunk of jobs at the grassroots level.

According to Karan Gupta, education consultant , "Initially, the UK wanted to attract more international students with schemes like the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP). However, now with more than 50,000 Indian students in the UK, the government feels that it has stretched itself thin. So they have already scrapped HSMP and the 'Top 50' university work-permit programmes, and now it's the post-study work route."

Arun Kurian, who went to Cass Business School, UK (2009-2010 ) at a time of economic uncertainty, observes, "Despite the grim situation , many international students were employed by the time the course ended. Many companies start their recruitment process by September as soon as the course begins, so students have an academic year to apply for jobs."

The timeline not only allowed a buffer to look for a job, but also allowed one to earn pounds through odd jobs. As Sudha K, who went to the UK for a creative writing course, points out, it helped middle-class students like her to pay back a chunk of the loan sooner.

Many students keen to study in the UK voiced their concern that they may not be able to enjoy the work experience, which has become an integral part of studying abroad.

Times of India

Jobless in UK

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