In 2019-2020, international education was worth about $37.4 billion to the Australian economy, making it the largest service-based export of the country. Of course, these numbers have dwindled since the pandemic, however, recently with the re-opening of China, enrolments have spiked for higher level education in Australia and universities are more than ready to welcome international students with open arms. However, after these students graduate, the uphill battle of securing a stable job in their field of study is a struggle known all too well.

A well known source of discontent for international graduates is finding a job compared to their domestic counterparts post-graduation. A common scenario that occurs is an international student with an exceptionable resume may get automatically rejected due to their visa status whilst domestic students with a less competent repertoire can capitalise on the same opportunities. The skilled labor shortage in Australia of recent times has shifted some companies’ stances on this subject, however a large amount of Australian businesses remain stagnant towards international students.

When queried for the reasoning to why certain businesses have this stance, the responses were nothing short of inane. From “company culture” to misunderstandings on how graduate visas work, some of these perceived issues only exist due to a lack of education to business from the Australian government about they work, or a managerial inertia to perform adequate due diligence. Along with that, the notion that international students are purely temporary employees is false on the majority of occasions. Beyond Graduate Programs, there is a high chance that when international graduates apply there is an intention to remain within the company or country for at least a medium-term period. In addition, this number is roughly even with the median 4.1 years that an employee spends with an employer. Often, high-ticket companies praise itself in their merit-based values, but in contrast, the aversion of sponsoring international graduates for a more permanent position despite their contributions to the company is questionable to say the least.

Some employers are also wary of international students as they are afraid of these graduates not conforming or participating within the company culture. This is a valid response because a lack of interpersonal connection between the employee and the workplace have been shown to reduce productivity, and may increase turnover rates. However, just because an international student has a different cultural background to the majority of employees does not mean that integration is nigh impossible. The very assumption that this is the default option unless shown otherwise is a double standard that does not apply to domestic applicants, who can also fall victim to the same workplace culture disengagement.

Aside from the private sector, the hesitance of the Australian government to improve international graduate employability domestically, whilst hastily accepting the vast revenues generated by the very same graduates seems purposefully tongue-in-cheek. The commonly cited response is that domestic graduates are struggling enough with employability and as such, increasing the competition pool worsens the problem by making jobs harder to get and wages to decrease. In making the hiring process more difficult for international students, this is merely a band-aid solution to the underlying, systemic issue Australia has with its labour markets. The idea that domestic talent pools can supplement the rising technicality, insights and skills to remain competitive on the global stage is shortsighted. Almost comparable in naivety as protectionist initiatives that pandering politicians rely on. The loss of cross-cultural insights and perspectives will reduce companies’ abilities to perform internationally in a hyperconnected global society. Aside from that, the increased size and skill-level of the talent pool will incentivise an improvement in the competence of the Australian labour market, raising the standards of performance across the board.

The assumption and approach that international students are not suitable unless proven otherwise in exceptional circumstances, and the aversion of fairness as a solution to the labour market’s woes represent a mere fraction of frustrations that international graduates grapple with every single year, in addition to being away from loved ones and paying more than triple the fees of a domestic student. A shift in mindset of how employers and the Australian government approach international graduate hiring has potential to benefit the talent pool, wage levels, economic performance and more, provided the incumbent organisational inertia is overcome and the status quo is subverted.