As degrees from overseas universities lose their competitive edge in China, graduates returning for work are getting mixed signals from employers, with some concerned the job market favours candidates who obtained local qualifications.
The total number of Chinese nationals studying overseas in 2019 was 703,500, according to the Ministry of Education. In the 2019-20 academic year, China sent more than 100,000 new university students to Britain alone, marking a 20 per cent increase from the previous year, according to the England-based Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While Britain remains a popular destination for Chinese students from relatively well-off households, long-held assumptions that Western graduates are better equipped with social and language skills, and therefore more sought after in China’s job market, are starting to be eroded, experts and young jobseekers say.
But as Chinese universities climb up world rankings, overseas graduates are returning home to find they are no longer the top pick for jobs.
“I don’t think we have much advantage over graduates who studied here, especially if we’re applying to local or small-sized companies, where hiring departments are more familiar with universities in China, such as those in the 985 and 211 projects” said Lea Chen Hei Yu, who graduated with a degree in sociology from the University of Bristol, a leading British university, in 2018.
Chinese universities are becoming more valued when measured by employability.
China was ranked No 5 in the world for graduate employability over the past decade, according to the Employability Rankings 2020, a survey conducted by French consultancy Emerging and British magazine Times Higher Education.
Britain, for example, was only one spot ahead of China, which jumped six places from 2010. Furthermore, all mainland institutions ranked in the top 100 have either maintained or improved on their previous positions.
Young jobseekers are also finding local connections can count for just as much as where a degree was earned. Certain professions require strong Chinese networks and employers prefer graduates of local elite universities over those who have been away for years.
