International higher education student satisfaction with opportunities for work experience and employment in Australia

International higher education student satisfaction with opportunities for work experience and employment in Australia

Report prepared by Christopher Lawson

Department of Education
April 2014

ISBN

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The details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website (accessible under the links provided) as is the full legal code for the CC BY –NC 3.0 AU licence (http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/au/legalcode).

Contents

Contents
Executive Summary
Key findings
Background
Working while studying
Hours worked
Paid or unpaid work?
Satisfaction with opportunities to earn money and undertake work experience
Importance of work opportunities during and after study
Employment/career support expected from institutions
Awareness of and satisfaction with careers advisory services
Preferred mediums of communication about careers advisory services
Appendix 1: Who responded to the 2012 International Student Survey?
Appendix 2: List of tables
References

 

Executive Summary

As one of the most popular destinations for students internationally, Australia aims to ensure the living and learning experiences of overseas students in Australia are world class.
The Australian Government regularly surveys international students studying in Australia to measure how we are doing and identify where we can improve. The 2012 International Student Survey, the most recent survey, collected responses from more than 37,000 international students at Australian universities about their experiences, including work, which is the focus of this report.
This report shows that the opportunity to work during and after study is important to overseas students. Around three quarters of respondents to a 2012 survey stated that the ability to work during and after study was a significant influencing factor in choosing Australia as a study destination. More than 60 percent of student respondents to this survey confirmed that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the opportunity to earn money while studying. A similar number of students were also satisfied or very satisfied with opportunities available to take part in work experience or work placements as part of their course either paid or unpaid. 
More than 40 per cent of students stated that they were working. Twelve per cent were working in a job relevant to their future career plans, 6 per cent were in a program or placement as part their course of study, and 25 per cent were in a job not directly relevant to their future career plans. Eighty-five per cent of students who were working were in paid employment, while 10 percent were unpaid (including volunteering and mentorship opportunities). 
The ability to undertake paid employment within Australia’s strong economy means that many students are able to offset some of their costs of studying and living through part-time employment as well as gaining valuable work experience.
While the majority of students in the survey reported an expectation that their university would help them find work, only 18 per cent of respondents used the careers advisory services available to them. Almost a third did not know how to access these services, but thought that they would have found them useful.
Where students did make use of the university’s careers advisory service, satisfaction was high at 85 per cent, indicating that where universities are able to promote their services successfully international students do gain benefit from these services. 
This report provides Australian universities with information about how different types of international students prefer to receive information about careers advisory services. Overall, two thirds of respondents preferred to learn about careers advisory services by email, with a further one in five preferring to learn about this through their institution’s website. The increasing significance of social media as a method of communicating important information should also be considered.

Key findings

Work as a factor in influencing the decision to study in Australia
•	73 per cent of respondents stated that the ability to work while studying was a significant influencing factor in choosing Australia as a study destination. 
•	77 per cent of respondents stated that the ability to work after studying was a significant influencing factor in choosing Australia as a study destination.
•	The top 5 nationalities to consider the opportunity to work while studying as important in their decision to study in Australia are:
o	India - 89 per cent
o	Vietnam – 79 per cent
o	China – 76 per cent
o	Indonesia – 75 per cent
o	South Korea – 73 per cent
•	The top 5 nationalities to consider the opportunity to work after studying as important in their decision to study in Australia:
o	India – 89 per cent
o	South Korea – 82 per cent
o	China - 82 per cent
o	Hong Kong – 81 per cent
o	Malaysia – 81 per cent
Satisfaction 
•	More than 60 percent of respondents were satisfied with the opportunity to earn money while studying. 
Work
•	Around 41 per cent of students stated that they were working while studying, of those:
o	85 per cent were in paid employment
o	51 per cent were working for less than 10 hours a week.
o	12 per cent were working in a field relevant to their future career plans
o	10 per cent were in unpaid employment for example, volunteer work
Career advisory services
•	More than 50 per cent of respondents reported that they would expect support from universities in finding work
•	Around 20 per cent reported having used career advisory services 
•	Around 30 percent did not know how to access career advisory services.
•	Where students did use their university’s careers advisory services, they showed high levels of satisfaction, suggesting that increased usage of these services would lead to improved satisfaction levels with opportunities to gain work experience.

Background
For many students, choosing to study overseas is one of the biggest investments they will make in their life. Research by the Department of Education shows that students who come to Australia for higher education enjoy their experience living and studying in this country, and on graduation are sought after by Australian and international employers. 
However, employers have also commented on the desire for international graduates to have better team work skills and work experience. Research by McKinsey and Company in 2012 showed a disconnect between employer and education provider views on the work readiness of graduates, with 72% of education providers and only 42% of employers thinking graduates were adequately prepared for the work place. 
One way that international students can offset some of the cost of their international education experience, as well as improve their employability prospects, is by taking advantage of the attractive options to work while studying on student visas in Australia.
Under Australia’s student visa program, international students are permitted to work up to forty hours per fortnight once they have commenced their studies, and unlimited hours during their holidays. For international research students, work permissions are even more generous, with research students permitted to work unlimited hours once they have commenced their studies in Australia. The recent introduction of post study work visas for graduates of Australian bachelor, masters and doctoral courses gives international higher education students even more opportunities to gain work experience before they return to their home country or move on to a third country.
In 2012, the Australian Government released a report that looked at a number of issues related to the international student experience, including how universities support students to gain work experience and how students find work during their studies. A series of case studies produced by the Australian Government also included good practice examples of universities and community organisations working with students to improve their employability.
In 2013, the University of Adelaide produced a report for the Fair Work Ombudsman looking at unpaid work experience in Australia, including among international students. The report estimated that 56 per cent of international students work during their studies in Australia, with 70 per cent working during their holidays, but noted that it was not able to estimate the exact percentage of workers (including international students) who undertake volunteering and other unpaid work, and noted the need for further research to establish the scale of this phenomenon. Previous research has found that volunteering is a relatively popular option for international students, helping them to gain workplace experience, as well as personal satisfaction.
As part of the Council of Australian Governments’ International Student Strategy for Australia (ISSA), the Australian Government conducts surveys of international students to investigate the expectations and experiences of students studying in Australia. The most recent such survey was conducted in 2012 with an overview report released in April 2013.
The 2012 International Student Survey (2012 ISS) asked a series of questions about the experiences of international students to do with employment, and this report (similar to the accommodation report released in June 2013) examines the experiences and satisfaction of international higher education students with work experience in Australia, as well as quantifying the proportion of international students undertaking paid and unpaid work in Australia.
The references listed at the end of this report are a useful source of existing research on this issue. Further information about the survey can be found at Appendix 1.

 
Working while studying

Just like domestic students, many international students work to support their studies, to gain valuable work experience, and to make friends. Research has shown that international students think working is one of the best ways to make friends with locals.
In the 2012 ISS, students were asked whether they were: 
•	working in a program or placement through their course of study, 
•	working outside of their course in a job related to their future career plans, or 
•	working outside of their course in a job unrelated to their future career plans .
In total, almost 41 per cent of international student respondents were working (a figure lower than the University of Adelaide estimate of 56 per cent), with 25 per cent working outside of their course in a job not relevant to their future career plans, 12 per cent working outside of their course in a job relevant to their future career plans and 6 per cent working in a program or placement through their course of study (some students worked in more than one area).
Table 1. Students working in a program or placement through their course of study (by nationality)
Nationality	Program or placement	
China	7.4%	
Malaysia	4.1%	
India	6.2%	
Singapore	4.2%	
Indonesia	3.0%	
Vietnam	5.8%	
Hong Kong	6.0%	
USA	6.8%	
South Korea	8.5%	
Canada	9.2%	
Other nationalities	6.4%	
Total	6.2%	
36,013 respondents
Just over six per cent of respondents were working in a program or placement through their course of study, with the proportion varying by nationality, presumably reflecting different courses studied by different nationalities. For example, nearly one in ten Canadian respondents (9.2%) were involved in a program or placement through their course of study – and an analysis of Canadian higher education enrolment data in 2012 shows that nearly half of Canadian enrolments were in the health or education broad fields of education, courses likely to include practical placements. Conversely, only three per cent of Indonesian respondents were working in a program or placement, and only about five per cent of Indonesian higher education enrolments were in the health or education broad fields of education.
Table 2. Working outside of course in a job relevant to future career plans (by nationality)
Nationality		Career-relevant work	
China		10.3%	
Malaysia		8.0%	
India		17.2%	
Singapore		8.6%	
Indonesia		9.0%	
Vietnam		12.7%	
Hong Kong		8.5%	
USA		14.6%	
South Korea		13.1%	
Canada		16.4%	
Other nationalities		13.4%	
Total		11.8%	
36,013 respondents
Nearly 12 per cent of respondents were working outside of their course in a job relevant to their future career plans, with more than one in six (17.2%) of Indian respondents getting relevant work experience through a job while they studied. Malaysian respondents were the least likely (8.0%) to be working outside of their course in an area relevant to their future career plans.
Table 3. Working outside of course in a job not relevant to future career plans (by nationality)
Nationality	Other work	
China	27.6%	
Malaysia	18.7%	
India	34.5%	
Singapore	11.8%	
Indonesia	26.3%	
Vietnam	36.4%	
Hong Kong	21.7%	
USA	21.7%	
South Korea	26.5%	
Canada	20.6%	
Other nationalities	24.2%	
Total	25.0%	
36,013 respondents
One quarter of all respondents were working outside of their course in a job that was not relevant to their future career plans, led by students from Vietnam and India, with more than one in three respondents from these countries working in such a job. Respondents from Singapore were least likely to be working outside of their course in a job unrelated to their future career plans.
Table 4. Students working in a program or placement through their course of study (by level)
Level of course	Program or placement	
Undergraduate	5.5%	
Postgraduate coursework	5.2%	
Research	10.4%	
Total	6.1%	
33,930 respondents
Respondents who were research students were much more likely to be working in a program or placement through their course of study than respondents at either the undergraduate or postgraduate coursework level.
Table 5. Working outside of course in a job relevant to future career plans (by level)
Level of course	Career-relevant work	
Undergraduate	11.0%	
Postgraduate coursework	11.5%	
Research	14.8%	
Total	11.6%	
33,930 respondents
Respondents who were research students were also more likely than undergraduate or postgraduate coursework level respondents to be working outside of their course in a job relevant to their future career plans.
Table 6. Working outside of course in a job not relevant to future career plans (by level)
Level of course	Other work	
Undergraduate	28.0%	
Postgraduate coursework	27.2%	
Research	7.4%	
Total	25.0%	
33,930 respondents
Undergraduate and postgraduate coursework respondents were nearly four times as likely as research respondents to be working outside of their course in a job not related to their future career plans. 
The relatively small proportion of research respondents working in a job unrelated to their future career plans might be due to the fact that 85 per cent of research respondents received a scholarship or stipend from their home country, institution or the Australian government.

Table 7. Students working in a program or placement through their course of study (by state)
State	Program or placement	
NSW	6.6%	
VIC	5.9%	
QLD	6.6%	
WA	5.0%	
SA	7.1%	
ACT/NT/TAS	6.3%	
Total	6.2%	
36,013 respondents
There was little variation in the proportion of respondents working in a program or placement through their course of study, with a slightly greater proportion of respondents from South Australia working in programs or placements than respondents in other states.
Table 8. Working outside of course in a job relevant to future career plans (by state)
State  	Career-relevant work	
NSW	11.3%	
VIC	11.1%	
QLD	14.5%	
WA	11.2%	
SA	10.4%	
ACT/NT/TAS	12.1%	
Total	11.8%	
36,013 respondents
Respondents from Queensland were most likely to be working in a job relevant to their future career plans but not a formal part of their course, with respondents in South Australia least likely to be working in such areas.
Table 9. Working outside of course in a job not relevant to future career plans (by state)
State  	Other work	
NSW	21.2%	
VIC	26.1%	
QLD	24.4%	
WA	30.1%	
SA	22.6%	
ACT/NT/TAS	25.9%	
Total	25.0%	
36,013 respondents
Respondents from Western Australia were the most likely to be working in a job unrelated to their future career plans, with respondents from New South Wales the least likely.

Hours worked

Students were also asked how many hours a week they spent in employment (either paid or unpaid), directly related to their field of study and not related to their field of study. These responses have been aggregated below, and grouped into bands (1-5 hours, 6-10 hours, 11-15 hours, 16-20 hours and 21 hours or more). For ease of reference, the first two groups have also been aggregated in the table (shown as 10 hours or less). 
The hours worked are self-reported, and the proportions shown only relate to those respondents who indicated they worked at least one hour a week (hence the reasonably small number of respondents – approximately one sixth of the total survey cohort in table 12 and one quarter in table 13). Where respondents have indicated that they worked 21 hours or more a week in employment, it does not imply they are in breach of their visa conditions as there are a number of instances where hours worked are not included in the maximum of 40 hours a fortnight for non-postgraduate research students, and as noted in the introduction, postgraduate research students can work unlimited hours once they have commenced their studies.
Table 10. Hours a week spent in employment directly related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by nationality)
Nationality	1 - 5 hours	6-10 hours	10 hours or less	11-15 hours	16-20 hours	21 hours or more	
China	51.5%	21.9%	73.4%	6.8%	14.0%	5.8%	
Malaysia	37.7%	25.8%	63.5%	9.4%	16.4%	10.8%	
India	29.7%	21.0%	50.7%	12.1%	29.0%	8.2%	
Singapore	34.7%	30.5%	65.3%	10.2%	13.6%	11.0%	
Indonesia	38.8%	28.0%	66.8%	7.9%	12.6%	12.6%	
Vietnam	40.4%	22.4%	62.8%	8.3%	24.2%	4.7%	
Hong Kong	37.3%	24.2%	61.4%	11.1%	16.3%	11.1%	
USA	28.3%	29.2%	57.5%	12.4%	19.7%	10.3%	
South Korea	39.6%	21.6%	61.2%	8.6%	21.6%	8.6%	
Canada	22.0%	36.8%	58.9%	6.7%	18.7%	15.8%	
Other nationalities	32.8%	22.5%	55.3%	9.4%	24.6%	10.7%	
Total	37.7%	23.7%	61.3%	8.9%	20.4%	9.3%	
6,446 respondents
For the roughly 6,500 student who indicated they were working in employment directly related to their field of study, respondents from China were most likely to be working shorter hours (10 hours a week or less), while respondents from India were most likely to be working more than 10 hours a week. Nearly 16 per cent of Canadian respondents were working 21 hours or more a week in employment directly related to their study – possibly reflecting the relatively large proportion of Canadians involved in programs or placements through their course of study (see table 3 above), while more than half of Chinese respondents were working five hours or less a week.
Table 11. Hours a week spent in employment not related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by nationality)
Nationality	1-5 hours	6-10 hours	10 hours or less	11-15 hours	16-20 hours	21 hours or more	
China	30.7%	33.3%	64.0%	15.9%	18.0%	2.1%	
Malaysia	33.4%	31.5%	64.9%	14.1%	18.9%	2.2%	
India	12.4%	20.0%	32.5%	19.3%	45.1%	3.1%	
Singapore	28.7%	31.5%	60.2%	13.8%	19.3%	6.7%	
Indonesia	24.9%	30.9%	55.8%	22.1%	20.1%	2.0%	
Vietnam	19.0%	29.1%	48.1%	18.5%	31.4%	1.9%	
Hong Kong	20.4%	33.2%	53.6%	13.9%	28.8%	3.6%	
USA	16.9%	25.1%	41.9%	20.2%	30.7%	7.1%	
South Korea	28.3%	27.0%	55.3%	16.4%	24.8%	3.5%	
Canada	16.8%	28.7%	45.5%	23.8%	26.7%	4.0%	
Other nationalities	21.5%	21.3%	42.8%	17.5%	33.9%	5.8%	
Total	24.3%	27.1%	51.4%	17.2%	27.5%	3.8%	
10,284 respondents
Of the approximately 10,300 respondents who indicated that they worked at least one hour a week in employment not directly related to their field of study, Malaysian students were most likely to be working 10 hours a week or less, while Indian students were twice as likely as Malaysian students to be working 11 hours or more a week, with 45 per cent working 16-20 hours a week. Respondents from the USA were most likely to be working 21 hours or more a week in employment not related to their field of study.
Table 12. Hours a week spent in employment directly related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by level)
Level of course	1 - 5 hours	6-10 hours	10 hours or less	11-15 hours	16-20 hours	21 hours or more	
Undergraduate	37.0%	22.8%	59.9%	9.9%	22.7%	7.4%	
Postgraduate coursework	34.3%	21.2%	55.5%	9.6%	25.5%	9.4%	
Research	44.1%	31.0%	75.1%	5.2%	6.7%	13.0%	
Total	37.7%	24.0%	61.7%	8.9%	20.3%	9.1%	
5,982 respondents
Where respondents indicated they worked in a job directly related to their field of study, research students were most likely to be working 10 hours a week or less, but also the most likely to be working 21 hours or more a week. Postgraduate coursework students were least likely to be working 10 hours a week or less.
Table 13. Hours a week spent in employment not related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by level)
Level of course	1-5 hours	6-10 hours	10 hours or less	11-15 hours	16-20 hours	21 hours or more	
Undergraduate	24.0%	28.0%	52.1%	17.8%	26.4%	3.7%	
Postgraduate coursework	20.9%	25.7%	46.6%	17.3%	32.2%	4.0%	
Research	45.1%	31.5%	76.6%	11.4%	9.1%	3.0%	
Total	24.3%	27.5%	51.7%	17.3%	27.3%	3.7%	
9,689 respondents

For respondents working in employment unrelated to their field of study, research students were least likely to be working at least 11 hours a week, while postgraduate coursework students were most likely to be working at least 11 hours a week. Unlike students working in employment directly related to their studies (table 14 above), only a small proportion indicated they worked 21 hours or more a week. Almost a third of employed postgraduate coursework respondents worked 16-20 hours a week.
Table 14. Hours spent in employment directly related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by state)
State  	1 - 5 hours	6-10 hours	10 hours or less	11-15 hours	16-20 hours	21 hours or more	
NSW	37.3%	23.6%	60.9%	9.0%	20.9%	9.2%	
VIC	40.4%	24.1%	64.5%	8.5%	18.7%	8.4%	
QLD	32.9%	23.8%	56.7%	9.4%	22.4%	11.4%	
WA	36.5%	25.0%	61.5%	9.2%	21.0%	8.3%	
SA	41.0%	21.7%	62.7%	9.0%	20.3%	8.0%	
ACT/NT/TAS	35.8%	22.2%	58.0%	8.8%	21.6%	11.6%	
Total	37.7%	23.7%	61.3%	8.9%	20.4%	9.3%	
6,446 respondents
There was little variation in hours of employment per week directly related to the respondents’ field of study by state, with Victorian respondents most likely to be working 10 hours a week or less, and respondents in Queensland most likely to be working 11 hours a week or more.
Table 15. Hours a week spent in employment not related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by state)
State  	1-5 hours	6-10 hours	10 hours or less	11-15 hours	16-20 hours	21 hours or more	
NSW	25.7%	27.8%	53.6%	16.2%	26.4%	3.8%	
VIC	25.2%	27.4%	52.6%	18.2%	25.1%	4.1%	
QLD	22.6%	24.1%	46.7%	15.8%	32.0%	5.5%	
WA	17.8%	26.5%	44.3%	19.8%	32.6%	3.3%	
SA	30.0%	32.4%	62.3%	16.4%	19.7%	1.5%	
ACT/NT/TAS	23.8%	25.7%	49.5%	15.3%	33.2%	2.0%	
Total	24.3%	27.1%	51.4%	17.2%	27.5%	3.8%	
10,284 respondents
Where respondents were working in employment unrelated to their field of study, students from South Australia were most likely to be working 10 hours a week or less, while students from Western Australia were most likely to be working at least 11 hours a week.

Paid or unpaid work?

The 2012 ISS found that s the large majority of survey respondents who worked were in paid jobs. Others preferred not to say and 10 per cent indicated they were in unpaid work. Although respondents were not asked to specify further, other research has indicated that a proportion of international students elect to undertake volunteering or internship-equivalent roles in order to gain work experience. 
Such opportunities provide international students with an opportunity to gain experience in different workplaces, where their lack of experience and lack of completed qualifications might exclude them from readily gaining paid employment.
With around 14,000 respondents out of the 37,000 students who answered the survey answering this question, this equates to approximately four per cent of international higher education students engaging in unpaid work, with a further two per cent preferring not to say.
Table 16. Status of work (paid or unpaid) by nationality
Nationality	Unpaid	Prefer not to say	Paid	
China	12.4%	7.8%	79.9%	
Malaysia	11.6%	5.8%	82.6%	
India	6.5%	4.7%	88.8%	
Singapore	13.1%	3.9%	83.0%	
Indonesia	5.4%	6.4%	88.3%	
Vietnam	7.0%	6.2%	86.8%	
Hong Kong	15.4%	5.1%	79.5%	
USA	10.4%	3.9%	85.7%	
South Korea	13.5%	6.0%	80.5%	
Canada	12.9%	2.9%	84.2%	
Other nationalities	8.6%	3.7%	87.7%	
Total	10.0%	5.3%	84.7%	
13,943 respondents
Students from India were most likely to be paid for the work they did, while students from Hong Kong (and China) were least likely to say that they were paid (at almost 80 per cent). Fifteen per cent of respondents from Hong Kong stated that the work they did was unpaid.

Table 17. Status of work (paid or unpaid) by level
Level of course	Unpaid	Prefer not to say	Paid	
Undergraduate	10.1%	5.4%	84.5%	
Postgraduate coursework	10.5%	6.0%	83.5%	
Research	4.4%	2.7%	93.0%	
Total	9.6%	5.3%	85.0%	
13,076 respondents
By level of respondent, research students were half as likely as other types of students to be working in unpaid jobs, with postgraduate coursework students most likely to be working in unpaid positions.
Table 18. Status of work (paid or unpaid) by state
State  	Unpaid	Prefer not to say	Paid	
NSW	12.4%	5.8%	81.8%	
VIC	10.2%	5.7%	84.1%	
QLD	9.4%	5.3%	85.2%	
WA	7.3%	4.2%	88.5%	
SA	11.6%	5.3%	83.0%	
ACT/NT/TAS	6.0%	4.0%	90.0%	
Total	10.0%	5.3%	84.7%	
13,943 respondents
Respondents from the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania were the most likely to be working in paid jobs, while respondents from New South Wales had the highest proportion working in unpaid jobs.

Satisfaction with opportunities to earn money and undertake work experience

Students were asked a number of questions about their satisfaction with various aspects of the opportunity to work in Australia. In the following tables, responses for satisfied and very satisfied have been combined as net satisfied. In the accompanying text, references to satisfied represent the net satisfied total, unless specifically spelt out.
In total, 62 per cent of respondents were satisfied with their opportunity to earn money while studying. This result was 11 per cent higher than the benchmark satisfaction level of 51 per cent recorded in the ISB, and five per cent higher than in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, perhaps reflecting the relative strength of the performance of Australia’s economy at the time of the survey.
Table 19. Satisfaction with opportunities to earn money while studying (by nationality)
Nationality	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Net satisfied*	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	
China	9.3%	54.2%	63.5%	28.7%	7.8%	
Malaysia	11.4%	55.6%	67.0%	24.1%	8.9%	
India	15.0%	51.5%	66.5%	24.0%	9.5%	
Singapore	8.4%	57.6%	66.0%	26.4%	7.6%	
Indonesia	12.6%	58.1%	70.7%	23.8%	5.5%	
Vietnam	9.2%	58.1%	67.2%	26.4%	6.4%	
Hong Kong	7.9%	48.6%	56.5%	31.2%	12.4%	
USA	10.4%	45.9%	56.3%	30.3%	13.5%	
South Korea	7.8%	36.5%	44.3%	35.4%	20.2%	
Canada	10.3%	45.3%	55.7%	29.8%	14.5%	
Other nationalities	11.6%	48.2%	59.8%	28.6%	11.7%	
Total	10.6%	51.7%	62.3%	27.8%	9.9%	
27,250 respondents
* combines Satisfied and Very satisfied
Respondents from Indonesia were most satisfied with the opportunity to earn money while studying, with nearly 71 per cent satisfied. Respondents from South Korea were the least satisfied, with only 44 per cent satisfied with their opportunities. More than one in five respondents from South Korea were very dissatisfied with the opportunity to earn money while studying. With the exception of South Korea, respondents from every nationality shown in table 21 had a higher level of satisfaction than the benchmark ISB score of 51 per cent.

Table 20. Satisfaction with opportunities to earn money while studying (by level)
Level of course	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Net satisfied	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	
Undergraduate	11.2%	52.0%	63.2%	27.1%	9.8%	
Postgraduate coursework	9.8%	51.2%	61.0%	28.7%	10.3%	
Research	10.6%	50.1%	60.6%	30.4%	9.0%	
Total	10.7%	51.5%	62.2%	28.0%	9.8%	
25,773 respondents
By level, there was virtually no difference in levels of satisfaction, with research respondents marginally less satisfied with the opportunity to earn money while studying than other levels of respondents.
Table 21. Satisfaction with opportunities to earn money while studying (by state)
State  	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Net satisfied	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	
NSW	9.0%	47.9%	56.9%	31.1%	12.0%	
VIC	10.3%	52.8%	63.1%	27.3%	9.7%	
QLD	11.0%	49.5%	60.5%	29.7%	9.8%	
WA	13.3%	56.3%	69.5%	22.3%	8.2%	
SA	10.0%	51.6%	61.6%	28.9%	9.6%	
ACT/NT/TAS	12.4%	54.7%	67.1%	24.1%	8.8%	
Total	10.6%	51.7%	62.3%	27.8%	9.9%	
27,250 respondents
Respondents from Western Australia were most satisfied with opportunities to earn money while studying, with respondents from New South Wales least satisfied (although the lowest level of satisfaction was still higher than the benchmark ISB score for this measure).

Respondents were also asked about their satisfaction with opportunities for work experience or work placements as part of their course. Overall, 63 per cent of respondents were satisfied, lower than the ISB benchmark of 67 per cent but higher than satisfaction levels in the United Kingdom (62 per cent) .
Table 22. Satisfaction with opportunities for work experience/work placements as part of course (by nationality)
Nationality	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Net satisfied	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	
China	12.4%	52.8%	65.2%	26.6%	8.2%	
Malaysia	14.4%	55.1%	69.5%	21.5%	9.0%	
India	16.6%	42.3%	58.9%	27.7%	13.4%	
Singapore	14.3%	54.7%	69.1%	21.7%	9.2%	
Indonesia	10.4%	55.5%	65.9%	25.0%	9.1%	
Vietnam	12.6%	53.2%	65.8%	26.8%	7.4%	
Hong Kong	10.9%	50.5%	61.4%	25.1%	13.4%	
USA	16.5%	43.2%	59.6%	28.1%	12.3%	
South Korea	11.3%	41.6%	53.0%	31.2%	15.8%	
Canada	24.6%	47.7%	72.3%	20.5%	7.2%	
Other nationalities	15.0%	44.4%	59.4%	27.9%	12.6%	
Total	14.0%	49.2%	63.2%	26.3%	10.5%	
26,718 respondents
Canadian respondents were most satisfied with their opportunities for work experience or work placements as part of their course, with nearly three quarters satisfied. As table 3 showed, Canadian respondents were also the most likely to be taking part in programs or placements through their course of study. South Korean respondents were the least satisfied, at just over half, despite the fact that South Korean respondents were the second most likely nationality to be undertaking programs or placements as part of their course (see table 3).
Table 23. Satisfaction with opportunities for work experience/work placements as part of course (by level)
Level of course	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Net satisfied	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	
Undergraduate	13.3%	51.4%	64.7%	24.9%	10.3%	
Postgraduate coursework	12.8%	45.4%	58.3%	29.5%	12.2%	
Research	17.4%	46.9%	64.4%	27.7%	7.9%	
Total	13.6%	49.1%	62.8%	26.6%	10.6%	
25,203 respondents
Undergraduate and research respondents had similar levels of satisfaction with work experience or work placements, with lower levels of satisfaction for postgraduate coursework respondents.

Table 24.Satisfaction with opportunities for work experience/work placements as part of course (by state)
State  	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Net satisfied	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	
NSW	13.6%	48.8%	62.4%	26.3%	11.3%	
VIC	13.7%	47.8%	61.5%	27.3%	11.2%	
QLD	15.2%	49.9%	65.1%	25.7%	9.2%	
WA	13.9%	48.8%	62.7%	26.2%	11.1%	
SA	13.9%	53.3%	67.2%	23.8%	9.0%	
ACT/NT/TAS	13.4%	49.3%	62.7%	27.1%	10.2%	
Total	14.0%	49.2%	63.2%	26.3%	10.5%	
26,718 respondents
There was little variation between states in terms of satisfaction, with respondents in South Australia most satisfied and respondents in Victoria least satisfied with opportunities for work experience/work placements as part of their course. As shown in table 9, respondents from South Australia were most likely to be working in such a placement or program, while respondents from Victoria were the second least likely to be involved in such a program, although the variation in participation between states was very small.

Importance of work opportunities during and after study

When international students make a decision to study overseas, their decision on where to study is influenced by a range of factors. The 2012 ISS Report, shows that the top five factors influencing international higher education students were:
•	Quality of teaching (with 96 per cent of respondents identifying this factor as important or very important)
•	Reputation of a qualification from the institution (94 per cent)
•	Reputation of the institution (93 per cent) 
•	Reputation of Australian education system (92 per cent) and 
•	Personal Safety (also 92 per cent)
As well as the five factors identified above, students were also asked about the importance of opportunities to work while studying, and opportunities for full-time work in Australia after they had completed their studies. Overall, 73 per cent of respondents indicated that the opportunity to work while studying was an important factor influencing their choice to study in Australia, and 77 per cent of respondents indicated that the opportunity to work full-time in Australia after their study was an important factor. In the following tables, responses for important and very important have been combined as net important. In the accompanying text, references to important represent the net important total, unless specifically spelt out.
Table 25. Importance of opportunities to work while studying on the decision to study in Australia (by nationality)
Nationality	Very important	Important	Net important*	Unimportant	Very unimportant	
China	32.2%	44.1%	76.4%	19.6%	4.0%	
Malaysia	33.1%	37.3%	70.4%	24.2%	5.4%	
India	47.3%	41.9%	89.2%	9.1%	1.7%	
Singapore	21.1%	37.1%	58.2%	33.2%	8.6%	
Indonesia	29.9%	45.0%	74.9%	22.9%	2.3%	
Vietnam	33.4%	45.3%	78.7%	18.4%	2.9%	
Hong Kong	25.8%	41.6%	67.4%	24.9%	7.7%	
USA	25.8%	38.6%	64.4%	28.4%	7.2%	
South Korea	31.3%	41.9%	73.2%	19.2%	7.6%	
Canada	25.3%	36.7%	62.0%	30.8%	7.2%	
Other nationalities	34.2%	37.9%	72.1%	21.2%	6.7%	
Total	32.8%	40.6%	73.4%	21.2%	5.4%	
8,948 respondents
* combines Important and Very important
For Indian respondents, the opportunity to work while studying was particularly important, with nearly 90 per cent nominating this as an important factor (including nearly half indicating it as very important). Respondents from Singapore were least likely to rate this factor as important, with one in three indicating that it was unimportant and nearly one in ten indicating it was very unimportant.
Table 26. Importance of opportunities to work while studying on the decision to study in Australia (by level)
Level of course	Very important	Important	Net important	Unimportant	Very unimportant	
Undergraduate	33.6%	40.8%	74.5%	20.2%	5.3%	
Postgraduate coursework	34.3%	41.0%	75.3%	19.4%	5.4%	
Research	22.5%	38.6%	61.1%	33.3%	5.6%	
Total	32.6%	40.6%	73.2%	21.4%	5.4%	
8,069 respondents
Research student respondents were least likely to think that the opportunity to work while studying was an important factor, while three in four undergraduate and postgraduate coursework respondents rated it as important.
Table 27. Importance of opportunities to work while studying on the decision to study in Australia (by state)
State  	Very important	Important	Net important	Unimportant	Very unimportant	
NSW	32.0%	40.9%	72.8%	21.3%	5.8%	
VIC	33.7%	41.7%	75.5%	19.4%	5.1%	
QLD	34.1%	38.6%	72.7%	21.1%	6.1%	
WA	34.6%	39.8%	74.4%	20.6%	5.0%	
SA	29.4%	39.0%	68.4%	27.0%	4.6%	
ACT/NT/TAS	29.6%	42.7%	72.2%	23.1%	4.6%	
Total	32.8%	40.6%	73.4%	21.2%	5.4%	
8,948 respondents
More than 70 per cent of respondents in every state other than South Australia rated the opportunity to work while studying as an important factor, led by Victoria.

Table 28. Importance of opportunity to work full-time in Australia after studying on decision to study in Australia (by nationality)
Nationality	Very important	Important	Net important	Unimportant	Very unimportant	
China	42.6%	39.2%	81.9%	14.8%	3.3%	
Malaysia	50.4%	30.5%	80.9%	15.0%	4.1%	
India	56.5%	32.8%	89.3%	7.5%	3.2%	
Singapore	39.4%	38.6%	78.0%	17.8%	4.2%	
Indonesia	35.8%	33.8%	69.6%	26.9%	3.6%	
Vietnam	42.0%	34.5%	76.4%	18.8%	4.8%	
Hong Kong	37.3%	43.8%	81.1%	15.9%	3.0%	
USA	30.2%	33.2%	63.4%	27.6%	9.1%	
South Korea	53.3%	28.9%	82.2%	13.2%	4.6%	
Canada	36.7%	36.3%	73.0%	17.7%	9.3%	
Other nationalities	42.8%	29.7%	72.5%	19.7%	7.8%	
Total	43.2%	33.9%	77.1%	17.4%	5.4%	
8,847 respondents
For almost 90 per cent of Indian respondents, the opportunity to work full-time in Australia after studying was seen as an important factor in the decision to study in Australia. More than half of respondents from India, South Korea and Malaysia rated this factor as very important. Respondents from the United States of America were least likely to rate this factor as important, at just over 63 per cent.
Table 29. Importance of opportunity to work full-time in Australia after studying on the decision to study in Australia (by level)
Level of course	Very important	Important	Net important	Unimportant	Very unimportant	
Undergraduate	44.6%	35.1%	79.7%	15.3%	5.0%	
Postgraduate coursework	43.9%	32.1%	76.0%	18.4%	5.5%	
Research	33.3%	37.1%	70.4%	23.6%	6.0%	
Total	43.0%	34.0%	77.0%	17.6%	5.4%	
7,981 respondents
Research student respondents were least likely to rate the opportunity for post study full-time work in Australia as important, with undergraduate respondents most likely to rate it as an important decision making factor.

Table 30. Importance of opportunity to work full-time in Australia after studying on the decision to study in Australia (by state)
State  	Very important	Important	Net important	Unimportant	Very unimportant	
NSW	40.7%	35.0%	75.7%	19.2%	5.1%	
VIC	44.7%	35.0%	79.7%	15.4%	4.9%	
QLD	42.6%	32.3%	74.9%	18.9%	6.2%	
WA	46.1%	32.2%	78.3%	15.2%	6.4%	
SA	44.9%	30.3%	75.1%	19.4%	5.5%	
ACT/NT/TAS	38.4%	36.9%	75.3%	19.0%	5.7%	
Total	43.2%	33.9%	77.1%	17.4%	5.4%	
8,947 respondents
By state, there was little variation in the importance of the opportunity to work full-time in Australia after studying as a decision making factor, with respondents in Victoria most likely to rate this as important and respondents in Queensland least likely to rate this as important.

Employment/career support expected from institutions

The 2012 ISS asked students a series of questions about what sort of employment or career support they expected from their institution, with respondents able to nominate one or more of nine different types of support – or indeed say that they didn’t expect any type of support. 
Overall, only 13 per cent of the nearly 31,500 respondents to this question advised that they didn’t expect any type of support, with more than half of all respondents reporting that they expected advice (guidance on career paths and career choices), training (interview training, skills workshops etc.), placement (finding relevant work experience/ work placement opportunities), support (helping the student to produce their CV, helping them to decide which employers to approach), opportunities to meet employers through career fairs/networking events, or information (directories, address lists, career guides).
Table 31. Employment/career support students expect from their institution (by nationality)
Nationality	Nothing	Advice	Training	Placement	Support	Meet Employers	
China	11.8%	53.4%	62.0%	45.3%	49.9%	50.7%	
Malaysia	9.2%	63.7%	60.3%	63.1%	59.5%	56.3%	
India	4.8%	59.5%	56.5%	76.4%	57.4%	61.2%	
Singapore	9.7%	71.3%	55.8%	69.0%	62.8%	63.5%	
Indonesia	11.5%	51.6%	58.7%	56.5%	52.7%	47.9%	
Vietnam	10.3%	53.6%	62.0%	51.5%	54.2%	54.0%	
Hong Kong	14.5%	55.2%	54.9%	60.8%	53.4%	48.1%	
USA	33.2%	55.5%	36.0%	33.8%	43.7%	44.6%	
South Korea	12.4%	55.9%	54.0%	52.3%	54.0%	45.9%	
Canada	21.2%	57.1%	37.0%	43.6%	47.5%	48.3%	
Other nationalities	14.7%	57.2%	51.4%	51.3%	50.4%	51.2%	
Total	13.0%	57.1%	55.6%	52.9%	52.3%	52.2%	

Nationality	Information	Employment	Network with Alumni	Representation	
China	51.4%	50.1%	30.6%	27.9%	
Malaysia	55.9%	52.9%	40.7%	33.5%	
India	45.0%	53.1%	44.5%	33.7%	
Singapore	62.8%	44.0%	46.5%	35.1%	
Indonesia	49.3%	49.8%	45.3%	34.2%	
Vietnam	50.2%	51.3%	37.8%	34.3%	
Hong Kong	49.4%	52.1%	30.2%	28.4%	
USA	48.2%	13.2%	37.9%	14.0%	
South Korea	51.0%	46.0%	32.4%	26.1%	
Canada	50.3%	18.7%	38.4%	16.3%	
Other nationalities	47.9%	35.0%	37.2%	25.3%	
Total	50.5%	43.0%	36.8%	28.1%	
31,491 respondents 
In the tables in this section, for each nationality, level or state, the type of support service with the highest level of expectation is shaded in green, while the support service with the lowest level of expectation is shaded red.
By nationality, advice was the most sought after service for respondents from Malaysia, Singapore, the United States of America, South Korea, Canada, and the combined ‘Other nationalities’ group. Training was most important for respondents from China, Indonesia and Vietnam, while placement was most important for respondents from India (more than three quarters selecting this option) and Hong Kong. 
Respondents from the United States of America were least interested in assistance with employment (securing a job for the respondent), while Canadian respondents were least interested in receiving support through representation (contacting employers on the respondent’s behalf). More than one in five Canadian and almost one in three American respondents indicated they didn’t expect any employment or career support from their institutions.
Table 32. Employment/career support students expect from their institution (by level)
Level of course	Nothing	Advice	Training	Placement	Support	Meet Employers	
Undergraduate	12.3%	60.0%	57.4%	56.1%	54.7%	53.9%	
Postgraduate coursework	12.2%	56.1%	56.2%	53.4%	52.4%	53.2%	
Research	16.3%	49.9%	49.6%	41.0%	45.1%	45.8%	
Total	12.8%	57.5%	56.0%	53.2%	52.7%	52.6%	

Level of course	Information	Employment	Network with Alumni	Representation	
Undergraduate	53.0%	46.9%	35.4%	29.8%	
Postgraduate coursework	49.8%	42.8%	40.4%	28.9%	
Research	44.4%	31.2%	37.8%	20.9%	
Total	50.9%	43.5%	37.2%	28.3%	
29,973 respondents
By level of study, more than half of respondents expected to receive career support from their institutions in the areas of advice, training, placement, support, meeting employers and information, with advice being the most popular service for both undergraduates and research respondents, while training was the most commonly expected service for postgraduate coursework respondents. With the exception of networking with alumni, research respondents had the lowest expectations of support for each type of service.

Table 33. Employment/career support students expect from their institution (by state)
State  	Nothing	Advice	Training	Placement	Support	Meet Employers	
NSW	16.3%	53.7%	53.0%	49.0%	49.3%	48.6%	
VIC	11.0%	58.9%	58.6%	55.4%	55.0%	54.5%	
QLD	13.8%	57.8%	53.4%	50.9%	52.3%	51.4%	
WA	13.8%	58.0%	54.4%	53.1%	51.7%	52.9%	
SA	11.1%	55.1%	56.6%	54.9%	51.5%	52.0%	
ACT/NT/TAS	15.0%	56.0%	52.7%	52.0%	47.9%	50.0%	
Total	13.0%	57.1%	55.6%	52.9%	52.3%	52.2%	

State  	Information	Employment	Network with alumni	Representation	
NSW	49.5%	40.7%	34.9%	27.0%	
VIC	51.8%	46.3%	38.6%	30.3%	
QLD	49.5%	38.4%	35.0%	25.9%	
WA	50.2%	42.5%	36.7%	27.9%	
SA	50.2%	45.8%	37.8%	27.1%	
ACT/NT/TAS	50.2%	41.2%	36.1%	27.1%	
Total	50.5%	43.0%	36.8%	28.1%	
31,491 respondents
Across states there was little variation in the levels of support students expected from their institution. The most commonly expected type of support from students in each state other than South Australia was advice, with training the most common type of support for respondents from South Australia. Of note, for every single type of employment/career support service, respondents from Victoria had greater expectations for support than respondents from any other state.

Awareness of and satisfaction with careers advisory services

The previous section of this report showed that only 13 per cent of respondents did not expect any type of employment or career support from their institution.
While the ESOS National Code has no requirement for education institutions to provide any particular support regarding employment or work experience, most universities have dedicated career advisors offering advice and support to Australian and international students. However, as this section of the report explores, despite high levels of satisfaction by users of these services, only a small proportion of students make use of careers advisory services, with almost a third of respondents not knowing where to find or access this support.
Respondents to the 2012 ISS were asked about their awareness and usage of a range of support services offered by their institution, including careers advisory services.
Table 34. Awareness and usage of careers advisory services (by nationality)
Nationality	Not applicable or relevant to me	It may be useful to me but I don't know where to find it	I know where the service is but haven't used it	I have used this service	
China	6.1%	36.1%	40.8%	17.1%	
Malaysia	9.1%	28.3%	43.1%	19.5%	
India	3.2%	30.0%	38.8%	27.9%	
Singapore	10.1%	32.3%	45.9%	11.6%	
Indonesia	8.3%	25.2%	48.8%	17.7%	
Vietnam	7.5%	28.2%	43.9%	20.4%	
Hong Kong	9.9%	36.3%	37.8%	15.9%	
USA	25.1%	31.9%	29.9%	13.2%	
South Korea	6.5%	49.7%	31.1%	12.7%	
Canada	24.1%	30.1%	32.9%	12.9%	
Other nationalities	12.7%	31.4%	37.2%	18.8%	
Total	10.1%	32.3%	39.6%	18.0%	
32,370 respondents
Overall, 18 per cent of respondents used their university’s careers advisory service, with Indian respondents most likely (28 per cent) and Singaporean respondents least likely (12 per cent) to use this service. A further 40 per cent of respondents knew where their institution’s careers advisory service was but hadn’t used it, while 10 per cent of respondents thought that these services were not applicable or relevant to them.
More than a quarter of respondents from every nationality (and almost a third of all respondents in total) answered that they thought careers advisory services might be useful to them, but they didn’t know where to find these services. This included almost half of all South Korean respondents. This result suggests that universities need to continue to do more to promote the careers advisory services that they offer.
Table 35. Awareness and usage of careers advisory services (by level)
Level of course	Not applicable or relevant to me	It may be useful to me but I don't know where to find it	I know where the service is but haven't used it	I have used this service	
Undergraduate	9.8%	33.3%	39.2%	17.7%	
Postgraduate coursework	8.6%	30.3%	39.2%	21.8%	
Research	13.2%	31.3%	43.0%	12.4%	
Total	9.9%	32.2%	39.7%	18.2%	
30,545 respondents
By level of respondent, postgraduate coursework students were almost twice as likely as research students to make use of careers advisory services. There was little variation in awareness of these services, with at least 30 per cent of respondents from each level not knowing how to access these support services. Research students were most likely to think that the services on offer were not applicable or relevant to them.
Table 36. Awareness and usage of careers advisory services (by state)
State  	Not applicable or relevant to me	It may be useful to me but I don't know where to find it	I know where the service is but haven't used it	I have used this service	
NSW	12.1%	30.7%	38.8%	18.5%	
VIC	8.8%	34.7%	37.8%	18.8%	
QLD	11.6%	32.2%	38.9%	17.3%	
WA	11.2%	32.0%	40.4%	16.4%	
SA	8.9%	28.9%	43.7%	18.5%	
ACT/NT/TAS	8.3%	29.9%	45.9%	15.9%	
Total	10.1%	32.3%	39.6%	18.0%	
32,370 respondents
At a state level, Victorian respondents were most likely to have used their institution’s careers advisory services, while respondents from the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania were least likely to have used these services.  Victorian respondents were also most likely to not know where to find their university’s careers advisory services, while respondents from South Australia were least likely to not know where to find these services.
The 18 per cent of respondents who indicated that they had used their university’s careers advisory services were asked to rate their satisfaction with these services.

Table 37. Satisfaction with careers advisory services (by nationality)
Nationality	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Net satisfied	Unsatisfied	Very unsatisfied	
China	22.5%	67.2%	89.7%	9.0%	1.3%	
Malaysia	19.9%	70.4%	90.3%	7.9%	1.8%	
India	27.9%	55.5%	83.3%	12.4%	4.3%	
Singapore	19.9%	66.5%	86.4%	11.0%	2.6%	
Indonesia	23.5%	67.9%	91.3%	7.2%	1.4%	
Vietnam	18.4%	72.5%	90.8%	8.2%	1.0%	
Hong Kong	20.6%	66.3%	86.9%	8.8%	4.4%	
USA	18.2%	56.8%	75.0%	18.9%	6.1%	
South Korea	20.2%	52.1%	72.3%	21.3%	6.4%	
Canada	23.7%	63.9%	87.6%	9.3%	3.1%	
Other nationalities	21.7%	58.5%	80.2%	13.9%	5.9%	
Total	21.9%	63.2%	85.1%	11.3%	3.6%	
5,764 respondents
Where respondents had used the careers advisory services offered by their institutions, there were high levels of satisfaction, with more than 85 per cent satisfied or very satisfied. Indonesian respondents were most satisfied (91 per cent), while respondents from South Korea were least satisfied (72 per cent). Indian respondents were most likely to be very satisfied with these services, at almost 28 per cent.
Table 38. Satisfaction with careers advisory services (by level)
Level of course	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Net satisfied	Unsatisfied	Very unsatisfied	
Undergraduate	22.2%	64.0%	86.2%	10.3%	3.5%	
Postgraduate coursework	21.5%	61.9%	83.4%	12.8%	3.8%	
Research	20.0%	64.3%	84.3%	12.5%	3.2%	
Total	21.7%	63.3%	85.0%	11.4%	3.6%	
5,501 respondents
By level of respondent, there was virtually no difference in satisfaction levels, with undergraduate respondents marginally more likely to be satisfied than research or postgraduate coursework level respondents.
Table 39. Satisfaction with careers advisory services (by state)
State  	Very satisfied	Satisfied	Net satisfied	Unsatisfied	Very unsatisfied	
NSW	20.6%	64.0%	84.6%	11.1%	4.2%	
VIC	19.8%	64.2%	84.0%	13.0%	2.9%	
QLD	25.3%	59.5%	84.8%	11.0%	4.3%	
WA	22.5%	62.6%	85.1%	10.6%	4.3%	
SA	24.8%	64.8%	89.5%	7.7%	2.8%	
ACT/NT/TAS	21.5%	63.9%	85.5%	10.0%	4.5%	
Total	21.9%	63.2%	85.1%	11.3%	3.6%	
5,764 respondents

As with level of respondents, there was little variation in satisfaction levels across states, with at least 84 per cent of respondents in each state satisfied with careers advisory services. Respondents from South Australia were most satisfied, at nearly 90 per cent.

Preferred mediums of communication about careers advisory services
Following Department of Education research in 2012 looking at enhancing the experience of international students, a series of questions was added to the ISS to ask student about how they preferred to access information about support services. The following tables examine responses by nationality, level and state. Overall, two thirds of respondents preferred to learn about careers advisory services by email, with a further one in five preferring to learn about this through their institution’s website.
Table 40. How students want to learn about careers advisory services by nationality
Nationality	Via Email	Institution website	Virtual Learning Environment 	Facebook	YouTube	Twitter	
China	70.2%	18.1%	7.3%	3.1%	0.8%	0.5%	
Malaysia	64.1%	21.4%	10.1%	3.9%	0.3%	0.4%	
India	67.3%	22.6%	7.0%	2.8%	0.2%	0.1%	
Singapore	65.7%	20.8%	10.4%	2.6%	0.4%	0.1%	
Indonesia	66.1%	21.8%	8.1%	3.4%	0.3%	0.3%	
Vietnam	71.5%	16.6%	7.5%	4.1%	0.3%	0.0%	
Hong Kong	64.6%	16.9%	9.9%	7.5%	0.7%	0.5%	
USA	63.6%	25.5%	8.9%	1.5%	0.0%	0.4%	
South Korea	72.9%	13.0%	7.7%	5.5%	0.5%	0.4%	
Canada	59.6%	28.1%	10.4%	1.4%	0.3%	0.3%	
Other nationalities	67.4%	21.3%	8.1%	2.5%	0.4%	0.3%	
Total	67.5%	20.3%	8.2%	3.1%	0.5%	0.3%	
32,566 respondents
By nationality, almost 73 per cent of South Koreans favoured email, while only 60 per cent of Canadians selected email as their preferred medium of communication. Conversely, nearly 30 per cent of Canadians chose their institution’s website, compared with only 13 per cent of South Koreans. Indian respondents were least likely to use virtual learning environments, while on in ten respondents from Canada, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong selected this option. While most nationalities did not choose Facebook, around one in thirteen Hong Kong respondents selected Facebook as their preferred medium.
Table 41. How students want to learn about careers advisory services by level
Level of course	Via Email	Institution website	Virtual Learning Environment 	Facebook	YouTube	Twitter	
Undergraduate	66.6%	19.1%	9.6%	3.8%	0.5%	0.4%	
Postgraduate coursework	67.3%	21.4%	8.1%	2.5%	0.4%	0.3%	
Research	72.6%	23.3%	2.2%	1.5%	0.3%	0.0%	
Total	67.6%	20.3%	8.2%	3.1%	0.4%	0.3%	
30,738 respondents
By level, research students were much less likely to make use of virtual learning environments than either undergraduate or postgraduate coursework respondents, with almost all research respondents choosing email (73 per cent) or their institution’s website (23 per cent).
Table 42. How students want to learn about careers advisory services by state
State  	Via Email	Institution website	Virtual Learning Environment 	Facebook	YouTube	Twitter	
NSW	68.3%	19.7%	8.2%	3.0%	0.5%	0.3%	
VIC	66.9%	20.3%	8.3%	3.5%	0.6%	0.4%	
QLD	66.7%	19.9%	10.0%	2.7%	0.3%	0.3%	
WA	64.6%	19.5%	12.3%	3.1%	0.2%	0.3%	
SA	68.8%	23.2%	4.2%	2.9%	0.7%	0.4%	
ACT/NT/TAS	74.1%	19.7%	3.3%	2.4%	0.3%	0.0%	
Total	67.5%	20.3%	8.2%	3.1%	0.5%	0.3%	
32,566 respondents
By state, respondents from the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Tasmania were most likely to select email as their preferred medium of communication, while respondents from Western Australia were least likely. Respondents from Western Australia were four times as likely as respondents from the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Tasmania to choose virtual learning environments as their preferred way of learning about careers advisory services offered by their institution.
The previous section of this report looked at awareness and usage of careers advisory services, finding that a relatively large proportion of respondents (almost a third) would have liked to use their institution’s services but did not know how to find them. The table below looks at the preferred medium of communication for those respondents who didn’t know how to find these services, those who knew about them but didn’t use them, and those who used their institution’s careers advisory service.
Table 43. Awareness of careers advisory services and preferred mediums of communication
Use / Knowledge of services	Via Email	Institution website	Virtual Learning Environment 	Facebook	YouTube	Twitter	
Didn’t know where to find, but would like to have used	69.0%	18.6%	8.4%	3.2%	0.4%	0.4%	
Knew about, but didn’t use service	66.9%	21.4%	7.9%	3.1%	0.4%	0.3%	
Used the service	67.9%	20.3%	8.0%	3.1%	0.5%	0.3%	
Total	67.8%	20.2%	8.1%	3.1%	0.5%	0.3%	
28,755 respondents
The table shows little variation across these three groups, with respondents who did not know how to find careers advisory services marginally more likely to prefer email or virtual learning environments, and marginally less likely to prefer using their institution’s website than those respondents who knew how to find these services.

Appendix 1: Who responded to the 2012 International Student Survey?

The analysis in this report is based on responses from the more than 37,000 international higher education students who participated in the 2012 ISS.  These 37,000 students came from 36 of Australia’s universities, with responses received from universities in each state and territory.  A little more than a quarter (28 per cent) of respondents had started their course within the four months preceding the survey, and this subset of respondents were asked additional questions about their initial experiences on arrival in Australia.
The 2012 ISS was conducted using the International Student Barometer (ISB) developed by i‑graduate. More than 700 higher education institutions around the world have participated in the ISB since 2005, enabling an international benchmark to be developed for a number of the measures used in this report. Where appropriate Australia’s performance against this ISB benchmark is shown, although due to methodological reasons differences between the Australian results and the ISB benchmark are not necessarily statistically significant.
The two following tables show the number of respondents in the Australian survey by nationality, and level of study.
Table 44. Respondents by nationality
Nationality	Respondents	Proportion of respondents	Proportion of total enrolments	
China	9,251	24.9%	39.7%	
Malaysia	3,459	9.3%	7.7%	
India	1,850	5.0%	4.5%	
Singapore	1,798	4.8%	3.7%	
Indonesia	1,750	4.7%	3.8%	
Vietnam	1,720	4.6%	4.5%	
Hong Kong	1,116	3.0%	1.0%	
USA	1,098	3.0%	2.6%	
South Korea	839	2.3%	3.6%	
Canada	831	2.2%	1.6%	
Other nationalities	13,403	36.1%	27.4%	
Australia	37,115	100.0%	100.0%	

The table above shows the number and proportion of respondents by nationality, as well as the proportion of enrolments represented by these nationalities in the data. For comparative purposes the data used here are higher education and non-award enrolments as at 1 June 2012 (Non-award enrolments are typically foundation or study abroad type enrolments, and both higher education and non-award students were surveyed in the 2012 higher education ISS. Responses to the survey closed in June 2012, hence the use of data for enrolments as at 1 June 2012).
With the exception of Chinese students, who are underrepresented in the survey, the proportion of survey respondents by nationality is broadly in line with the proportions of international student enrolments by nationality for the ten largest partner countries. 
Table 45. Respondents by level of study
Level of study	Respondents	Proportion of respondents	
Undergraduate	19,908	53.6%	
Postgraduate coursework	10,401	28.0%	
Research	4,612	12.4%	
Other	2,194	5.9%	
Total	37,115	100.0%	

A little more than half of all respondents were undergraduate students, 28 per cent were postgraduate coursework students and 12 per cent were research students. 
In the following tables, non-answers (blanks) have been excluded. The number of valid responses is shown for each table. As not all students answered every question, the number of responses for individual tables are the same or smaller than the total number of responses to the survey. Where appropriate, the largest and smallest proportions for each category in the table are shaded. Proportions do not always add up to 100 per cent due to rounding.
State level data is shown in a number of tables. In these tables, the responses for Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory have been combined, as there are only a small number of universities in these locations.

Appendix 2: List of tables

Table 1. Respondents by nationality
Table 2. Respondents by level of study
Table 3. Students working in a program or placement through their course of study (by nationality)
Table 4. Working outside of course in a job relevant to future career plans (by nationality)
Table 5. Working outside of course in a job not relevant to future career plans (by nationality)
Table 6. Students working in a program or placement through their course of study (by level)
Table 7. Working outside of course in a job relevant to future career plans (by level)
Table 8. Working outside of course in a job not relevant to future career plans (by level)
Table 9. Students working in a program or placement through their course of study (by state)
Table 10. Working outside of course in a job relevant to future career plans (by state)
Table 11. Working outside of course in a job not relevant to future career plans (by state)
Table 12. Hours a week spent in employment directly related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by nationality)
Table 13. Hours a week spent in employment not related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by nationality)
Table 14. Hours a week spent in employment directly related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by level)
Table 15. Hours a week spent in employment not related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by level)
Table 16. Hours spent in employment directly related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by state)
Table 17. Hours a week spent in employment not related to field of study - paid or unpaid (by state)
Table 18. Status of work (paid or unpaid) by nationality
Table 19. Status of work (paid or unpaid) by level
Table 20. Status of work (paid or unpaid) by state
Table 21. Satisfaction with opportunities to earn money while studying (by nationality)
Table 22. Satisfaction with opportunities to earn money while studying (by level)
Table 23. Satisfaction with opportunities to earn money while studying (by state)
Table 24. Satisfaction with opportunities for work experience/work placements as part of course (by nationality)
Table 25. Satisfaction with opportunities for work experience/work placements as part of course (by level)
Table 26.Satisfaction with opportunities for work experience/work placements as part of course (by state)
Table 27. Importance of opportunities to work while studying on the decision to study in Australia (by nationality)
Table 28. Importance of opportunities to work while studying on the decision to study in Australia (by level)
Table 29. Importance of opportunities to work while studying on the decision to study in Australia (by state)
Table 30. Importance of opportunity to work full-time in Australia after studying on decision to study in Australia (by nationality)
Table 31. Importance of opportunity to work full-time in Australia after studying on the decision to study in Australia (by level)
Table 32. Importance of opportunity to work full-time in Australia after studying on the decision to study in Australia (by state)
Table 33. Employment/career support students expect from their institution (by nationality)
Table 34. Employment/career support students expect from their institution (by level)
Table 35. Employment/career support students expect from their institution (by state)
Table 36. Awareness and usage of careers advisory services (by nationality)
Table 37. Awareness and usage of careers advisory services (by level)
Table 38. Awareness and usage of careers advisory services (by state)
Table 39. Satisfaction with careers advisory services (by nationality)
Table 40. Satisfaction with careers advisory services (by level)
Table 41. Satisfaction with careers advisory services (by state)
Table 42. How students want to learn about careers advisory services by nationality
Table 43. How students want to learn about careers advisory services by level
Table 44. How students want to learn about careers advisory services by state
Table 45. Awareness of careers advisory services and preferred mediums of communication

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