internships-and-work-placement-opportunities-for-international-students-in-victoria-ieaa-report-october-2012

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THE EVIDENCE BASE FOR FUTURE ACTIVITY In addition to the matters identified by this report it is clear that Victorian public policy and institutional policy and practice suffer from significant gaps in knowledge about internships and work placements for international students and, moreover, about the general phenomenon of the transition to employment by international students. There are significant gaps in the research and data, particularly in applied research focused on a range of critical matters. It will be important for Victoria to try to fill these gaps as the issue of critical skills shortages and deepening global engagement come more and more to the political and economic forefront. An effort is made here to list a number of areas where future work in Victoria would be valuable as a means of filling the knowledge gaps and providing a sound evidence base to improve public policy, institutional policy and practice in this space: 1. Investigating the most effective way of preparing international graduates for employment, including in transitioning to work in Victoria. There has been no student analysis. 2. Identifying the critical success factors in the effective operation of WIL generally, under a variety of forms of WIL. 3. Producing the metrics on outcomes of the Professional Year. There is no coordinated published data. Victoria has the majority of the professional field holders. 4. Investigating how Victorian Qualifications and experience translate internationally, and identifying and overcoming barriers to their acceptance. 5. Investigating how WIL can be used to lever from and position Victorian education institutions together with Victorian business and industry in the Asia-Pacific over the longer term, with a focus on Victorian international alumni. 6. Investigating market development through deepening Victorian Government engagement with priority country markets, around WIL. The focus could be on design of internship/work experience products to sell (e.g. in the priority areas of focus – again probably at the advanced knowledge/ research end in health, food, the environment and climate change and other areas of particular Victorian strength and expertise). Victoria could be the lead State Government in this space. There are certain to be other options. A workshop to identify critical evidence gaps to achieve practical policy outcomes might usefully be held under the aegis of DBI as part of the response to the present research to consider future directions for Victoria in the area of supporting internships and workplace learning and enhancing international graduate employability. 34
CONCLUSIONS AND OPTIONS FOR ACTION The timing is right for the Victorian Government to lead a collaboration between Victorian industry and educational institutions to develop and deliver a significant internship/work placement scheme to significantly enhance international student experiences, improve community engagement for international students and help the Victorian business community and local employers to more effectively engage with international talent seeking to work in Victoria as well as engage more deeply with other regions globally, in particular Asia. Efforts should probably be made by the Victorian Government (in conjunction with other State Governments) to get legislative rules relaxed to meet current and future needs. There is also a need to agree what the Victorian Government, education institutions, business and industry could do to improve opportunities for and access to internships and work placements for international students, both in the short term and over the longer term. This should form part of a strategy to deepen Victoria’s engagement with priority countries and regions, especially in Asia. International students are in deficit when it comes to accessing internships and work placements in Victoria. There is much to be said and much to be gained if the Victorian Government – in conjunction with institutions and employers – were to give a leg up to international students, to help them achieve equitable access to internship and work placement opportunities while in Victoria and with the long term view of deepening engagement between Victoria and students’ home countries. Action options General 1. Internships and work placements for international students could be seen as an integral part of an overall Victorian strategy for deep global engagement. 2. Development of a Victorian value proposition to distinguish and promote Victoria as a highly desirable study destination for international students (based on opportunities that Victoria offers for internships and work placement) will require overcoming significant existing barriers. These include current limited opportunities for internships and work placements and current perceptions among Victorian employers about employing international students and graduates. 3. The Victorian government could take the lead and work in close collaboration with Victorian education institutions, businesses and industry. The initial priority focus might sensibly be Asia, with other countries and regions being considered subsequently. 4. The environment of WIL is complex for international students, institutions and employers. Programs attempting to promote WIL need to be based on a simplified explanation of how to undertake WIL. Some legal clarification is needed (or at least Victorian legal opinion sought) and a clear statement prepared for dissemination to education institutions, employers and international students. 35
Page 1 and 2: Internships and work placement oppo
Page 3 and 4: FOREWORD This report is presented a
Page 5 and 6: Government, business and education
Page 7 and 8: 20. Support a State symposium invol
Page 9 and 10: DEFINING INTERNSHIPS AND WORK EXPER
Page 11 and 12: According to one submission to the
Page 13 and 14: Challenges in providing WIL to inte
Page 15 and 16: Examples of effective preparation i
Page 17 and 18: 2. Restrictions are often placed on
Page 19 and 20: Table 2 Approaches to international
Page 21 and 22: Role of third party providers Over
Page 23 and 24: ACCESS BARRIERS The scope of the pr
Page 26 and 27: CASE STUDY 1: BELLWOOD UNIVERSITY T
Page 28 and 29: One of the main hurdles facing inte
Page 30 and 31: CASE STUDY 2: TOURISM, HOSPITALITY
Page 32 and 33: INITIATIVES IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS
Page 36 and 37: Victorian education institutions co
Page 38 and 39: ATTACHMENT 1: SPECIFICATION OF WORK
Page 40 and 41: ATTACHMENT 2: STAKEHOLDERS Stakehol
Page 42 and 43: ATTACHMENT 4: TABLE 1 Table 1: Summ
Page 44 and 45: Swinburne University of Technology
Page 46 and 47: Monash University Program name Type
Page 48 and 49: ATTACHMENT 4: TABLE 2 Table 2: Summ
Page 50 and 51: REFERENCES Australian Education Int
Page 52: Contact us IEAA Secretariat PO Box

internships-and-work-placement-opportunities-for-international-students-in-victoria-ieaa-report-october-2012

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