News

Under new rules proposed by the British Foreign Office, coming into effect on July 9, up to 5000 students a year could be denied entry to the United Kingdom under student visas.

The move, designed to discourage bogus students from entering the United Kingdom, also means that only the brightest and most accredited people will gain access to the country in order to study.

Some figures have shown that if the new rules were in place during 2011, up to 45% of applicants from Burma and 38% of applicants from Bangladesh may have been rejected.

Under current rules, it is the understanding that even if the UK Border Agency have serious doubts about the credentials of a client, they are unable to refuse them entry into the country. This now means that foreign students who are wanting to enter the United Kingdom to study now have make sure that they are able to prove their willing to study with institutions.

Opposition to the Changes

Critics of the new scheme, including over 70 university chancellors, have however, warned that the crackdown could force foreign students to go elsewhere in the world to study, causing the loss of billions of pounds to the economy of the country.

We've known for a while that the jobs market has been challenging for graduates, but figures recently released shed some more light on the situation of ‘underemployment'. This is where graduates are employed, but in jobs for which they don't technically need a degree.

For the graduating class of 2010/2011, over 10,000 of them are in posts that fall into this category - such as customer service roles, cleaning, carrying out odd-jobs, and labouring. This is almost double the number of grads who found themselves in ‘elementary occupations' five years ago, further highlighting the fact that recent years and economic struggles - plus growing numbers of graduates competing for jobs - have made things tougher for those after graduate level employment.

However, at least we can take some comfort from the fact that these graduates are still in work. It's thought that 9 per cent of the 2010/2011 class was unemployed six months after graduating from university. This is roughly the same amount of graduates that were unemployed the year before.

The UK welcomes thousands of international students every year. These students attend colleges and universities here to get a good education, breaking their ties with their homes and leaving loved ones behind.

For some this separation is harder than they ever anticipated. Many have English as a second language and a few can struggle to communicate and make new friends, leaving them home sick and struggling.

Budget

Every student understands the importance of a budget. Many students work part time to supplement their income, but arriving in a foreign country and moving into an empty apartment close to campus can be a nightmare.

With international shipping and removals from John Mason, students are able to bring a piece of home with them on their journey and enjoy comforts of home in their new apartment without breaking the bank and buying new furniture.

When you weigh up the cost of buying new furniture on arrival and the time it takes, bringing pieces from home makes all the sense in the world. This way the student gets a furnished apartment with all the comforts from home, reducing the home sickness and stress and enabling them to concentrate on their degree rather than worrying about furniture.

Research from totaljobs.com has revealed that a third (34%) of UK graduates have been searching for work for over six months, forcing the same percentage to claim Jobseeker's Allowance. Shockingly, almost two fifths (16%) of graduates have applied for over a hundred jobs, without success, with one quarter not managing to secure a single interview.

The difficulty in finding work has led to a significantly lower wage expectations compared to those currently at university. Today's graduates expect to earn £19,800 a year, compared to those yet to leave university who expect over £800 a year more.

However, the regular survey of graduate jobseekers has shown some improvement in the last six months. There has been a 5% drop in graduates that have been looking for work for over a year and confidence has also improved as a result. In November 2011, 19% of graduate jobseekers said that they were not at all confident of finding work in the next year. Six months later, the figure is 10%. Confidence in finding work in the next six months has remained stable.

Mike Fetters, graduate director at totaljobs.com, said of the results: