Working in the UK (for international students) David Levinson, Careers Adviser

Aims of the session:  Clarify the implications of UK visa regulations for your job hunting strategy  Provide information and advice on UK (and international) job hunting  Highlight support available from the Careers Service and further resources

We won’t go into detail on  Looking for part-time jobs  Visa regulations  CVs, application forms, interviews We run regular workshops on all of theseworkshops

Health warnings….!  I’m not an “expert”!  The Careers Service cannot give visa advice to students (the International Office can advise you)  The visa & immigration rules can (and do) change regularly – the International Office will keep you informed x

Am I eligible to work part-time?  Most international students will be eligible but to be completely sure you should check your passport  You can also visit The International Office, 33 Buccleuch Place, where staff are trained to advise on permission to work  If you are eligible to work then you are permitted to work up to 20 hours per week. The University however recommends that you work no more than 15 hours per week  Bulgarian and Romanian students will need to obtain form BR1 for their Registration Certificate

What kind of part-time work can I do during my studies? As an international (non-EEA) student you can do most kinds of work, but you must not :  be self-employed  be employed as a professional sportsperson or sports coach  be employed as an entertainer  take a permanent full-time job  Students from EEA are not restricted in the type of work they undertake

Getting a National Insurance number  Once you have been offered a job you must apply for a National Insurance number. Once you have received an NI number then you can use it for every job  Pick up our easy guide to Tax and National Insurance at the Careers Service  Come along to our NI Processing Days at the Careers Service on 19 th, 20 th, 25 th of September or 3 rd October

The UK Graduate Job Market “I just got here, why think about graduate jobs now?” Some deadlines are as early as October Don’t wait until it’s too late

International (non-EU) students: Applying for graduate jobs in the UK  If you want to work in the UK after graduating, you have to secure a job with a sponsoring employer before your student visa expires  You must check that the employer is a registered sponsor and that the job meets the salary criteria UKBA register of sponsors

UKBA Tier 2 sponsored visas  NO labour market test under Tier 2  Salary criteria is > £20,000 (below the UK average)  Average starting salary for recent international (non-EU) graduates working in the UK was £23,960 in 2010  Must switch within expiry date of T4 visa and from within UK  You must have been awarded your qualification

What do the regulations mean in practice?  If you want to work in the UK after graduating, you have to secure a job with a sponsoring employer before your visa expires  You must check that the employer is a registered sponsor and that the job meets the salary criteria  Other routes are harder to access now that PSW has gone but include……

Tier 1 ‘Graduate’ Entrepreneur Aim:  to allow UK graduates with an “exceptional” business idea or innovation to remain in the UK to set up a business Benefits:  Allows 2 years to enable graduate entrepreneurs to set up a business, while permitting part time work Requirements:  Institution must ‘endorse’ the business idea and support through a structured process  Number of endorsement opportunities very limited  UoE’s Edinburgh Research and Innovation will select candidates: not an open competition

Tier 5 ‘Youth Mobility’ Aim:  to allow nationals of specific countries to travel to the UK to work and live for a period of up to 2 years Requirements:  A national of: Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand and Taiwan. Also available to BNO (British National Overseas) passport holders (30 points)  Aged between 18 and 30…(10 points)  Maintenance requirement: 1600GBP on the date of application in an account in your own name (10 points)  Have not held “Working Holiday Maker” in the past.  Must apply from OUTSIDE OF UK – cannot make the application from within

UK Ancestry Aim:  To permit people of UK descent to return to the UK to live with an intention to work Requirements:  Must be a Commonwealth Citizen  Aged 17+  Official original evidence (birth certificate) that a grandparent was born in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Republic of Ireland (before March 1922), with further official original evidence linking them to you (parental birth certificate/your birth certificate)  Must be applied for outside of the UK  Allows 5 years in the UK to lead up to settlement (indefinite leave to remain)

How am I going to stand out in a competitive job market?

Make sure you really understand the graduate job market…  Graduate training schemes ( large blue chip companies)  Graduate jobs with small & medium sized enterprises (SMEs), not-for profit sector (but salaries may not meet new visa criteria)  Graduate schemes are not your only option – many employers do not recruit in this way  Check our “finding potential employers” pagesfinding potential employers

Hidden Jobs?  25%  75%

General advice on graduate job hunting in a competitive market….  Give it your very best – with every application  Be flexible in terms of sector, size of employer and location  Be prepared to make speculative enquiries to Tier 2 sponsors  Be creative in your approach – what works in that sector?  Build your skills (and CV) in other ways before applying  Make use of the Careers Service

I don’t have any relevant experience….

Looking to work outside the UK?  Be clear about what you want to do and work on selling yourself and your international experience  Get clued up on how and when employers recruit  Look at our Working Internationally resources and informationWorking Internationally

Virtual Careers Fairs North America, 1-5 October 2012 Live employer chats China/SE Asia, 29 October – 2 November 2012 Live employer chats

Resources for international students  International students web pagesInternational students  International employer and vacancy informationvacancy information  Information on visasvisas

Some events to look out for:  Careers workshops started this week Careers workshops  International talks International talks  North America and SE Asia Virtual Careers FairsVirtual Careers Fairs  Employer presentations start 1 October Employer presentations  Careers Fair 9-11 October, Adam House Careers Fair and much more….

Have a great year, build your CV and use your Careers Service!! King’s BuildingsCentral Weir Building 3 rd Floor, Main Library

Q&A