Transcript as Powerpoint Slide

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 these
Health warnings….!
 I’m not an “expert”!
x
 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
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 19th, 20th, 25th of September or 3rd 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” pages
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
information
Virtual Careers Fairs
North America, 1-5 October 2012
Live employer chats 1400 - 1800
China/SE Asia, 29 October – 2 November 2012
Live employer chats 0800 - 1200
Resources for international students
 International students web pages
 International employer and vacancy information
 Information on visas
Some events to look out for:





Careers workshops started this week
International talks
North America and SE Asia Virtual Careers Fairs
Employer presentations start 1 October
Careers Fair 9-11 October, Adam House
and much more….
Have a great year, build your CV and
use your Careers Service!!
King’s Buildings
Weir Building
0131 650 5773
Central
3rd Floor, Main Library
0131 650 4670
Q&A