One of the highly preferred destinations to pursue a higher degree of education for international students is Australia. Every year there are a major number of international students who travel to Australia with a temporary graduate visa. The number of people with a temporary graduate visa is gradually increasing in number. In 2018 it was decent, and in 2019 it has increased up to 29%. In 2018 it was around 71,000, but in 2019 it is 92,000.
This drastic change in the number of international students is profiting the Australian universities to a huge extent, but it is compromising the number of job opportunities in the country on the other hand. Hence even though international students are acquiring a degree in their higher education, they are not ultimately getting a stable job. Ultimately there is no fruitful result.
According to the rules and regulations of this visa, students who have graduated from a university or college in Australia can live in the country for two to four years depending on what their qualification is. The whole point of this visa is to enable students to live in the country for a short period of time an experience international work.
This increment in the number of visas is leading students to divert away from their field of education. Because there is a scarcity in the number of jobs graduates are taking up jobs whatever they are offered with. To earn a livelihood in Australia, the majority of the students are taking up work in management work, labour work or cleaning work as well. This is even though bringing them money, but the degree and the effort they have invested in getting that degree is not getting any legitimate usage.
Out of 56%, up to 35% of the visa holders are now employed in some field outside their education arena, 21% are unemployed, and this group of visa holders is the ones who are suffering to a huge rate in Australia. Despite studying, getting a degree, they are in a state of despair.
The job profiles which are holding the top positions, which are taken up by these visa holders are sales work, marketing professionals followed by the sales assistant and ultimately cleaners and laundry workers. The Visa 485 so clearly is failing to help the international students.
On conducting a survey, asking the Visa 485 holders if they are satisfied with the opportunities provided by the visa is benefiting them or not, the majority of them said the following things-
● Two to four years is not enough to give a professional level of confidence to students to get a stable job in Australia; hence, the visa opportunities are not enough to benefit the people.
● Companies and employers always prefer taking people who are permanent residents in Australia, and the majority of them do not have a proper idea about the Visa policies even.
● The extension of the visa is not available.
● There is no way out of getting a permanent residency by having a visa 485.
International Student Essay Contest, 2019: Internet Responsibility
