The UK job market is plagued by graduate anxiety and employer uncertainty.

A poll conducted in the UK has revealed that international graduates are finding it difficult to find work, which is leading them to look for chances elsewhere.

Graduate Route visa holders are facing application rejections from UK businesses, according to a new study conducted by 72% of university jobs experts.

In addition, 75% of career counselors claim that companies are declining to sponsor international graduates and students for skilled workers, and 70% report that hiring freezes have occurred. The results are based on a poll that 35 UK universities’ careers and employability staff completed.

In light of recent changes to visa regulations and the impending Migration Advisory Committee review, AGCAS’s foreign Task Group conducted a poll with the goal of learning more about the current landscape of foreign student and graduate recruitment.

In order “to feed into a sector level response to the MAC review,” AGCAS has shared the poll results with UKCISA.

The UK’s revised restrictions for skilled worker visas, along with the uncertainty around the impending MAC review, are the reasons cited by half of the respondents for these developments.

Careers staff members used the poll to offer insights and patterns from their daily work with employers, overseas students, and recent graduates.

The concerns and experiences of the students and graduates themselves were also recorded in their comments, as was the present company understanding, perspectives, and recruitment activities in relation to international students and graduates.

70% of international students and recent graduates who are looking for work and who are interacting with their university’s jobs office are now thinking about working somewhere else in the UK, according to a report by AGCAS. 56% of those considering additional education are looking for their next course outside of the UK.

“Taken as a whole, the answers show a worrisome picture of graduate anxiety and employer ambiguity, with many overseas students and graduates purposefully searching outside of the UK for their next opportunity,” an AGCAS statement read.

The survey also discovered that 51% of companies contacting university careers services ask their contacts at the universities for guidance and assistance regarding their hiring procedures.

Employers are unaware of visa and immigration processes, according to 77% of careers and employer engagement specialists.

Professionals in the fields of careers and employer engagement also provided additional feedback to the study. The comments expressed the worries and annoyances of overseas graduates and students.

The amount of stress and anxiety experienced by international students and graduates was the most prevalent topic, according to AGCAS, with a “significant impact on mental health due to the uncertainty on visas, which is subsequently putting additional pressure on university services.”  

The results coincide with research conducted by the job-readiness platform. Student Circus commented on the size of the job market at the time and raised new worries about the employability of foreign graduates in the UK.

The organization that assists international students in finding employment has shown that, despite a “steep increase” in the number of businesses holding a sponsorship license, the job market for foreign graduates in the UK is far smaller than expected.

An employer with a sponsorship license does not guarantee that they would hire international graduates, according to the State of International Student Job Search report.

Because they have a limited amount of time in the country to gain work experience in the UK, learn about the job market, and secure a job with a visa sponsorship after they graduate, international students frequently find themselves “playing catch-up” when it comes to employment, according to Student Circus.

Merely 10,000 UK enterprises, according to Student Circus, are considered “authentic” employers since they own sponsorship licenses, authentic internet profiles, listings with companies’ houses, and good working conditions.

According to the article, some businesses, like Vodaphone, state that applicants with a Graduate Route visa are ineligible for certain positions they post.

It went on, saying that the 100,000 figure fosters a “sense of false optimism” over job possibilities for overseas students.

Student Circus emphasized the need of providing students with information on the UK job market prior to their arrival, if not already, and about work visa sponsorship and its impact on employment opportunities.