NO WORK 
RIGHTS FOR
ROMANIA /
BULGARIA

The UK’s Border Agency for Bulgaria and Romania has told work placement providers in the UK that Bulgarian and Romanian students can no longer do mainly vocational training (or paid work experience) in the country while registered as a student. Instead, they will have to apply for an Accession Worker Card under the Training and Work Experience Scheme.

Joanne Sayer from Twin Group in London – a major provider of work placement programmes – said that the Home Office notified them of the change in policy at the beginning of May and that 48 students already in the UK and enrolled on the Twin PEP sandwich programme had had to return home. “The immediate impact of the decision was extremely devastating on our students,” said Sayer. “Many could not afford to buy a ticket home and many were ‘adopted’ by British families who helped them by providing free accommodation.” She added that the decision meant “extremely bad publicity for the UK and the immediate suspension of all sandwich courses for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals”, claiming that Twin has lost an average of 50 student arrivals per month because of this.

Brian Griffin from The Training Partnership in Torquay said that the Border Agency’s interpretation of guidelines – expecting classroom-based study to match vocational training/work experience in length – will mean that between 70 and 80 per cent of current applications from Bulgaria and Romania will not be accepted. “The Border Agency has said that National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are work-based vocational training programmes and therefore do not fulfil the requirement that the main purpose of a student registered in the UK is to study,” he elaborated.

Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union (EU) in January 2007 but while citizens can freely enter the UK, they need to apply for a work permit to be able to work. Students can apply for a student authorisation that allows them to work for 20 hours a week during term time and full-time during holidays or as part of vocational training for an academic course. This new requirement for Bulgarians and Romanians to apply for an Accession Worker Card while on work experience means that their employers have to gain approval from the Home Office to “employ” such students.

Andy Goodwin from the UK Border Agency for Bulgaria and Romania said that they would be assessing each student visa application as it came in. “We will be making sure that the work experience element of a vocational sandwich course is relevant to the course and is of an appropriate length,” he said.

Goodwin was unable to say whether students on Leonardo programmes [where EU students can apply for funding to undertake a work placement in another EU country] would also be affected. “The Leonardo programmes were developed outside immigration rules so we will have to assess each case as and when it comes in,” he said.

PROFESSIONAL YEAR FOR TECHNOLOGY GRADUATES

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is launching a new programme that will prepare international IT students graduating from an Australian university for work in Australia’s IT industry.

From 2008, the Professional Year Program will offer international graduates 12 months of practical training and workshops, including a 12-week internship in a host company, as well as access to professional development courses. Successful completion of the programme will also provide participants with an extra 10 points under the General Skilled Migration points test.

Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship originally approached ACS to set up the programme in order to encourage more IT graduates to plug the skills gap. Bob Hart, Manager of Professional Standards and Development for ACS, said, “One of the issues we’d noticed is [graduates’] inability to fit into the Australian business culture and to speak the business language.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

A survey by the Council for Industry and Higher Education in the UK has revealed that 65 per cent of international employers believe that relevant overseas work experience makes university graduates more employable.
The survey collated responses from 233 employers – representing 750,000 employees – from around the world. The survey also found that the number of UK graduates with experience of overseas study was declining.

An Irish broadcasting company is currently planning to produce a six-episode television series following a group of three Irish students as they seek work in the USA under the J1 visa programme. Filming will take place this summer in Hawaii, Chicago and San Diego as the students find temporary work placements during the summer.

Over 95 per cent of Korean students would be open to working overseas if a good opportunity arose, according to a recent online survey of 635 current students and recent graduates by recruitment firm Jobkorea. In the survey, 27 per cent of respondents said that foreign firms would provide a better work environment, while 23 per cent said that they would earn a higher salary by working abroad. The most popular overseas destination was the USA, followed by Japan.