A report published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and Kaplan International Pathways (Kaplan) has highlighted the financial contribution made by international graduates who stay in the UK to work.
The UK’s tax revenues from international students post-graduation shows the tax and National Insurance payments of just one cohort of international students who stay in the UK to work after their studies amounts to £3.2 billion.
This is made up of:
- over £1 billion in income tax;
- over £700 million in employees’ National Insurance Contributions;
- over £800 million in employers’ National Insurance Contributions; and
- nearly £600 million in extra VAT payments.
Graduates from other EU countries who stay here to work contribute £1.2 billion and graduates from the rest of the world contribute £2.0 billion.
Commenting on the report, Andrew Bird, Head of International Marketing and Student Recruitment at BU, said: “Bournemouth has a long history of welcoming non-UK students to the region.
“They support the rich cultural diversity of our schools, colleges and universities. This report shows the financial contribution to the British economy as a whole and is timely as the UK considers its place in the global marketplace.”
The report, commissioned from London Economics, also found that international graduates who find employment in the UK typically do so in sectors that suffer from acute skills shortages.
Linda Cowan, Senior Vice President, Kaplan International Pathways, said: “We now have evidence that one of the many ways international students contribute to our economy is by filling skills shortages.
“Given their high level of English competency and impressive academic achievements, we should be doing everything possible to encourage them to stay and work here.”
Ms Maike Halterbeck, Associate Director at London Economics, and lead author of the report, added: “A detailed analysis of the most up-to-date labour market data has illustrated the huge economic contribution of international graduates to the UK economy in the first 10 years following graduation.
“However, the contribution of more than £3 billion hides the fact that in the longer term, this contribution is likely to be many times higher as international graduates make the UK their home.”
BU has a community of over 2,600 students from around 120 different countries. The Bournemouth University International College (BUIC) offers pathway courses in partnership with Kaplan, preparing international students for BU degree courses.
