Forms of capital and agency as mediations in negotiating employability of international graduates migrants

Pham, Thanh, Tomlinson, Michael and Thompson, Christopher (2019) Forms of capital and agency as mediations in negotiating employability of international graduates migrants. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 17 (3), 394-405. (doi:10.1080/14767724.2019.1583091).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This study deployed a qualitative approach to explore an alternative perspective regarding graduate migrants’ employability. Twenty graduate migrants in Australia participated in in-depth interviews. Findings revealed graduate migrants faced various challenges in the target labour market, and to successfully secure employment it was important for them to exercise agency and develop key forms of capital – i.e., excellent technical knowledge, relationships with ‘significant others’, strong career identity and psychological resilience, and interlink these capitals so that they could make of their strengths and coat weaknesses. Results from the study imply that managing, teaching, and professional staff members should collaborate closely to develop well-rounded programmes designed to equip international students sufficiently with multidimensional resources.

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Revised version PP_TP MT CT - Accepted Manuscript

Available under License University of Southampton Accepted Manuscript Licence.

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