From education to employment: Investigating postgraduate employment outcomes of international students in the ICT sector of New Zealand
Author: Patricia Joseph
Supervisors: Indrapriya Kularatne, Olufemi Omisakin
Joseph, P. (2024). From education to employment: Investigating postgraduate employment outcomes of international students in the ICT sector of New Zealand. (Unpublished document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Management). Auckland International Campus, Otago Polytechnic | Te Pūkenga, New Zealand. https://doi.org/10.34074/thes.6347
Abstract
This research investigates the employment outcomes of international students who completed postgraduate studies in New Zealand's information and communication technology sector against the backdrop of ongoing technology skills shortages and the sector's pivotal economic contributions. Adopting a mixed-methods approach to triangulate quantitative data from surveys with qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews and existing literature, the research examines the influence of social capital and labour market barriers on international postgraduates’ employability. Convenience and snowball sampling were used to gather perspectives from international postgraduates, employers, industry experts, and education providers. Analysis revealed that post-study work opportunities significantly attract international postgraduate students to New Zealand and highlighted the importance of technical skills, soft skills, English proficiency, and cultural adaptability for employment post-study. The gap between perceived and actual employability outcomes underscored the critical role of industry-educator collaboration in relation to international postgraduate academic preparation for industry employment. Recommendations focus on strengthening these partnerships and updating policies to integrate postgraduates better into the local information, communications and technical workforce. The limitations suggest future research directions, including longitudinal studies and cross-cultural comparisons for clearer insights.
Keywords
international postgraduate, New Zealand, industry collaboration, ICT employment, employability, labour market integration
Licence
A copy of the thesis is publicly available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International
