“We’ve reached a point where our claims of employability have lost reliability,” stated Diana Beech, director of the Finsbury Institute at City St Georges, attending to delegates of PIE Live Europe 2026.
Beech argued universities’ guarantees of job opportunity have not kept up with truth, with graduates struggling to find tasks due to an increase in onboarding costs and companies’ doubts about their profession preparedness, among other elements.
“If you’re a domestic trainee, this is frustrating enough, but when you’re a global student paying ₤ 80,000 a year, it’s an especially volatile scenario.”
“When those trainees are investing a lot, it’s just right that we invest in them and we get things right. We get them real positionings, genuine internships, a genuine foot on that ladder.”
“We need to start speaking about genuine deliverable work and not simply the theatre of employability,” said Beech.
Sanam Arora, founder of the National Indian Trainees and Alumni Union (NISAU), cited a current UUKi and QS study exposing simply 3% of worldwide graduates who had actually found employment had utilized their university’s profession services.
She stated the reduction in the Graduate Path from two years to 18 months had made “an extremely tight spot even worse”, highlighting that the majority of graduate plans are two years or longer.
On the other hand, Arora highlighted the government’s hiking of skilled employee wage limits in July 2025 to over ₤ 40,000, which has actually barred many global trainees from entering careers in specific sectors consisting of believe tanks, charities and universities themselves.
“The right-wing pressures on immigration mean we’re in a very hard situation, and I do think the federal government has actually done all it might have performed in those scenarios in regards to making certain the post-study work deal remains,” she said.
“However there should be a severe concern in universities if your students are not even utilizing your career services. Why is it that 97% of students who discovered jobs did not utilize their university career services?” asked Arora.
Why is it that 97%of students who found jobs did not utilize their university profession services?
Sanam Arora, NISAU
What’s more, according to NISAU price quotes, less than 5% of the UK labour market is accessible to global graduates, with Arora calling out the “mis-selling scandal” of universities utilizing domestic trainee employability results to sell to global students.
She argued organizations should gather and share data on employability results for global trainees who go back to their home countries, who account for 47% of worldwide enrolments in the UK, according to Studyportals information.
“There are universities at the bottom of the rankings in those big shiny global rankings that are actually doing unbelievably well on return employability outcomes … you might be shocked that what you’re scared about is not as bad as you believe,” stated Arora.
To this end, panellists emphasised the importance of not being reductionist and thinking about that, for many students, success means returning home and adding to their regional communities rather than securing a well-paid job in the UK.
David Pilsbury, chief development officer at Oxford International, said the minute required universities to work “in an entirely different method with employers”, arguing it was “completely futile” to contend to secure the couple of internships offered by long standing companies.
Rather, he advised universities to create relationships with SMEs, which make up 99.9% of UK companies and offer 60% of the country’s employment opportunities.
“I know we strive, but this is a location where we definitely have to do better,” he said, urging institutions to maximize local consortiums, especially given the government’s dedication to broaden devolution, with 6 brand-new locations set to have Mayoral elections in May 2026.
Engaging with local government and companies is crucial to this strategy, said Beech, prompting delegates to “bring everyone to the table and make it truly collective”, making sure universities are answerable to policymakers and employers.
Elsewhere, Arora doubled down on the requirement for higher sector advocacy on the local and national level to affect policy, citing higher costs that produce “systemic barriers” for companies hiring non-EU talent.
“There are elections around the corner. What can universities do to make your point?” she asked.
Across the panel, speakers stated providing employment needs to move from being a professions service add-on to sector-wide guarantee, and that universities should be held liable for employment results if the UK is to keep its appearance.
As increasing costs of living continue to squeeze international students around the world, employability is important to how trainees measure the ROI of a degree, with Pilsbury cautioning the gap between sector narratives and trainees’ expectations was triggering trust to “quickly wear down”.
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