Scarcity of UK uni places to lead to boom in Australian working holiday visas
March 10 2010 by Liam Clifford
New figures suggest that as more UK students fail to get into university, they will instead opt for the chance to work in Australia on a working holiday visa.
Research from the Higher Education Funding Council
has found that as many as 200,000 hopeful students will be unable to find a
university place this year. As a result, the number of young people looking for
an adventure abroad is expected to rise.
Last year, a total of 40,182
young British people were granted an Australian working holiday visa. This is a
15 per cent increase on the year before. In Ireland last year, a rise in the
number of young people unable to get a university place led to a 33 per cent
increase in the number of young people moving to Australia for a year on the
working holiday visa.
In addition to the problems facing students wishing
to get a university place, they face even greater obstacles when looking to get
their first jobs as graduates. Many university leavers look to gain experience
abroad, working in Canada, the US or Australia, as an alternative to competing
with other graduates for the jobs back home.
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