This quarter, there is a lot of activity globally in the international schools sector.
The Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) has concluded, the East Asia Regional Council of Schools conference (EARCOS) is around the corner and ISC Research has released a new paper. The big question for us at Koala News is: “Is Australia keeping pace with the world?”
I have conducted an informal survey of 20 schools in the Australian international school sector to ascertain their views on what was happening ‘on the ground to see if it aligns with global trends.
Let’s unpack the results.
The Boarding Schools Association in the UK released their research showing that for Chinese students, the use and reliance on agents for recruitment for independent schools is growing. With 86.5% of parents (an increase of 12.5% since 2021) stating they would use agents as their top source of information when choosing a school.
Our survey indicated Australia has not seen a decline or gain in the use of agents for China, but we have seen a demand for more quality agent services for the schools sector.
Schools are happy to see the Australian government paying more attention to agents and their practices. One Melbourne school who wished not to be named noted that “there are great agents out there offering excellent services. But this was not true of all agents.” The representative continued to add that “schools play a big part in the finishing touches to make sure families are well cared for.”
The new government crackdowns in international education and new quality assurance processes from organisations such as NEAS, have helped with making sure the quality agents are the ones that schools focus on.
Compliance matters according to Trish Cartwright, Macarthur Anglican School, Cobbitty NSW who said, “We are pleased to see the Australian Government focus on increased regulation for Education Agents to ensure that the best interest of students is at the forefront of policy. Whilst we are very pleased to be working with our loyal Education Agents and value their contribution to our programme, we also see value in regulation that protects students and informs agents of their responsibilities. As all sector rebounds, we need to ensure we do so in a way that builds trust from parents and students, and that providers can deliver high quality programmes and welfare support.”
In addition to a focus on quality agencies, Australia is seeing increased diversity in student demographics. Where prior to covid there was an over-reliance on the Chinese market. Post-covid, diversification is the name of the game.
Vietnam continues to grow as a source market with Australia being a top choice for school-aged students. According to the latest PRISMS data from July 2023, there were 27,764 Vietnamese students in Australia, a 39% growth rate compared to the same period last year. Of that number, 3,163 were enrolled in “schools,” mostly secondary and high schools.
Capstone Education is a full-service educational consulting company with offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. When speaking to Mark A. Ashwill, their managing director and co-founder the news was positive and encouraging.
“Australia, which often trades places with the USA, is currently the world’s leading English-speaking host country for Vietnamese students. My advice to Australian colleagues is to strike while the iron is hot and pursue a proactive recruitment strategy that includes in-country activities such as targeted fairs and small-scale events like coffee talks and info sessions, in addition to periodic digital marketing campaigns and working with quality education agents.” Said Ashwill.
While, as indicated, agents play a significant role for some markets and for some schools, our survey also indicated that longer-established international education programs in Australia are not finding agents as important as the newer schools.
New schools with newer programs are utilising agent networks to grow branding, spread the word about their quality programs and to help them find students. Education fairs, networking events and recruitment drives are still the traditional way to meet new agents and get new students to enrol.
However, the survey also found that schools with longer, more mature international student programs were successfully leveraging their networks with long-time agents, alumni and familial connections for international recruitment. There are many schools in Australia that have been offering international enrolments for many years with high levels of pastoral care, proven academic results, and successful outcomes.
As such, alumni and familial connections are a growing source of enrolments for a prominent boys’ school in Sydney due to their legacy of success. This is not necessarily the “norm” for all schools as yet, but the schools surveyed indicated that these personal connections are a primary means of recruitment for some key schools.
Another school in Melbourne claimed only 5% of their enrolment was coming from agents, and that alumni and family connections were filling the majority of their spaces.
With top agents, increased diversification and growth in direct recruitment, many schools in the international space are already surpassing pre-COVID numbers.
“Our biggest problem (seen as the best problem to have) is that demand exceeds supply. We need more space. Family and friend recommendations are constant.” said Leisl Bruhn, Ivanhoe Grammar School.
So overall in Australia, according to our survey, agents are still important and China is still important. However, we can see trends towards utilising alumni and other networks for recruitment and that diversification of student markets is key.
The future is bright for the schools sector, globally and at home.
