<h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2> <p>The Graduate Outcomes survey is a national census of higher education leavers in the United Kingdom, conducted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) approximately 15 months after graduation. It captures employment status, salary, industry, and the qualification level of roles held by graduates from UK universities. For international applicants from China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, the 2023 release—covering the 2020/21 cohort—provides one of the most data-anchored windows into post-study labour market performance. In the 2021/22 academic year, 151,690 Chinese students were enrolled in UK higher education (HESA), while UCAS data recorded 31,400 acceptances from China for full-time undergraduate courses in the 2022 cycle. This article examines how employment rates, median salaries, and the quality of graduate outcomes differ between UK-educated Chinese students and their UK-domiciled peers, disaggregated by key sectors.</p> <h2 id="data-and-methodology">Data and Methodology</h2> <p>The Graduate Outcomes survey employed by HESA collects responses from graduates of all domiciles approximately 15 months after they complete their qualification. The 2020/21 cohort data, published in June 2023, achieved a response rate of 68% among UK-domiciled graduates and maintained broad coverage for non‑EU domiciled graduates. For this analysis, domicile is defined as the country of a student’s permanent residence prior to entry, drawn from UCAS and institutional records. Comparisons are confined to first‑degree completers in full‑time study and, unless stated otherwise, to those in UK employment at the time of the survey. Sectoral classifications follow the UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2007), while occupational skill level is mapped to the SOC 2020 framework to determine graduate‑level roles.</p> <p>The Home Office’s visa statistics and UCAS applicant data are incorporated to contextualise post‑study mobility. QS World University Rankings employer reputation indicators offer a benchmark for the global standing of UK degrees, with 14 UK institutions ranking among the top 100 worldwide for employer reputation in the 2024 edition.</p> <h2 id="overall-employment-landscape">Overall Employment Landscape</h2> <p>Among the 2020/21 first‑degree cohort, UK‑domiciled graduates recorded a full‑time employment rate in the UK of 57% (HESA Graduate Outcomes). For China‑domiciled graduates, the proportion who were employed in the UK 15 months after finishing their course was markedly lower; an analysis published by Universities UK International (UUKi) using HESA data found that only 9% of Chinese graduates remained in the UK workforce at that point. The majority had returned to China or moved to another destination, and they are captured in the survey’s overseas employment metrics. The overall median salary for UK‑domiciled graduates in full‑time UK posts was £25,000, while non‑EU graduates as a whole, a category that includes Chinese students, earned a median of £27,000.</p> <pre class="astro-code github-dark" style="background-color:#24292e;color:#e1e4e8; overflow-x: auto;" tabindex="0" data-language="plaintext"><code><span class="line"><span>Table 1. Key aggregate indicators, 2020/21 first‑degree graduates employed in the UK</span></span> <span class="line"><span></span></span> <span class="line"><span>| Metric | UK‑domiciled | China‑domiciled |</span></span> <span class="line"><span>|--------|--------------|------------------|</span></span> <span class="line"><span>| Full‑time UK employment rate | 57% | 9% |</span></span> <span class="line"><span>| Median salary (all sectors) | £25,000 | £27,000 (non‑EU aggregate) |</span></span> <span class="line"><span>| In graduate‑level roles* | 71% | 82% |</span></span> <span class="line"><span>| Share working in London | 30% | 60% |</span></span> <span class="line"><span></span></span></code></pre> <p>*Graduate‑level roles include managerial, professional and associate professional occupations (SOC 2020).</p> <p>The gap in full‑time UK employment rate is largely explained by return migration, yet among those Chinese graduates who do secure UK employment, outcomes are often tilted towards highly skilled roles. The 82% graduate‑role occupancy rate for Chinese graduates surpasses the 71% recorded by UK‑domiciled peers, suggesting a selection effect: those staying are concentrated in occupations that specifically require a degree.</p> <h2 id="sectoral-analysis">Sectoral Analysis</h2> <p>The distribution of Chinese graduates across industries is uneven, with strong concentrations in financial services, information technology and engineering. Overlaying employment shares with salary data reveals a nuanced wage landscape.</p> <h3 id="financial-and-insurance-activities">Financial and Insurance Activities</h3> <p>Of Chinese graduates working in the UK, 24% were employed in financial and insurance activities, compared with 11% of UK‑domiciled graduates. This sector also exhibits a substantial median salary premium. HESA data show that China‑domiciled graduates in UK finance roles earned a median salary of £38,000, while UK‑domiciled graduates in the same sector earned £31,000—a differential of approximately 22%. The proportion of Chinese graduates in graduate‑level roles within finance stood at 90%, versus 81% for UK‑domiciled graduates in the sector.</p> <p>This premium is partly attributable to the geographic clustering of Chinese professionals: over 70% of finance‑employed Chinese graduates worked in London, where cost‑of‑living adjustments and headquarter functions support higher base salaries. UK‑domiciled graduates, by contrast, had a wider dispersion across regional financial hubs, bringing the median down.</p> <h3 id="information-and-communication-technology">Information and Communication Technology</h3> <p>The information and communication technology (ICT) sector engaged 16% of China‑domiciled UK graduates, against 12% of UK‑domiciled graduates. Median salaries were closer: £35,000 for Chinese graduates versus £32,000 for UK‑domiciled peers. The graduate‑level role rate among Chinese workers in ICT reached 88%, while the UK‑domiciled cohort reached 83%. The narrower wage gap reflects the sector’s national standardisation of entry‑level technical roles and the prevalence of remote working arrangements that partially decouple salary from location.</p> <h3 id="engineering">Engineering</h3> <p>Engineering and manufacturing accounted for 10% of Chinese UK‑based graduates and 8% of UK‑domiciled graduates. In this vertical, the median salary for Chinese graduates was £33,000, compared with £29,000 for UK domiciled graduates. Graduate‑level occupation rates reached 85% for the Chinese group and 78% for the UK group. The difference is partly structural: Chinese graduates in UK engineering are more likely to take roles in global design consultancies or advanced manufacturing firms that operate at a higher salary band, while UK‑domiciled graduates populate a broader range of small and medium‑sized enterprises.</p> <pre class="astro-code github-dark" style="background-color:#24292e;color:#e1e4e8; overflow-x: auto;" tabindex="0" data-language="plaintext"><code><span class="line"><span>Table 2. Sector‑specific medians and graduate‑role occupancy, 2020/21</span></span> <span class="line"><span>(All figures for graduates in full‑time UK employment, China‑domiciled vs UK‑domiciled)</span></span> <span class="line"><span></span></span> <span class="line"><span>Sector | China‑domiciled median salary | UK‑domiciled median salary | China‑domiciled grad‑role % | UK‑domiciled grad‑role %</span></span> <span class="line"><span>------------------|-------------------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------</span></span> <span class="line"><span>Finance &#x26; insurance | £38,000 | £31,000 | 90% | 81%</span></span> <span class="line"><span>Information &#x26; comm. | £35,000 | £32,000 | 88% | 83%</span></span> <span class="line"><span>Engineering | £33,000 | £29,000 | 85% | 78%</span></span> <span class="line"><span></span></span></code></pre> <h2 id="factors-shaping-the-salary-and-employment-gap">Factors Shaping the Salary and Employment Gap</h2> <p>The salary premiums observed cannot be attributed to a single cause. They are the product of several intersecting forces documented by UK authorities and higher education bodies.</p> <p>**Ge</p>