The growth of the international Filipino students’ market is projected to grow by as much as 13 percent over the next five years as more Filipinos want to study and live abroad or take an English language test, according to an Australian-based global leader in international education services.
The Philippine unit of Australian-listed IDP Education Limited sees the number of international Filipino students growing an average of 10-13 percent annually over the next five years after rebounding from the pandemic.
With that, IDP has already opened its fourth office in the country to serve more Filipinos.
IDP Philippines Country Director Jose Miguel Habana said that there is currently a “stronger and continued interest” among Filipinos to study abroad.
One of the three largest in Southeast Asia today, the international Filipino students’ market will be driven mainly by those taking postgraduate studies.
The country’s top education placement service provider estimates that there are now at least 49,000 Filipino overseas students.
The number of Filipino students abroad grew by more than 50 percent when compared to the last count of 22,709 made by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization before the pandemic.
Habana added that the main motivation of Filipinos to study abroad is to pursue career opportunities based on the result of IDP’s “Emerging Futures” survey conducted last March.
IDP conducts bi-annual global surveys with students during various stages of their international education journey.
“A lot of countries at the moment have a big demand for skilled workers,” he said.
TOP STUDENT DESTINATION
The study revealed that Australia and Canada are the top two country-destinations of Filipino overseas students for their quality of education and post-study work opportunities.
Habana said that these countries have also put together programs to attract international students and fill in the need for skilled workers.
“Because there was no migration during the pandemic, they had a big scarcity of skilled workers in the healthcare sector, engineering, and IT, among others, and it’s a massive need,” he said.
Habana said the best way to fill that gap is for these countries to accept international students who will study in their institutions, get adapted in their living conditions and find work and assimilate into their workforce.
The “Emerging Futures” survey also revealed that Canada is the top country to study in of seven out of ten Filipino students, or 70 percent.
Australia follows with 66 percent, while New Zealand ties with the U.S. at 45 percent. Nearly four students out of ten or 38 percent chose Canada as their first-choice destination, while 25 percent ranked Australia as their first choice.
IDP’s research also listed the top six country-destinations, namely, Australia with 15,916 Filipinos students; Canada, 15,545; U.S., 5,284; United Kingdom, 2,640; Japan, 2,221; and New Zealand, 1,334.
IDP opened last November its combined education placement services office under its “Study Abroad” business and International English Language Testing System (IELTS) facility at The Enterprise Center in Makati City. IDP’s Makati office houses its seventh IELTS facility in the country.
The local pioneer in international education services presently operates in Pasig, Cebu, and Baguio.
Habana said that IDP will open offices in at least four more major locations in the country, including Quezon City and Davao, in 2023 to make its services more accessible to students, parents, and other customers.
“We want to bring IDP's services closer to our customers so we can guide them in their lifelong learning and career aspirations, whether they plan to study and work abroad or take the IELTS test,” Habana said.
According to IDP, the number of international Filipino students doubled this year due to the closure of borders during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As a co-owner of IELTS, the world’s most popular English-language test for work, study, and migration, IDP runs computer-delivered IELTS laboratories in Pampanga, Davao, and Bacolod. It also administers the paper-based IELTS test in 30 cities in the country.
IELTS is recognized by more than 10,000 organizations as a “reliable indicator of true-to-life ability to communicate in English” as it assesses a test taker’s proficiency in listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
It is the only language test recognized for migration in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK.
IDP opened IELTS laboratories in Pampanga, Baguio, Bacolod, and Davao this year.
Four IELTS laboratories will be put up in IDP’s future offices in Quezon City, Davao, Iloilo, and Batangas in 2023.
STRONG DEMAND FOR OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT
Besides their growing interest to pursue international studies, Filipinos are also drawn to the strong demand for overseas employment in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and Ireland.
Habana said some of these countries are promoting poststudy work rights in which international students can study and eventually work in their host countries.
“Some of them have a program all the way up to four or even five years of studies, which is a very attractive proposition for Filipinos,” he said.
Habana said that with the programs offered by Canada, Australia, and UK to attract skilled workers through the study pathway, Filipinos are able to stay and work in these countries after their studies.
He said what is also beneficial for Filipino students is that they can work while they are studying.
“This allows them to experience working in that environment even while attending school, which makes it much easier for them to transition once they graduate,” he said.
Habana said it is also much easier now for Filipinos to study and work abroad as IDP makes its global education services available in many parts of the country.
Besides opening new offices and IELTS test centers every year, IDP has also expanded the reach of its virtual services and continued to heavily invest in initiatives to improve customer service for both its IELTS and international education services.