[Abstract] With the "Belt and Road Initiative" entering the second decade, China’s cooperation with countries and regions along the route has reached a higher level, which puts forward a more urgent demand for international talents who know China, Asia and the Western world. Under this background, China’s study abroad service industry, as a bridge between domestic and foreign education, should transform its way of promoting international talent training from the traditional "outward transportation" to the "transportation+introduction" double cycle. This paper explores the necessity of this transformation, analyzes the problems in the process of transformation from the perspectives of industry structure, organization and technology, and puts forward some countermeasures, such as perfecting product system, digitizing study abroad service, establishing local study abroad service industry associations and strengthening the combination of academic research and practice.
[Keywords:] "Belt and Road"; Study abroad service industry; Industry transformation
According to official data, by the end of 2022, China had signed more than 200 cooperation documents with 150 countries and 32 international organizations to jointly build the Belt and Road, which created opportunities for business exchanges among many countries and promoted talent exchanges between different countries. In addition, with the increasingly fierce geopolitical competition between China and the United States, the importance of the "Belt and Road" construction has become increasingly prominent. Report to the 20th CPC National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that building the Belt and Road Initiative has become a popular platform for international public goods and international cooperation. It is necessary to promote the high-quality development of the "Belt and Road".
The essence of the "Belt and Road" construction is the cooperation between China and other countries, which requires the participation of international talents to achieve the expected results. China’s study abroad service industry has great advantages in international talent training, and has helped millions of students to study abroad successfully for many years. When national construction needs a large number of international talents, China’s study abroad service industry should be appropriately transformed, give full play to its early service advantages, publicize relevant national policies, and promote overseas students to return to China for employment; At the same time, we will develop the business of international students studying in China, optimize the "import" and "export", and make contributions to the cultivation of international talents in China.
Representative scholars, perspectives and contents of study abroad service industry
First, the introduction of China’s study abroad service industry
After the reform and opening up, the state implemented the policy of supporting study abroad, and gradually liberalized self-funded study abroad. With the rapid development of economic globalization, the income of China residents has been greatly improved, and the main way of studying abroad has gradually changed from public study to self-funded study, further promoting the upsurge of studying abroad. The purpose of studying abroad has also changed, from learning knowledge to broadening knowledge, enriching life and learning advanced knowledge and technology. Under this circumstance, the service industry for studying abroad in China came into being. Since the reform and opening up, it has provided overseas study consultation and services to millions of self-funded groups, helping many students to study abroad successfully. Among them, Britain, the United States, Canada and Australia are the main destinations for studying abroad, and Germany, Japan and South Korea are gradually attracting more and more students’ attention.
China’s overseas study service industry organizations include large companies, studios and independent consultants, etc. The educational level of the clients involves middle school, undergraduate and graduate students, and the service contents include overseas study consultation, overseas study application, overseas study training, academic counseling and employment guidance. The service content can be divided and defined in more detail from narrow and broad perspectives. In a narrow sense, study abroad service is an intermediary service for study abroad, including study abroad consultation and application; In a broad perspective, study abroad service includes not only study abroad consultation and application, but also study abroad training, academic counseling, study abroad and employment services.
Since January 8, 2023, China has officially implemented "Class B and B Management" for Covid-19 infection, and the market of China’s study abroad service industry has gradually warmed up. Related industry research reports show that compared with the rapid development from 2014 to 2019, China’s study abroad service industry is in a moderate development period from 2021 to 2023, but it will start to grow at a high speed after 2024, reaching a market scale of 467.9 billion yuan and nearly 600 billion yuan in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Among them, the business of studying abroad from a narrow perspective is growing slowly, while the business from a broad perspective, including background improvement, study abroad training, academic counseling and employment services, will usher in rapid development.
Michael Porter once said that the four factors of politics, law, economy, social culture and technology in the macro environment of the industry have great influence on the long-term development of the industry and enterprises within the industry. The "Belt and Road Initiative" conforms to China’s basic national policy of opening to the outside world, is the need for the country to expand and deepen its opening to the outside world, and is also an effective way to strengthen ties and cooperation between China, Asia, Europe and Africa. China’s study abroad service industry should give full play to its own characteristics, make appropriate transformation, change its mode from "outward export" to "export+import", and expand its study abroad destinations to countries and regions along the Belt and Road, so as to cultivate international talents needed for the Belt and Road construction.
Second, the necessity of the transformation and upgrading of the service industry for studying abroad
(1) Create a good domestic environment for the construction of the "Belt and Road"
As early as 2015, the number of employees in China’s study abroad service industry from a narrow perspective has reached 25,000. In 2017, the state released the qualification of intermediary service for studying abroad, and more individuals were able to enter the industry. Since 2018, various industries (businesses) in China’s study abroad service industry have developed rapidly from a broad perspective. Under the background of "One Belt, One Road" initiative, the transformation of China’s study abroad service industry is bound to create more employment opportunities, alleviate the current employment problems, thus promoting social stability, creating a good domestic environment for promoting the "Belt and Road" construction, and providing a sound environmental guarantee for exploring more international cooperation.
(B) to provide talent protection for the "Belt and Road" construction
From 1978 to the end of 2018, more than 3.65 million overseas students chose to return to China for development after completing their studies. Among them, many people have become the best in the industry and made great contributions to the prosperity and development of the country. At the same time, China has become the largest destination country for studying abroad in Asia. In 2018, a total of 492,200 international students from 196 countries and regions studied in China, including more than 260,000 students from countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative.
Under the background of "One Belt, One Road" initiative, the transformation of China’s study abroad service industry involves providing better services to the above two groups. "Overseas students have a broad vision and should be at the forefront of innovation", which is the high hope and expectation of the Supreme Leader General Secretary for the overseas students. Returned overseas students generally have an international perspective, are familiar with international rules and dare to innovate and start businesses. International students from countries and regions along the Belt and Road have a full understanding of their own countries, and by studying in China and learning China culture, they become the disseminators of China culture. These two groups are important talent groups needed to promote the "Belt and Road" construction, which provide a basic guarantee for comprehensively promoting the diplomacy of a big country with China characteristics, and are also the groups that must be focused on in the transformation of the service industry for studying abroad in China.
(C) Effectively respond to national talent introduction policies and international competition for talents.
In today’s world, international competition is unprecedentedly fierce, and countries with strong comprehensive strength can gain advantages in the competition. In the final analysis, the competition between countries is the competition of knowledge innovation and scientific and technological innovation, and the key is the competition of talents. Countries have formulated policies to attract overseas talents, such as Germany’s "blue card program", Britain’s PSW visa policy, and the United States’ provision of convenient immigration conditions for science and engineering talents. Compared with western countries, China pays more attention to the introduction of high-level talents from other countries. China pays more attention to its own overseas students and their work, and has successively issued a series of policies to encourage overseas students to return to China and serve the country. The transformation of the service industry for studying abroad in China should involve relevant contents, so as to help China effectively cope with the international competition for talents.
Third, the problems existing in the transformation of the service industry for studying abroad
(A) the industrial chain is short, the links between different industries are loose, and the products need to be systematized.
In 2018, there were 662,100 Chinese students studying abroad, with a total of 519,400 returned overseas students and over 490,000 international students studying in China. The data shows that there is a big gap between the export and import of students in China at this stage. Only a few institutions in the market provide business for studying in China, and most of them lack services for studying in China, especially for students from countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative. On the other hand, the service products of China’s study abroad service industry on the employment of returned overseas students also need to be enriched.
(B) A large number of organizations, the quality of service needs to be improved.
On January 12th, 2017, the State Council issued the "Decision on the Third Batch of Cancellation of Administrative Licensing Matters in Central Designated Places", which cancelled the qualification examination and approval of study abroad agents, and the number of institutions providing study abroad services increased sharply. In Tianyancha, "study abroad service intermediary" was used as the key word to search, and the number of related enterprises has exceeded 100 thousand. However, the improvement of the service quality of overseas study service institutions failed to catch up with the growth rate of the number of institutions. Take the study abroad service industry in Ningbo as an example. By 2022, there were as many as 990 enterprises involved in study abroad services, but only 90 enterprises specialized in study abroad services, nearly half of which were small and micro enterprises, which made it difficult to protect the rights and interests of customers. More than 20% of the respondents who are willing to study abroad hold a wait-and-see attitude towards the services of overseas institutions, and think that their service quality assurance system and tracking system need to be improved [1]. The improvement of service quality will enhance the satisfaction of students (customers) who plan to study abroad with the service industry for studying abroad, and ultimately affect their acceptance of the follow-up suggestions given by the industry, which will help the industry guide international students to return to China for development.
(C) The application of digital and intelligent technologies in the industry needs to be improved.
Traditional study abroad institutions have a slight advantage in promoting informatization. Some organizations have started to build CRM and OA systems since 2010, linking employee performance with system operation, improving internal employee management and ensuring customer service can be completed on time. In 2017, some institutions also launched intelligent study abroad system products, covering consultant style, product introduction, destination country introduction, institution introduction, professional introduction and successful cases, providing students and parents with all-round services and support. There are also several overseas training institutions that have arranged online education early to realize online and digital language training. Except for some large overseas institutions, there are very few enterprises that can support the digital cost, which leads to a series of problems, such as customer data can not be kept safely, customer privacy can not be guaranteed, business progress can not be shared in real time, and customer experience is poor.
(D) lack of academic research and failure to provide effective guidance for the transformation of the service industry for studying abroad.
More employees in the overseas study service industry will pursue higher-level degree courses after work to better serve students or guide the development of overseas study service institutions. As of March 18th, 2023, there were 111 master’s theses on China Knowledge Network with the theme of "study abroad service". However, most of the studies were carried out around a single enterprise, rarely from the perspective of the industry, especially the related research with the background of "Belt and Road", which failed to provide effective reference for the transformation of the study abroad service industry in China. According to the literature, scholars’ perspectives include the brand building and development strategy of overseas study service institutions, the evolution of overseas study policies, the influencing factors of students’ willingness and motivation to study abroad, the risks in the process of studying abroad, and the impact of studying abroad on China’s education development (see table).
Fourth, the study on the countermeasures for the transformation of the service industry for studying abroad
(1) Based on international education, increase employment and study in China to meet the talent demand for the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.
1. Improve the products and services related to returning employment.
The service industry for studying abroad has provided relevant services before students go abroad, and it has early advantages in contacting and persuading students to buy products for employment back home. When designing products related to returning to China for employment, enterprises should decide according to their own scale and strength, and also consider the demand for talents in the construction of the "Belt and Road". For large-scale enterprises, we can consider taking advantage of having offices abroad to cooperate with recruitment platforms and hold job fairs overseas; Summarize and share the information on the talent demand for the "Belt and Road" construction and the information on the employment of overseas students returning to China, including entrepreneurship, employment support, financial support and other services, and play the role of a third party to improve the efficiency of students’ decision-making; Establish a special business department, hire professional staff, and provide students with resume guidance and interview training. Smaller enterprises can consider focusing on developing the second type of scheme or cooperating with large enterprises.
2. Developing the business of international students studying in China, and forming a double-cycle effect with the business of studying abroad.
The study abroad service industry should establish in-depth cooperation with relevant state departments and institutions and domestic schools, understand the needs of colleges and universities, make full use of the marketing departments of different enterprises, and timely and accurately convey information to potential international students in countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative; Work with the school to design related activities, such as essay competition for international students in China, international friends entering China enterprises, cooking competition for international students in China, etc., to help international students in China integrate into life in China, understand China culture and tell China stories well.
(2) Establish local study abroad service industry associations to promote personnel exchanges between China and countries and regions along the Belt and Road.
The local study abroad service industry association is a non-profit social organization in the study abroad service industry. It is generally advocated and promoted by the local education department, reviewed and approved by the Social Organization Administration of the Civil Affairs Department, and participated by local study abroad service institutions. It has clear functions, structure, articles of association and services. At present, relevant associations have been established in Beijing and Guangzhou. Taking beijing overseas-study service association as an example, the Association has 66 member units, all of which have the qualification of intermediary service for studying abroad. The Association has a secretariat, an international department, a comprehensive social service department, a training department, a Chinese department, an information center and a legal affairs department, which provide various services such as studying abroad guarantee plan, seven-day termination without obligation, studying abroad finance and studying abroad insurance, and make positive contributions to standardizing the local study abroad market in Beijing, promoting the healthy and steady development of the local study abroad service industry and cultivating international talents for the country. All localities can learn from Beijing’s practice, establish local study abroad service industry associations, understand students’ needs, regularly share and timely recommend the study abroad policies of countries and regions along the Belt and Road, and promote the exchange of study between China and countries and regions along the Belt and Road.
(3) Promote the digitalization of overseas study services, promote the inter-industry links of overseas study services, and improve service quality and customer experience.
The digital trend of studying abroad service is irreversible. The study abroad service industry should adhere to the digitalization of study abroad service, create favorable conditions for industry employees to learn and improve their personal digital literacy, and actively cooperate with industry associations to discuss how to use technologies such as the Internet, big data and artificial intelligence to innovate the study abroad service model and platform. China’s overseas study service industry should pay close attention to the relevant information of overseas students’ return service in time, and make corresponding publicity and support. At present, the country regularly holds job fairs for overseas students and the "Spring Cup" innovation and entrepreneurship competition for overseas students in China, and has established a government platform of "Service for Studying in internet plus". China’s study abroad service industry should pay attention to the digital reform of the country and provide effective advice and guidance for returned overseas students.
(4) Guide the academic circle to study the transformation of the overseas study service industry and better serve the construction of the "Belt and Road"
On the basis of establishing local study abroad service industry association, we should build a talent pool of local study abroad service industry. The association will organize leaders of study abroad institutions and people with high academic qualifications to hold regular discussions and hold industry salons. Topics can include the development of individual enterprises, the construction of China’s study abroad service industry ecosystem, and how China’s study abroad service industry can help the "Belt and Road" construction, so as to help the people with high academic qualifications get scientific research inspiration and promote the local and even national study abroad service industry to find a better development direction.
The development of study abroad service industry in China is of great economic and social significance to China and plays an important role in cultivating and absorbing international talents. Under the background that the "Belt and Road" construction continues to advance and a large number of talents are needed, China’s study abroad service industry needs to be transformed, and the talent introduction function should be realized and strengthened to achieve the goal of attracting overseas students to return to China for development and attracting outstanding foreign students to study and work in China. (The author Lu Shengguan is a teacher in the Marketing Department of Jilin International Studies University. This paper is the phased scientific research achievement of Jilin International Studies University’s school-level project "Research on College Students’ Academic Attainment: Influencing Factors, Influencing Principles and Posteffects" [project number: JW2022JSKYB029]).
References:
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[4] Lu Shengguan. Study on the influencing factors of internal service quality-taking the domestic study abroad service industry as an example [D]. Beijing: capital university of economics and business, 2017.
Source: China Scholar (No.7, 2023)