The British Council recognises the importance of education agents in the recruitment of international students. Agents are a key influencer group for those considering an overseas education. Australia is perceived as the clear leader in its effective use of agents, with the UK and the US in second and third place respectively. This view is borne out by research into international undergraduate students studying in the UK, Australia and the USA. This found that 60 per cent of students studying in Australia had used the services of agents.

			In 2000, almost one-third of international students surveyed in the UK had used the services of an agent.
			Student decision making research now shows that approximately 45 per cent of international students in the UK used the services of an agent.

As part of the first Prime Minister's Initiative, we introduced a strategy to build agent capacity to work on behalf of UK education and our work with agents remains a key component of the PMI2's UK positioning strand. We have developed a number of tools and services to support British Council colleagues who are involved in working with agents in-market. Our aim is to increase the number, effectiveness and quality of agents working on behalf of UK providers in all relevant sectors. We are developing the role of agents as marketing partners and supporting UK education providers in their use of agents.

A current focus for the British Council’s work in international education is to help agents (and the students they advise) to understand the new points-based immigration system (PBS) and present it positively, so that it will not be viewed as a potential barrier to UK study. A short discussion-based session on PBS will be included in the programme for this workshop.

This workshop is aimed at all institutions where education agents are used as part of their international marketing strategy.

Workshop objectives

			To consider the context of the current market environment (internal resourcing, increased competition, regional business)
			To identify factors underpinning effective relationships with agents and how best to develop relationships
			To consider contractual elements of the relationship
			To profile new services developed to support institution's work with agents
			To enable delegates to share experiences and best practice

Outline programme

Please note that some timings may be subject to slight change.

The programme will include group exercises and presentations a workshop pack will be provided to delegates on arrival.

Workshop leaders
Chris Chang, Director International, Brunel University
Chris has a wealth of experience in international marketing and recruitment and a significant knowledge of working and developing effective relationships with agents in a variety of different markets. Chris is also a qualified lawyer; he has lectured in Law and has delivered the 'Legal aspects of marketing' component of the CIM international marketing course for members of the Education UK Partnership. He has relevant expertise in the legal aspects of working with agents including contractual agreements.

Denise McGrath, British Council
Denise manages the Education UK certificate training programme for agents, communication support products (including a bi-annual newsletter, Newsflash), inward missions and education information provision and business support tools. She is also responsible for managing related professional development programmes for UK providers. Denise has considerable experience of working with agents and provides additional support to British Council colleagues managing strategies for working with agents in market.

Denise is also responsible for the development of the Education UK integrated media print portfolio; agents are a key user group for these British Council products.

Applications
This event is now closed for recruitment.

All applications are subject to the terms and conditions for our training and development events, which include the eligibility and selection criteria and cancellation policy.

For more information about this event, please contact the Education UK Training and Development Team.