Svetlana Cruz, BONARD’s International Education Consultant, presented on diversification in the existing market landscape and current trends at the 2022 English Australia Conference.
The main highlights of BONARD’s research and her presentation are below.
- BONARD used a bespoke data matrix to identify a suitable mix of markets for strategic recruitment in the Australian context.
- ‘Volume’ markets – represented by China, Brazil, Japan and Thailand – continue to be key. Despite flattening growth levels, these markets account for 47% of all ELICOS students in Australia and are difficult to replace in the short term. Svetlana encouraged Australian providers to de-risk their strategy in these markets by diversifying their recruitment approach (greater penetration of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, diversification of their B2B partner network and recruitment channels used).
- ‘Growth’ markets drove new student enrolment in the years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and continue to show high recruitment potential for the ELICOS sector for the foreseeable future. Leading markets in this category are Colombia, Nepal, India, Mongolia, Chile and Spain (representing 21% of all students in the ELICOS sector).
- ‘Diversification’ refers to approximately 135 additional student nationalities in Australia which account for 32% of all ELICOS students. Amongst these markets, based on recent performance and growing demand for English, BONARD has shortlisted Mexico, Peru, Bangladesh, Ecuador and Bhutan as places for providers to keep on their radar.
- BONARD approached ELICOS providers to source their views on diversification. The desired effects of diversification on their institutions go beyond increasing the number of student nationalities or avoiding overreliance on one market – providers also acknowledge the importance of diversification as a means of bringing together students with various motivations to study English, developing a diverse course offering, and improving class dynamics and student experience.
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