KIT: Foreign placement consultants

Strategic tools for the practising manager

Foreign education has become a big draw over the last decade. The US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada have become big draws. Australia and Canada have been aggressive in wooing students from India.

Three reasons for students to go abroad are: immigration at the lower end, quality education at the middle level, and research and further education at the top level.

According to estimates, more than 2,00,000 Indian students are studying abroad. Almost 85 per cent of them go through foreign placement consultants. Consultants earn revenue through the fee paid by students.

A large number of educational institutions also offer hefty pay-backs to the consultants for every student routed to them.

The market is estimated to be around Rs 8,000 crore right now and is likely to reach Rs 12,000 crore by 2015 and Rs 21,000 crore by 2020. This highly competitive business can only look at better times in the foreseeable future due to the charm of a qualification originating in a foreign country and the prospects of immigration unlikely to fade in the near future.