News and Opportunities
Austrade hosts first education agents training in Lagos
09 Sep 2013
Austrade recently hosted the first Australian education agents training in Lagos, Nigeria, together with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and Navitas.
Currently, there are significant numbers of Nigerian students in competitor markets, such as the US and UK. Comparatively, very small numbers are studying in Australia, largely due to a lack of information about Australia.
About 7000 Nigerians are studying the UK and 11 000 in the US. However, there is keen interest in exploring other study destinations following the tightening of UK visa regulations for Nigerians.
A select number of Nigerian education recruitment agents were invited to attend an ‘introduction to Australian education’ event, held on 20 August 2013 in Lagos. The key target market was higher education.
The briefing event covered information about Future Unlimited branding, the brand licensing process and the kind of support they can expect from Austrade.
The two representatives from DIAC gave a detailed presentation on study visa requirements, including all study visa classes, and held a lively discussion with agents.
A Navitas representative briefed agents on the Navitas Australia offering and provided useful marketing tips on how to position Australian education in the Nigerian market. Navitas also announced that it has opened an office in Lagos.
Agents were very satisfied with the training provided and are keen to promote Australian education. It is hoped that student numbers to Australia will increase significantly over the coming year.