The social structure among expats has changed over the last decades.
The second decade of this century is more than ever before dominated by international markets and globalisation. The time when the image of going abroad was connected to 18 year old secondary school graduates backpacking Down Under seems to be outdated. Of course they still exist, but working abroad in 2012 has reached another level. It is a long-ranging matter and a huge proportion of expats are highly educated. The transformation still hasn’t come to an end and the demographic composition is undergoing continuous changes.
The annual study, Global Professionals on the Move by the Hydrogen Group, tries to figure out changing trends among expats. It is important to mention that it targets only expats with a higher level of education, so nearly all participants (99%) had at least a bachelor’s degree, two thirds had a masters or higher.
Photo taken by Chad Miller (Flickr.com)
About 12 million people living in Germany were born in another country. Germany is considered a country of immigration and more and more foreigners aim to live and work in Germany. The country will face an extreme skill shortage in the upcoming years due to its ageing population, so the government decided to attract workers from abroad.
Why is Germany so popular compared to other European countries?
According to Tony Goodwin, CEO of global recruitment firm Antal International, UK recruitment agencies need to learn that “London isn’t the centre of the recruitment universe”. His message rings truer than ever at a point in time when UK recruitment agencies are struggling to find enough work to offer job seekers at home. Looking beyond borders seems an obvious solution.
In an recent interview with Recruiter, Goodwin makes the point that the culture of using recruitment agencies to find staff is growing more established every year, especially in Europe. For UK firms, the added incentive of fewer HR rules, particularly in southern Europe, should mean they are willing to expand abroad. Read More →
Family moments by Simona Balint (freeimages.com)
Expat families, a typical occurrence these days. Mum or dad goes abroad for work and the entire family joins them. A new life together in a foreign country. Family is important, and it is no surprise that very often family is a major factor when deciding whether to accept an overseas assignment. According to a recent study by Cartus, 76% of the cases in which employees turn down an overseas assignment, it is because of their families or personal circumstances.
However, more and more employers do not encourage family to accompany the expat when they are moving abroad. In 2012, 90% of the employers that responded to Cartus’s survey, agreed with the expatriate’s family accompanying him or her to the new destination. Two years later, the percentage has dropped by 14% to only 76% of the employers that prefer an expat’s family to accompany them abroad. This means almost a quarter of all employers would rather see the expat leaving their family behind. The reason for this is money. Read More →
Leaders in international business have revealed that the ideal global executive would be female, single and in their late twenties or early thirties. Although employers are not able to assess candidates according to gender, age or marital status, international assignees fitting this profile have proven to be the most successful, according to a study by health insurer, Expacare.
An article by The Telegraph quoted co-president of the Professional Women’s Network in London, Ines Wichert, on why she thought women were so successful on the global business stage. “Women are well-suited for international assignments due to their strong interpersonal skills which can make an important difference when a person has to show cultural sensitivity and build relationships with new colleagues and customers once abroad.”
The news that employers increasingly prefer to send female employees abroad on international assignments is reflected in the changing demographics of expat workers. Brookfield Global Relocation Services published the findings of their latest Global Relocation Trends Survey in December 2013. The survey reported not only a year on year increase in the number of female employees working overseas, but that 23% of international assignees were now women.
As far as future recruitment trends go, it would appear that the use of professional social media platforms is increasing.
The 2013 LinkedIn survey of global recruitment trends revealed that increasing numbers of employers are jumping on the social media bandwagon to seek employees, suggesting that who you know is indeed becoming just as important as what you know.
The third annual survey of its kind was carried out across 19 countries, gathering responses from 3,300 HR professionals. As well as trends shaping the future, the study also revealed employer priorities and top recruiting methods. Read More →
An increasing number of employees are moving abroad for short-term assignments according to a new report by Mercer, a global human resources consultancy.
This upsurge in global labour mobility stems from increasing pressure on companies to recruit and retain high-performers. In addition, companies are also looking overseas to satisfy the ever-growing skill shortages in key sectors.
According to the report, over 70% of companies are expected to increase short-term international assignments this year alone. Top destinations for these international assignments include the United States, China, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Australia.
The new Canadian start up Visa is said to promote entrepreneurial talent in the country.
Canada has launched a new type of visa, aimed at foreign business executives in a bid to accelerate economic growth within the private sector and boost entrepreneurial talent.
Foreigners can now fast track their status as a permanent Canadian resident providing they receive investment of CAD$200,000 from a Canadian venture capital fund or CAD$75,000 from a designated Canadian angel investor group. Candidates also have to meet general criteria relating to academic experience and language competency skills.
South Korea is a growing alternative destination for expats.
Last year Hong Kong saw a record number of work visas issued to foreign nationals, with British and Americans employees representing the biggest growth nationalities. Britain’s history with Hong Kong and its larger base of English speakers can account for some of its attraction, but the situation in East Asia is more complicated than simple familiarity.
With access to some of the most important emerging markets in the world, business hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore are ideally located and connected to enable expansion for foreign businesses.
An increasing number of companies are providing integration programmes for family members of their foreign workers.
For expatriates worldwide, employment and job opportunities are often the reason for moving abroad. For many expats this leads to a trailing spouse or partner that must displace themselves. Contrary to what your company may say, the experience of moving to a new country, sometimes using a new language, is certainly at first, a very daunting experience.
This has prompted companies to start schemes and programmes to make sure their relocating employee’s family are happy in their new location. Danish companies are now beginning to budget for accompanying families in their expatriate integration programmes.