Study finds companies will need to do more to attract talent from overseas.

Australia is ranked as one of the top countries in the world to work in by professionals from overseas looking to fast-track their careers, a groundbreaking new study has found. But the wealth of international talent could now be thinking twice about relocating here.

The 2010 Hydrogen Global Professionals on the Move study reveals that Australia is ranked top in the world as a place to work for human resources and engineering professionals; and the second most sought after place to relocate to for professionals in the finance and technology industries. Lawyers ranked Australia third on their list of most favoured places to relocate to, after the US and the UK.

The study provides key statistical evidence that top employees actively choose to factor in spells in other countries as a way of advancing their career in a highly competitive, global market.

The study is of 3,155 mid-to-senior-level professionals earning an average salary of $125,000 USD and virtually all holding a professional qualification or above – half with postgraduate degrees such as an MBA.

The study also found that for 60 percent of UK respondents the recession has had ‘no impact’ on their willingness to move overseas, and 94 per cent are either already working internationally, or want to do so.

The research was conducted for Hydrogen Group by a consultancy project team from ESCP Europe business school and offers insight into the mindset and motivations of highly qualified professionals at a time of uncertainty and flux in the global recruitment market. It uncovers a clear willingness of professionals to work abroad and explores both the reasons they look to do so and their favoured countries for relocation.

Commenting on report's findings, Tim Smeaton, Chief Executive Officer of Hydrogen Group, said: “Over the past decade, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in our clients looking for candidates with international experience, in line with the increasingly global nature of their operations and customer bases.”

Hydrogen Australia director Emma Halls added that even though Australia’s “credit crunch” had been relatively mild compared to other countries, the global downturn had highlighted the need to attract, import and retain the best staff.

“Our experience shows that top companies in Australia are actively seeking out talented professionals from other parts of world,” she said.

“This is particularly true of the human resources and engineering sectors. In 2010, we have seen a dramatic change in the mindset of HR sector clients, who are now prepared to sponsor qualified international personnel to work alongside Australian talent. A huge investment in Australian infrastructure means that international engineers are needed, and the rewards for skilled employees in these industries are many.

“Australia is renowned for its excellent quality of life, but CEOs and key decision-makers need to re-evaluate salaries and relocation packages in order to reflect the weakness of the UK pound versus the Australian dollar, as well as other factors such as the cost of living here. There is a wealth of international talent out there who want to come to Australia to work. They are attracted to Australia’s image, but the country’s increasing cost of living can be a factor that pushes them to take up positions in South-East Asia or the Middle East with generous relocation packages, low or no incomes taxes, and the same sun and lifestyle opportunities.”

The study differs from existing research in this area which relates largely to tracking more junior or lower skilled workers, by focusing on the migratory patterns of professional level employees, with sector-specific analysis for the professional disciplines of finance, technology, engineering, legal and HR. Among the top findings:

• Mid- to senior-level professionals are highly mobile high flyers, with some 94 percent of respondents either already working abroad or interested in doing so. They see international experience as a key means of fast-tracking their careers and boosting their personal development. Greater earning potential is not in itself a top priority for this demographic.
• The economic downturn is not a major factor in middle- and senior-level professionals' mobility, with 60 percent of respondents stating it had no impact at all on their willingness to move overseas.
• In contrast to research into migration of lower skilled workers, for this demographic moving abroad is not about escaping recession. Their preference is for temporary periods abroad, not permanent relocation, with 64 percent of respondents willing to work in another country for up to five years.
• The US, UK and Australia are consistently the top countries preferred by this demographic.
• While more men say they would definitely move abroad, more women are actually in jobs overseas. When asked 'How likely are you to move abroad?' 34 percent of women reported they were already working abroad, compared to 26 percent of men. However, 40 percent of men said they definitely wanted to go, as opposed to only 30 percent of women.
• Recruitment consultancies were the most popular means of securing jobs abroad, with 28 percent of professionals already overseas having used one, followed by the use of head hunters by 16 percent. In contrast, the majority of respondents not yet abroad but who were interested in doing so (64 percent) were more likely to have simply done internet research about moving overseas, with only 15 percent actually having spoken to a recruitment consultancy.