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factors were economic opportunities, access to
local markets and family ties.
For highly skilled scientists and technology
workers, there are yet other factors. According
to a 2008 OECD publication, The Global
Competition for Talent: Mobility of the Highly
Skilled, these workers also seek better research
funding and research infrastructure, the
opportunity to work with “star” scientists and
more freedom to debate.
Government programs and policies
Governments across the world continue to
create a wide repertoire of programs to help
draw highly skilled expats home. China’s list
alone is huge. To encourage students to return,
the Government there has set up educational
bureaux in its embassies and consulates as well
as several thousand student associations.
Universities and government-funded research
organizations actively recruit returnees. One
initiative, The Thousand Talents Program, offers
incentives to top researchers to come home,
including a one-time, tax-free cash allowance of
¥1 million (US$159,000), and a residency
permit in whichever city they choose, among
other benefits. Some cities have created
“enterprise incubators” for returnees.
The United Arab Emirates has made its expat
workers aware of employment opportunities
back home by creating an online platform called
Return2Home. The initiative targets Emirati
jobseekers in the US, UK, Canada, India and
South East Asia, as well as employers seeking
non-resident Emiratis with international
experience and expertise.
With many skilled expats being increasingly
“pulled” home, the countries currently hosting
these expats have an equally large stake in
encouraging them to stay. According to Liley,
“How well a country integrates its talent will
have a high impact on whether that talent comes
to consider the host society home. For example,”
he says, “countries such as Sweden and other
Nordic countries have provided language training
for numerous years, which is the key to
connecting with the local population and
integrating into the society.
In some cases, immigration policies create
barriers to workers who might otherwise wish to
stay in a host country. For example, the US is
experiencing an exodus of skilled foreign
workers, particularly in crucial fields of science,
technology, engineering and mathematics.
“Many of these people are leaving simply
because they cannot get permanent visas to
stay in the US after their student or training
visas expire,” says Rooney. Another approach is
to ease immigration policies that prevent needed
talent from entering. Like the US, the UK faces
shortages of skilled workers, particularly in
certain sectors. The British Business Secretary
Vince Cable stated in 2011 that the UK’s
aerospace industry faces a serious, chronic
shortage of engineers; he believes certain
immigration caps are partly to blame.
Governments can also change immigration
rules to make it easier for expats to return. For
example, in Canada, a pilot program was
launched in 2011 to encourage Canadian expats
in certain sectors facing significant shortages,
such as health care and academic research, to
return home by easing immigration restrictions
on non-Canadian spouses.
Education is also on the move
Working professionals are one facet, but
students are also crucial here. Vast numbers of
students in developing economies leave home
each year to attend Western institutions of
higher education. That fact has not been lost on
Western business schools. INSEAD, a top
European business school, has a campus in
Singapore, and other schools, such as the
University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School,
have established campuses abroad for their
executive-MBA programs. Local business schools
in countries such as India and China are also
appearing at a rapid pace.
Science and technology research institutions
are globalizing more slowly. However, a new
publication, OECD Science, Technology and
Industry Scoreboard 2011: Innovation and
Growth in Knowledge Economies, indicates
that there is evidence that some universities in
Asia are emerging as leading research
institutions. With non-OECD economies
accounting for a growing share of the world’s
R&D (measured in terms of both number of
researchers and R&D expenditures), it is
reasonable to expect that, over time, additional
research institutions in these regions will
continue to emerge and grow; these will further
support shifting brain flows.
Talent at stake
Employers face somewhat different concerns in
managing talent flows from an HR point of view.
But whether the issue at hand is retaining valuable
immigrant employees or encouraging people to
come home, “companies need to focus on the
opportunities they create for employees,” says
Michael Dickmann, Professor of International HRM
at the UK’s Cranfield School of Management and
co-author of Global Careers. “This goes far beyond
monetary issues. I believe it is about the very clear
development of employees and the way companies
manage their talent. We consistently see that, in
the range of drivers for people who work globally,
these are the strongest.”
In his book, Dickmann notes that what was
once a clear brain drain, where the talent flow was
one-way, is now changing to what he terms “brain
circulation,” with mutual sharing of talent and
learning. In an increasingly interconnected world,
this circulation will only continue to increase. And
those capturing the top minds, regardless of their
origin, will benefit most.
¥1m
The one-time, tax-free cash
allowance that one of China’s
initiatives – The Thousand
Talents Program – offers to top
researchers to come home,
amounting to about
US$159,000.
70%
The approximate percentage
of expatriates, as a proportion
of the total population, in the
United Arab Emirates, the
highest such ratio in the world.
Ernst & Young Issue 07 T Magazine 35