The job market in Australia is now easier to access. And with other far flung countries booming there are lots of reasons to consider working overseas
When Russell Jowett first arrived in Melbourne on a wet Saturday morning, he wondered whether he had made the right decision to leave the UK. The queasiness grew when he moved into a flat opposite a homeless hostel, on a noisy street in St Kilda beach ? a 20-minute tram ride from the city ? where the partying carried on until 3am.
"My initial impressions weren't very good," said Jowett, who arrived in October, having successfully responded to an ad in the Guardian placed by SMS Management & Technology, an Australian consultancy company, which is sponsoring him. He is now weighing up whether to stay or return to his family home in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
At the age of 50, Jowett had decided it was now or never to test the waters Down Under ? an idea he and his wife, Suzanne, 49, had toyed with for some time. There were sound economic reasons. His consultancy projects at GCHQ, the eavesdropping centre in Cheltenham, and for the Serious Organised Crime Agency, were coming to an end in a tightening job market. Nor was he too thrilled at the prospect of living under a Conservative-Lib Dem government.
"I felt quite depressed at the election," says Jowett, as we chat on the 41st floor of an office tower with sweeping views of Melbourne. "The political situation is not in line with my allegiances."
Jowett's decision to give the southern hemisphere a try reflects the contrasting economic fortunes of Britain and Australia. As the British economy splutters ? it shrank 0.5% in the last quarter of 2010 ? Australia's is motoring and is expected to grow by 3.5% this year. Unlike the UK and US, Australia has weathered what Australians call "the GFC" (global financial crisis), thanks to solid banking supervision. Now it is riding high on the back of China's explosive growth and its demand for raw materials.
Iron ore, coal, copper and wool account for more than 70% of Australia's exports to China ? easily its biggest market. So while Britain's economy flounders, Australia's is flourishing ? although some commentators caution that it could suffer should China's economy go off the boil.
For the time being, Australia's boom brings its own problems. It has a skills shortage and is eager to recruit a wide range of professionals and tradespeople, from secondary school teachers to architects, computer experts to nurses and civil engineers to cartographers. It is a long list and the regional areas, in particular, suffer from shortages. The recent floods and hurricane damage in Queensland have only sharpened the need for construction workers.
Older professionals such as Jowett should benefit from changes in Australia's points-based visa system due to come into force in July. The changes ? which continue to give top priority to employers who want to sponsor individual migrants ? will focus on better English language skills, more extensive skilled work experience, higher-level qualifications obtained in Australia and overseas and different age ranges. Australia realises that many people in their mid to late 40s are just reaching the peak of their careers, acquiring the level of expertise it needs.
Australia has been a draw for Brits ever since the �10 Poms, an Australian government scheme of assisted passage that brought more than 1 million British migrants. These days programmes such as the BBC's Wanted Down Under and Relocation: Phil Down Under on Channel 4 serve to pique British curiosity about moving to Australia, although as some of the programmes make clear, the roads in Australia are not necessarily paved with gold. Still, as recession bites, more Brits may be tempted to move abroad for work.
It is not just Australia that wants skilled British workers. Singapore touts itself as a unique blend of east and west, a multicultural society with a global outlook where it is easy to adjust and adapt. After establishing itself as a centre for finance and IT, it is now seeking to attract those working in interactive and digital media, biomedical sciences and green technology. It has done a fair job in luring foreign labour, as about one in four skilled workers on the island come from overseas.
In recent years, China has also attracted skilled British workers. A report last year called Global Brit, from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), estimated that the percentage of Britons living in China since 2006 jumped by 30% ? albeit from a low base ? and the British population in the UAE grew by 20% in the same period, probably reflecting the greater job opportunities, although Dubai's bubble burst during the 2008 financial crisis.
Meanwhile, other countries such as Brazil, Argentina and South Africa are also in the market for skilled expats. Glotel, a recruitment firm for telecommunications engineers and project managers, finds a big demand in those countries for its experts.
"At present we are seeing a surge in opportunities within South America, particularly in Brazil and Argentina," says Lee Wilsher, managing director of Glotel. "We have seen a 25% increase year-on-year in the last three years of permanent placements in Brazil, while both Shanghai and Singapore are active markets and there are some great opportunities for the right candidates."
While there are communities of more than 1,000 Britons in more than 100 countries around the world, the big expat populations are in Australia (more than a million), Spain, the US, Canada and France.
The IPPR report says most British emigrants move abroad primarily to work ? 55% in 2008. They also tend to be younger, better educated and in higher-earning jobs than the general British population. In fact, latest figures show that emigration among professionals and the highly skilled has slowed recently, with greater numbers returning home ? but the UK is still experiencing "brain drain". On the plus side, though, the UK received about �4.5bn in remittances from abroad in 2006 ? which represents 0.3% of GDP.
The drop reflects a waning in a British emigration boom that began in 2000. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of people leaving the UK for 12 months or more fell from 427,000 in 2008 to 368,000 in 2009, while an estimated 140,000 British citizens emigrated in 2009, the lowest number since 1999, down from 173,000 in 2008.
The IPPR finds that people choose to emigrate mainly because they see opportunities. In other words, it is positive "pull factors" that encourage them to emigrate, not negative "push factors" such as the economic or political situation in the UK.
Jowett says, however, that both apply to his case. He loves Melbourne and feels at home after his less than auspicious start in this fast-growing city of 4 million people, with its myriad bars, cafes and restaurants and its terrific, if overburdened, tram system.
"It feels very cosmopolitan and very European," he says. "It's a bit cliched but everybody is friendly. I'm a big sports fan, I've watched the Ashes and I'm a keen golfer, so this place really does appeal."
His wife and two children came to visit for three weeks at Christmas and loved it, so the pressure is on him to stay, Jowett says. But there are downsides. Although his salary is higher than in the UK, he finds it counteracted by the cost of living, particularly the high rent. In fact, Melbourne is suffering from its success. A recent survey of housing affordability around the world listed Melbourne near the bottom ? 321st out of 325 markets. The Demographic International Housing Affordability Survey put the median Melbourne house price at $565,000 (�353,823) with the median household income at $63,000.
Such prices have prompted some analysts to say Australia has gone from the exemplar of modestly priced, high-quality, middle-class housing to the least affordable housing market in the English-speaking world.
A big emotional wrench
The popularity of Australia has fluctuated over recent decades. After a drop in popularity during the 1990s, it rose in the 2000s. Australian immigration records show nearly 2,000 Britons a month settled permanently in Australia during the first half of 2006, accounting for one in five long-term immigrants to Australia and more than doubling the British arrival rate of 10 years ago. In 2008-09, 31,882 Britons settled permanently there, but the number dropped to 25,439 in 2009-10.
So in thinking of settling permanently in Australia, Jowett is bucking the trend, although if the UK economy is stuck in the doldrums, others may follow his example.
Going so far can be a big emotional wrench. Olivia Stuart moved to Australia with her Australian husband in 2009 from Linlithgow, Scotland, mainly for the sake of their three boys, aged nine, six and four. She works as a GP in Wangaratta, two-and-a-half hours from Melbourne. They love the outdoor life, Stuart enjoys her work and they feel relieved to be in a strong economy, unlike their friends and family back home.
"Every GP clinic in town would like another doctor," says Stuart. "The hard bit is it's a long way back and it's expensive. We miss family and friends, but you just have to accept that." She also warns that dealing with the paperwork is an ordeal. "If you don't like paperwork don't emigrate," she says. "It took three months to become a GP, even though there is a big shortage. There are a lot of bureaucratic hoops."
Jowett, who was born in Barnsley, says he misses walking in the Yorkshire Dales and Peak District and most of all watching Barnsley, his football team, where he had a season ticket. But overall, he has not been disappointed. "We always wanted to travel and have done a lot of travelling," he says. "We'd been thinking of moving here and at this time of my life, it was either moving to Australia or buying a motor bike."
How countries compare
Singapore
Population: 4.8 million.
Outlook: Economy estimated to have expanded by 14.7% in 2010, surpassing even China's rate. Expansion in 2011 expected to be a more restrained 4.3%.
Who they need: Digital media experts; bioscientists/engineers; accounting/financial managers.
System of entry: Advance job offer needed to get a work permit or an employment pass.
Downside: The government doesn't brook much argument over its policies.
Canada
Population: 33.4 million.
Outlook: Recovering from recession, but strong growth forecasts threatened by a looming population shortage. Hence the urgent requirement for more workers and citizens generally.
Who they need: Who don't they need? Healthcare, IT and skilled tradespeople among the most sought-after, but many more on the list.
System of entry: Points-based.
Downside: Isolation can be a problem in the world's second-biggest territory.
Qatar
Population: 1.4 million.
Outlook: Has one of the world's highest per capita GDP rates and a fast rate of economic growth.
Who they need: Healthcare workers; engineers to work on gas field expansion and 2022 World Cup stadiums.
System of entry: Similar to Singapore ? but spouses must get their own employment pass if they want to work too.
Downside: 40C temperatures are common in the summer months.
China
Population: 1.3 billion.
Outlook: Nouriel Roubini, the economist who saw the 2008 financial crisis coming, believes the world's second-biggest economy is overheating. Only a stronger yuan can help cool the economy and bring down inflation, he says.
Who they need: English teachers; entrepreneurial people who can facilitate trade with western companies.
System of entry: Z visa, normally issued once job has been offered.
Downsides: As Singapore but worse; difficult language to learn.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/feb/19/job-australia-working-overseas
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