The Global Competition for Talent Analyzing the Migration Preferences of Graduate Students in Engineering
Presentation Outline Background Definitions Student Survey Results Company Survey Results Conclusions
Definitions Highly Skilled Mobile Worker (HSMW): one with tertiary education, trained in an engineering or technology-related discipline, and with the ability to migrate in order to utilize his/her expertise for work purposes. Brain Circulation : (AnnaLee Saxenian) Highly skilled workers from developing countries. Trend of staying in developed countries after university graduation to start professional careers, receive support from immigrant associations or alumni associations and establish an international network when they return to their home country..
Literature Review Who are highly skilled workers? What motivates highly skilled workers? Major destinations of highly skilled workers Looking at national immigration policies Corporate strategies for attracting top talent Targeting hiring practices towards foreign workers.
Three Levels of Influence on Migration Individual Factors Lifestyle preferences, such as weather, local amenities, cultural factors, opportunities for integration; Human-related factors, such as family ties, friends, and diaspora networks Individual Factors Corporate Behavior Corporate Behavior Occupational incentives, such as higher salary, tax incentive, better research environment; Government Policies Bureaucratic complications, such as visa quota or work restrictions for spouse. Government Policies
Student Survey Results
Outline and Methodology of Student Questionnaire Duration of survey: December 2009 April 2010 Questionnaire respondents: Graduate students in engineering (Masters or Ph.D) Methodology: Distributed through university engineering departments, student email lists and graduate student associations. Survey on SurveyMonkey.com. Number of Questions: 21 required, 6 optional
Information about Respondents 815 students started to answer our survey 663 completed the survey (81.3%) Based on 662 students who disclosed their university names, 21 universities are represented, covering 9 countries and 3 continents
Table 1: Statistics of degrees pursued Table 2: Immigration Status Statistics
Hypotheses (1 of 2) Individual factors: Language skills affect the decision to migration. Language skills affect the determination of destination state. Marriage and children adversely affect the decision to migrate. Quality of life at home versus abroad affects the decision to migrate. Family and social ties in the destination state affect the decision to migrate. Government-influenced factors Potential migrants prefer permanent migration opportunities, compared to opportunities for temporary migration that restricts the length of their stay. Reports of visa availability affect the determination to migrate.
Hypotheses (2 of 2) Career-related factors: Transferability of skills affects the decision to migrate. Career opportunities at home versus abroad affect the decision to migrate, including: Research infrastructure Room for promotion Company openness to new ideas and creative problem solving Caliber of colleagues Work environment/culture Possibility of developing long-term business relationships
Professional Factors Professional factors contributing to decision to seek employment abroad Employer openness to new ideas Freedom to use creative/innovative approaches to problem solving Higher earning power Better work environment or corporate culture 2.1 2.16 2.17 2.22 Potential for promotion Performance-based pay incentive Greater ability to impact home country after experience abroad Training programs 2.43 2.57 2.68 2.7 Exposing your children to a new country 3.21 Earning citizenship of a host country 3.51 0 1 2 3 4
Extremely + Very Important Away / Home disparity Professional Factors Spread 80.00% 35.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% Spread Total 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 40.00% 10.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% -5.00% -10.00% 0.00% -15.00%
Lifestyle Factors Lifestyle factors contributing to decision to seek employment abroad Research infrastructure and resources available 1.92 Quality of schools for children (hypothetically, if you do not have any) Access to leisure activities/outdoors/sports in a given region Cultural or political attributes 2.21 2.25 2.29 Regional reputation Closeness to home country and/or family Shorter commute to work Climate Quality of public transportation Cheaper cost of living 2.53 2.56 2.58 2.61 2.64 2.82 Community from home country in new area Tax advantages 3.09 3.19 0 1 2 3 4
Extremely + Very Important Away / Home disparity Lifestyle Factors Spread 90.00% 15.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% Spread Total 10.00% 5.00% 50.00% 0.00% 40.00% -5.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% -10.00% -15.00% 0.00% -20.00%
CAN 8.6% UK 13.9% GER 8.7% US 14.2% FR 7.1% SWTZ 4.6% JPN 4.6% AUS 7.3% List of top countries in which students would consider living
Does marriage adversely affect the determination to migrate? The survey results indicate that almost half of the respondents (48.5%) will not consider migrating to a country if their spouses/to-be spouses are ineligible to work due to immigration restrictions. In this sense, marriage adversely affects the determination of respondents to migrate.
Do children adversely affect the determination to migrate? Of the 687 students who responded to our question on where they would consider raising their children, a majority of them (43.5%) expressed that they wanted their children to experience multiple countries. A very few of the subjects (15.4%) wanted to raise their children only in one country (home or any other). Does visa availability affect the decision to migrate? We asked the students whether they would work in a foreign country on a temporary visa if they knew that it would be difficult to gain permanent residency/citizenship. It was interesting to know that 57.9% of them were very or somewhat likely to still pursue employment in the foreign country. Only 21.2% of the students replied that they were relatively or very unlikely to do so.
Summary of Key Findings 1. Top choice countries that students listed conformed to countries or regions that had been identified in the literature review as having targeted immigration policies for highly skilled workers (i.e. the U.S., European Union, Canada and Australia) 1. Almost all respondents felt that their engineering skills would be transferable abroad 1. 57.9% of students were very or somewhat likely to still pursue employment in the foreign country even if they knew that it would be difficult to obtain a green card or permanent visa 1. Research infrastructure and resources, quality of school systems, access to leisure activities, cultural and political attributes and regional reputation ranked as the top lifestyle factors for why graduates sought employment abroad 1. Professional factors in the decision included room for innovation, employer openness to new ideas, and the opportunity for higher earning power.
Company Survey Results
Respondents There were 18 respondents to the company survey, which was posted on an online survey website. All the respondents were engineering, biotechnology, and high-tech companies from the New England area. Participants were located through employer rankings from BusinessWeek magazine and the Boston Globe.
Hypotheses Hypotheses relating to economic factors: The economic downturn has expanded the talent pool available to companies. Companies hire foreign labor to work in the U.S. only when the work cannot be done through outsourcing or foreign investment Recruitment strategies may have shifted during the economic downturn. Hypotheses relating to individual factors: Language skills affect the decision to hire foreign workers HSMWs may present a higher turnover problem than domestic workers Companies value diversity in their workforce Companies will offer help with immigration benefits in an effort to retain foreign labor
Pros and Cons to Hiring Foreign Labor One human resources manager indicated that the economic downturn meant a surplus of job applicants who were American citizens or who held green cards. She questioned the need to hire foreign workers and deal with the bureaucracy and expense of the immigration process when there were so many domestic applicants Another Human Resources Manager indicated that his U.S.-based electrical engineering company tried to attract talent to locations in the lowest cost labor markets possible given their hiring needs (for example, by opening a branch in the Philippines). He noted that it was easier to outsource tactical and product execution related positions, and harder to outsource strategic and innovative positions.
Importance of Retention Strategies From left to right, important not important Number of Response Answer 0% 100% Response(s) Ratio Sponsorship for permanent residence 11 61.1% Opportunities to travel home for extended periods of time 7 38.8% Help with language training or cultural adjustment 10 55.5% Help finding housing 8 44.4% Help paying for the I-485 (green card) application 12 66.6% None of the above 1 5.5% Other 2 11.1% Totals 51 100.0% Additional Comments: Most comments in the other section emphasized the occasional and case-by-case basis that is employed in deciding which strategies to pursue or employ. One employer mentioned that they prefer to hire candidates who do not require sponsorship. At another firm, employees who request assistance generally receive aid in other areas, such as finding housing or receiving language training
Changes in Hiring Patterns Due to the Global Recession Most answered that there either has been less overall hiring demand, or that things have remained steady in terms of hiring. Some mentioned that they relied less on search firms but more on employee referrals. Reported increase in applications from candidates who have unrelated backgrounds and thus are not competitive in the talent pool. Most respondents found that the economic downturn has periodically made it harder to retain foreign labor. (Note: This provides an interesting correlation to the results from the student survey where, out of the 310 responses from students studying abroad, 42.6% felt that the economic downturn was very or somewhat likely to influence their decision to return to their home country, whereas only 21.0% said that the economic downturn was somewhat or very unlikely to affect their decision.)
Summary of Findings Company surveys indicate that the recession may have had contrasting effects on hiring practices: There are potentially more domestic candidates for positions The overall slowdown in hiring has left a surplus of H-1B visas, making it potentially easier to hire skilled foreign workers. Companies demonstrated that they used a variety of recruiting methods. Notably, many companies indicated that they were willing to amend hiring practices on a case-by-case basis. Studies and anecdotal evidence suggests that the corporate immigration process in the US is extremely bureaucratically burdensome for employers (H-1B restrictions, green card waiting time).
Conclusions
Overall Findings Students indicated that room for innovation, employer openness to new ideas, and the opportunity for higher earning power were important factors in employment decisions. These could be helpful indicators for companies who find that it is harder to retain foreign labor during the economic downturn (especially once the green card process has been completed) 97% of students felt that their engineering skills were transferable abroad 57.9% of students were likely to pursue employment in a foreign country even if they knew that it would be difficult to obtain a green card or permanent visa, but (48.5%) will not consider migrating to a country if their spouses/to-be spouses are ineligible to work Destination countries listed were those that had specifically targeted immigration policies towards highly skilled workers, such as points systems, special immigration categories, and innovative training programs. Some focused on temporary immigration (e.g. the US) whereas others focused on permanent residency-based programs (e.g. Canada, Australia)
Research Team Rahul Bhatnagar (MIB 2011) Rachel Greenspan (MALD 2010) Kimberley Liao (MALD 2011) Ravi Manghani (MIB 2010) Barbara Seymour (MIB 2011) Faculty Advisor: Prof. Joel Trachtman
Special Thanks We would like to thank Prof. Jonathan Brookfield, Takahiro Yamamoto, Prof. Bernard Simonin, Jenifer Burkett-Picker, Dorothy Orszulak, Kurt Eilhardt, Malavika Sah and Ashis Shrestha for their help and contributions.
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