According to this survey carried out by DBSA/Homecoming Revolution, whereas 81% of expats to the UK wanted to return, only 47% in Australia were willing to return. So I guess, basically living in the UK must be crap compared to Australia and understandably so, with the shitty weather and nanny state mentality. It is also noteworthy to add that Australia receives tens of thousands of UK migrants each year so it is not just expats from other countries that are leaving.
The British Chamber of Commerce, which forecast that the UK would fall into recession, predicted that the economic slump would force unemployment to soar by between 250 000 and 300 000 in the next two to three years.
Earlier this month Homecoming Revolution, a non-profit organisation that encourages and helps South Africans around the world to return home, held an expo in the UK. It focused on careers, property and business opportunities in South Africa.
More than 45 South African companies attended in a bid to lure some much-needed skills home.
"Over 1 000 South Africans attended the event, and they were of an extremely high skills calibre," said Angel Jones, founder of the organisation.
"What is especially exciting is that four out of five of them are returning to SA in the next six months. A large number of them have solid CVs and key experience that will get them the top jobs back home.
"Another trend we noticed was that a growing number of people were interested in starting their own businesses.
"This is exciting, as the entrepreneurial opportunities in SA are huge. We need people to come home and create jobs. Plus the majority are hungry for tangible actions to make South Africa safer - and we look forward to providing them with how they can get involved through the Action for a Safe SA initiative."
Martine Schaffer, managing director of the organisation, said the current economic climate was a strong factor.
"The world is in a constant flux and people were reassessing what is important to them. The main reasons for returning continue to be lifestyle, family connections and a sense of belonging, and obviously the global financial meltdown is a contributing factor too."
She said a number of recruiting agencies attended the expo and job offers had already gone out to people.
Professor Nick Binedell, of the Gordon Institute of Business, highlighted the entrepreneurial opportunities in South Africa at the expo and reminded everyone that the country's economy was largely resource-based.
"We can be inspired by China and India and form part of the leadership of the New World."
Ambition 24hours - a major UK health care employment agency - who opened offices in South Africa in response to the department of health's request for help with the critical health-care shortages here, said the volume of new inquiries from locum doctors and nurses in the UK seeking temporary positions in South Africa was increasing.
Penny Streeter, the agency's managing director, said judging from the number of requests they received from the UK, many South Africans were keen to return home.
They arrived in the UK and found that the grass was not always greener on the other side.
She said 200 nurses had been placed in positions all over the country in the past two years.
"The biggest challenge currently facing South African nurses in the UK was the withdrawal of the current work permits system combined with the credit crunch.
(Authorities) in the UK are not generally renewing visas and therefore these nurses are faced with the option of either returning home or looking for new opportunities in the (United) States.
"Over the past six months our registration offices have reported an increase in inquiries."
One of the the world's leading authorities on immigration and visa service, Globalvisas.com's offices in Cape Town said they had inquiries daily.
Robbie Ragless, regional manager for South Africa, said: "We are being flooded with inquiries."
They had noticed a decline in skilled migrants committing to making the UK, or any other destination for that matter, their home.
Rather than planning to settle in a foreign country indefinitely, more temporary arrangements were being made to live there for a shorter period of time to gauge the outcome of this period of economic uncertainty.
He said the new skilled visa for the UK, the Tier 1 Visa, also played a negative role. It required an applicant to have sufficient funds when applying for the visa.
Fluctuations in the exchange rate make it difficult for South Africans to prepare themselves financially to meet the requirements outlined by Britain's Home Office.
South Africans, at a rate of R14.6 to the pound last month, needed R40 600 in order to qualify.
On Friday, at a rate of R17.60, South Africans needed R49 280 to apply.
The funds need to be available for three consecutive months prior to submission and these variances complicate matters.
"One minute they qualify, the next they don't," said Ragless.
1 Opinion(s):
"What is especially exciting is that four out of five of them are returning to SA in the next six months. A large number of them have solid CVs and key experience that will get them the top jobs back home."
What B/S...top jobs, excellent CV's...wait till they get back to SA and experience robbery, carjacking, murder rape etc and see all the filth in the streets...slummy.
Can they catch trains here ? NO
Can they walk on the beach in safety ? NO
Top jobs ?? With BEE & AA ? LOL.
Post a Comment