Factors contributing to the emigration of skilled South African migrants to Australia

Abstract

Talent management is a source of competitive advantage and will be achieved by those organisations that are able to attract, develop and retain best in class individuals. It is thus not just a human resources issue but rather an integral part of any organisation’s strategy. Due to negative perceptions about South Africa, skilled workers are immigrating to countries such as Australia to the detriment of the South African economy. This loss is not necessarily being replaced by graduates or through immigration. Government policies such as Broader- Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Affirmative Action (AA), compound the issue by then decreasing the pool of skilled applicants that may occupy skilled and senior posts in organisations. Globally there is a shortage of skills and due to employee mobility they can use any opportunity that presents itself. The objectives of this study was to determine the factors which lead to the emigration of skilled South African’s to Australia and then once these factors are known to propose retention strategies to role players to stem the emigration tide. To achieve these objectives a survey was prepared based on previous studies and a link to the web questionnaire was distributed to the population via an Australian immigration agent. The link was sent to all the agent’s clients around the world and thus consisted not only of South Africa respondents but also elicited international responses, which will be used for comparison purposes only. Only 48 South Africans responded to the survey and although limited, it was sufficient for the purposes of this study. The demographic profile was mainly male and dominated by Generation X. Using a Likert scale respondents were questioned on their levels of satisfaction in their country of origin and in Australia through an adaptation of a study by Mattes and Richmond (2000). The study of Hulme (2002) was adapted and incorporated into the questionnaire, where respondents were given the opportunity to rank considerations for leaving South Africa and factors that would draw them back. Respondents were provided with the opportunity for responses to open-ended questions to include other considerations for leaving and factors that would draw them back. Results from these survey items revealed that the primary reasons driving skilled South Africans to emigrate was safety and security, upkeep of public amenities, customer service and taxation. In contrast, South African migrants had high levels of satisfaction with safety and security, upkeep of public amenities and customer service in Australia. Respondents indicated that factors that would draw them back to South Africa would be improvements in safety and security and government, followed by family roots, good jobs and schools. The study also looked at the permanence of the move. If skilled individuals returned with new-found skills and experience then it could be a potential brain gain for South Africa. The results of this study found that 43% of respondents had no intention to return, 42% did not supply a response and only 10% were undecided on whether to return or not. To attract, retain and develop talent, the South African government and the private sector would need to work in partnership to develop policies that would satisfy the lower-order needs of individuals, such as physiological and safety needs.