Migration for career growth

The number of international migrant employees globally has risen to 269 million, a rise of eight per cent since 2017, according to the latest estimates from the United Nation’s Sustainable development studies. More than 10 million international students were studying outside their home country in 2021. India is the second largest source of international students after China. Consider this. Of the top 11 economies in the world—contributing to over 70% of global GDP—nine would have a shortage of skilled workforce by 2030, at current rates of growth. Countries like Germany, whose current skill shortage is about 4%, would see it dramatically rise to 23% by 2030. China, with the largest population as on date and till recently its one-child policy, would still have a workforce deficit of 3%. India would barely make it, but will struggle to ensure availability of highly skilled workforce to run own businesses. This scenario is expected to encourage migration from populated countries to where jobs exist. Traditionally, migration of the youth triggers from the need for quality education or forced due to domestic political and social unrest. About 4.6 million students globally study away from their home countries, of which 53% are from Asia. India sends out 300,000 students annually, second to China (800,000). In a globalised world, university education in another country is a real option. Employers also look for people who have global experience, cross-cultural competence and language skills. Among the reasons students go abroad, other than access to quality education, is the need for a better lifestyle and the belief that studying abroad is a passport to good life. For Indians, one of the reasons is abysmal quality of home universities—poor infrastructure, shortage of good teachers, jaded curriculum, industry disconnect. Despite strong ambitions, the higher education system in India lags behind—in a popular ranking, only three Indian universities featured in top 200, and 10 in top 700. Compare this with New Zealand, a small country with just eight universities, and all in top 100! India will be one of the youngest nations by 2030—with 140 million people in the college-age group. Recent policy changes, including the setting up of a super regulator for managing universities, is an indication of the government’s resolve. Most nations where students migrate from also receive foreign students to balance the outflows. China, for example, had more than 800,000 students in varsities abroad in 2016, but half as many foreign students in its own campuses. In Malaysia, inbound students equal those studying abroad. Singapore has more than twice the number of college students it sends overseas. In India, it’s largely a one-way street—the number of students lodged abroad is more than four times inbound numbers. India also sends out the world's largest number of emigrants--17.5 million as per estimates from the International Organization for Migration's (UN-IOM) World Migration Report 2020, and is, therefore, a critical voice in immigrant integration. Migrants move seeking better livelihoods and education, so an increase in immigration rates is an indicator of a country's growth and development trajectory. As India develops in the coming decades and takes on a leadership role in the South Asian region, integration of immigrants and their issues will only become more important, experts say. The share of youth among international migrant workers has increased, This increase is likely to be related to high youth unemployment rates in many developing countries. The large majority of migrant workers (86.5 per cent) remain prime-age adults (aged 25–64). More than two-thirds of international migrant workers are concentrated in high-income countries. Of the 169 million international migrant workers, 63.8 million (37.7 per cent) are in Europe and Central Asia. Another 43.3 million (25.6 per cent) are in the Americas. Hence, collectively, Europe and Central Asia and the Americas host 63.3 per cent of all migrant workers. The Arab States, and Asia and the Pacific each host about 24 million migrant workers, which, in total, correspond to 28.5 per cent of all migrant workers. In Africa there are 13.7 million migrant workers, representing 8.1 per cent of the total. The majority of migrant workers – 99 million are men, while 70 million are women. Women face more socio-economic obstacles as migrant workers and are more likely to migrate as accompanying family members for reasons other than finding work. They can experience gender discrimination in employment and may lack networks, making it difficult to reconcile work and family life in a foreign country. India is the world’s second largest student sending country after China with the number of Indian students abroad having increased four times in the last 14 years. Students’ migration of such magnitude has become a major source of capital and brain drain for India while hugely benefitting the economies of the advanced countries. Ninety percent of student movement from India is concentrated in five countries of which the United States is by far the largest recipient, receiving more than half of the expatriate Indian students, followed by Australia and the United Kingdom. Several factors appear to be at work propelling the massive flow of students beyond the Indian borders. These can be largely divided into two broad groups: International Developments: include factors such as the technological revolution; globalization of education; global demographic trend; and most importantly policy changes to aggressively recruit foreign students who are preferred over the immigration of already skilled labor force because the additional revenue earned in terms of fees that significantly contributes to the cross-subsidization of education of domestic students in the developed countries.