40 per cent Indians are cautious about moving to the West for jobs due to the economic slowdown, according to a TimesJobs.com study. The study also indicates that highly skilled professionals are returning home seeking the economic opportunities that they once sought abroad.
The study further pointed out that 34 per cent still prefer to move to west for a job, while 26 per cent would like to turn entrepreneurs. Out of the total respondents who mentioned that more Indians are seeking job opportunities in India, 28 per cent believe that maximum job opportunities are in IT/Telecom and Manufacturing sector.
Nearly 60 per cent of all the organisations also said that they are experiencing an influx of human capital from foreign shores in an earlier TimesJobs.com study. With 37 per cent of them reporting that the workforce inflow is maximum at the middle level.
TimesJobs.com data also indicates that there has been a drop in the number of applications for international positions. It dropped by 4 per cent in Jan’14 from an average 1 per cent increase in Nov-Dec’13. However, during Jan-Mar’14 it did register an overall increase on 3 per cent.
Why are they coming back?
Besides the fear of global uncertainty, it is the lure of job security and better future prospects that are bringing the talent back home, believe 58 per cent of the surveyed organisations. Good salary combined with benefits (extra allowances and perks is also playing a major role in bringing back the professionals to India, said 25 per cent of the employers in the TimesJobs.com study.
Where are the opportunities?
Maximum job opportunities are in Manufacturing and Petrochemicals sector. Since, these sectors will be witnessing a huge number of workforce getting retired in the next 5 years, they are on a look out for experienced candidates, revealed experts in the TimesJobs.com RecruiteX report. For senior/leadership positions international exposure is deemed crucial, hence, the returning workforce has bright chances getting top jobs in these sectors.
The Western perspective…
While the candidates are apprehensive about taking up a job in the international market, the global employers are still vying for Indian talent. TimesJobs.com data shows that across international locations, engineers, IT and accounting & finance professionals are most sought after. Demand is huge for talent with 5-10 years of experience, followed by 10-20 years of experience. UAE and North America have emerged as the most active global locations.
According to Jappreet Sethi, HR consultant and author of humanresourcesblog.in, “Whilst the western economy is slowly getting back on track, the number of people without a good job remains high. There are enough stories of Indians losing jobs and having to move back to base country for newer opportunities. India is seeing a good influx of talent, which is well adept in systems and processes.”
R P Yadav, chairman and managing director, Genius Consultants Ltd shares a similar point of view, “Job seekers are finding it difficult to get a lucrative job in the west. They are also apprehensive about the continuity of the job at hand. India seems a better place in terms of job security, plus they are closer home. Therefore, most of them are seeking a job in India and are cautious to move to the west.”