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.

Emigration of skilled South African migrants to Australia

Business Management

M.Tech. (Business Administration)