New Zealand's Brain Drain

New Zealand's Brain Drain (Chapter 11) Return to Unit List

The brain drain is not only a problem in Africa (as explored in the unit for Chapter 7). It is a global problem, whereby a nation's best and brightest students and workers seek opportunity abroad, often leaving a knowledge or skill vacuum at home. The island nation of New Zealand can be counted among those countries whose people are heading overseas in search of greater prosperity. However, in the case of New Zealand, it is not clearly a one-way drain of people out of the country. Some point out that there are more and highly qualified people immigrating to New Zealand than there are people leaving, creating a "Brain Exchange." But are the employment needs of New Zealand being met by these new arrivals?

First, let's look at some general immigration and emigration patterns of New Zealanders as presented by Simon Collins in his report for the New Zealand Herald.

In terms of the employment situation the Kiwi propensity for living abroad creates, of particular concern is the brain drain in New Zealand's medical community. As ONE News reports medical school graduates facing huge student debts see little choice but to seek higher paying positions overseas.

Indeed, workers in a number of fields are looking to other countries as a greater source of opportunity. Hear from some of the Brain Drainers themselves about why they've chosen to work abroad in Yvette Adams' article for NZEdge . These young people are looking for opportunity abroad and finding it. As one expat, who actually works in the UK to recruit other New Zealanders points out, the jobs people are finding are "not the stereotypical pub and nanny work" but skilled positions and sometimes career paths not open to Kiwi's at home.

What are some reasons cited for the emigration of New Zealanders?
Contrary to the restrictions placed on citizens of most nations, Kiwis are fortunate to have few boundaries to travel and work abroad. Thus, despite their distant and potentially remote location, the world is effectively more accessible to New Zealanders than to citizens of most other nations. Why do you believe that Kiwis, along with U.S. citizens and citizens of the U.K., are so relatively free to travel and work abroad? How has the legacy of the British Empire helped today's New Zealanders in this respect?

There are some who do not see the emigration of New Zealand workers as alarming, because of the significant number of immigrants coming to the island nation. In their working paper for New Zealand's Treasury Department. Hayden Glass and Wai Kin Choy identify a "brain exchange," wherein the number of skilled immigrants entering New Zealand is larger than the number of émigrés leaving the nation. Read the abstract and be sure to look especially at section three, "Empirical Evidence," which discusses the exchange of immigrants and emigrants as well as the skill levels of those arriving in New Zealand. Also important to read is Section 4.1.2., which begins to get at why this "Brain Exchange" is not necessarily a neat solution, as it addresses the issues of immigrant integration.

While New Zealanders are finding skilled work abroad, immigrants to New Zealand are not meeting with the same luck. In his article below, Kerr Inkson writes that once these, educated, skilled, talented people arrive, especially those from non-English speaking countries, they often meet underemployment or unemployment. The article cites largely racial, cultural and language differences as some of the biggest obstacles to immigrants making inroads into New Zealand workplaces.

After reading the last article, imagine you are the Human Resources Recruiter for a New Zealand company in a specialized field. Given the emigration of Kiwi workers to other parts of the world, how will you fill key positions necessary for your company's mission? Will you recruit at home or abroad, or both? How will you reach out to potential employees? What strategies will you employ to ensure you are successful? What incentives might you offer? Write a brief essay outlining your recruitment strategy.