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Debi Neogy, Manager,
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Global
Workforce Mobility
- a Critique
(Nandita Yata)
Doctoral Scholar
School of International Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University
The world is shrinking into a "global village."
We are reaching a stage when we will stop referring
to business issues as global or country specific.
As multinational companies integrate the world into
one large economic biome, a globally mobile workforce
is vital for such worldwide incorporations to be
feasible. Educational institutions providing global
education have further worked as a catalyst for
creating such workforce who can make this nexus
possible. Multinational companies are today recruiting
the best of talents across the national divide to
maintain their corporate edge. Skill sets have become
more important than the traditional inclination
on judging people from the institutions they studied
from.
Indians fast becoming
the best choice for Globally Mobile Workforce
Indians have made a strong contribution to this
global workforce movement. Interestingly, successful
Indian emigrants both as entrepreneurs and working
class show a clear distinction that the colleges
they studied from hardly have any impact on their
careers. Recently global mobility has shifted from
sectors like IT and academics to diverse industries
like hospitality, advertising, banking, services,
and real estates. Avinash Gupta, Executive Chef
at Ritz Carlton, United Kingdom says, "Studying
from College of Hospitality and Tourism never acted
as a deterrent in my profession, instead I have
been able to secure this job only on the basis of
my skills that I acquired during my college days.
People here do not look at the institute you studied
from; they see your skill and nothing will stop
you from making it big if you have the right aptitude
towards your profession." Recently more and more
Indians are making it big in foreign lands.
Reason to rejoice:
Outsourcing
Global workforce mobility is a rising phenomenon,
more so due to the rapidly increasing costs of doing
business. Efforts for reducing costs have prompted
companies to relocate their operations to more cost-effective
areas. Such business movement also has acted as
a boon to globally mobile workforce. As an impact
of globalization, many international organizations
have started sourcing resource and capital from
across the globe. We have seen much liberalization
in immigration policies across the developed economies
of the world like US and many European countries
including UK, France etc. This is only another example
of how global societies are accepting mobility of
workforce.
Talent Migration
Talent migration is a strong feature of global mobility.
Migration decisions are always categorized by push
and pull factors. Factors that make a person leave
the place of birth are called push factors while
factors that make him/her come to the destination
are known as pull factors. Push and pull factors
are somewhat like two sides of the same coin. We
have generally seen psychological and socio-economic
factors acting as a stimulus for migration. These
ideologies have gained more significance in recent
times as developed nations have started liberalizing
their migration policy the world over due to the
twin impact of fierce competition and aging native
workforce. Migration has recently seen a new development.
Many people have started migrating from developed
nations to developing nations as an effect of outsourcing.
More people today are taking part in this global
reshuffle. Global workforce mobility has recently
become a vital symptom of faster economic growth
of the developing and developed economies as well.
As more and more people are leaving their native
places for better prospects both inside and outside
their country, business economies world over are
evolving themselves to welcome talent across cultural
and traditional barriers. In the coming decade,
it is being predicted that many countries like US,
Europe, Middle East, Japan and other developed Asian
economies may have a severe labor shortage. It is
evident that global mobility is vital to counter
such shortcoming. Westernization has only helped
encourage global mobility. Globalization is the
future of worldwide prosperity; we need to nurture
current generations towards such changing times.
Educational systems need to be developed where skill
enhancement is the epitome of a wholesome learning.
We have the right numbers, now we need the appropriate
skills that could make India the next super power.
Although there are many factors that need attention,
global mobility is necessary for societal upliftment
and growth. We need to nourish this extremely encouraging
future ahead with better education and infrastructure
to make a significant contribution to the world.