Brain drain is the movement of human talent from its origin to another country. Due to globalisation, the ease of mobility across different regions with increase of interconnectedness caused brain drain problem to further accelerate. We will look more into the reasons of this phenomenon, how this problem has been mitigate and its effectiveness particularly in Singapore in the rest of the essay.
It is human’s instinct to pursue for opportunities which in turn provide something better in exchange in life. Such opportunities may come in form of better career prospects, higher salary or even appreciation in work. According to the “Preparing for Take-Off” study conducted by Hay Group and the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the turnover rate is the highest in Singapore since it hit 15.4% in 2009. The emerging of developed economies in Asia-Pacific region, bring about employee departures due to better career advancement such as more attractive pay package. Also, as Singapore is a small country with no natural resources, there are several industries like archaeology, mining etc that Singapore is not specialised in. Thus, graduates with speciality in such areas are left with little choice but to thrive abroad where they could put their abilities to better use. According to Regus survey, 34 percent of Singaporean workers are losing sleep worrying about work.
With increasing rapid pace of lifestyle, there are more pressures on locals in both workforce and education. This has pressured Singaporeans to the extent that they might want to move away to somewhere with lesser expectations and pressure.
In attempt to mitigate the brain drain issue, Singapore government have came out with several plans. One of which is scholarships offered to both foreigners and locals. Such scholarships come with bonds like working in Singapore for up to 3 years upon graduation. This help to prevent locals who are studying abroad to stay put there upon graduation and reverse the situation of brain drain by attracting more foreign talents into Singapore. While an alternative measure is Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU) which is an effort of the government to engage its citizens. They provide monthly newletter about updates of Singapore and are able to enjoy discounts on certain outlets. This help to constantly keep the connections between the locals who are abroad and Singapore, promoting a sense of belonging and identity despite the distance.
However, none of these measures are perfect. The feasibility of scholarship is very much debatable as it is definitely not a favourable policy with Singaporeans as Singaporeans feel that the scholarships given to foreigners could have been put to better use by sponsoring more Singaporeans. This is inevitable as many foreigners have been seen leaving the country or using Singapore as a stepping board to cross over to other countries once their bond is up. While OSU is not a direct sign up for people who are currently abroad, yet it is not well known thus many Singaporeans who are abroad are not aware of this program.
Therefore, the government could solve the tension between locals and foreign talents by introducing more programs that may allow more integration at a residential level. While, the OSU could gain more exposure by publicity on social media by publicising
the benefits of its membership with lower membership fees.
No comments:
Post a Comment