Physician migration to developed nations costs Africa billions of dollars

According to the study The financial cost of doctors emigrating from sub-Saharan Africa: human capital analysis published on British Medical Journal’s website, South Africa and Zimbabwe have the greatest economic losses in doctors due to emigration, while Australia, Canada, the UK and the US benefit the most from the recruitment of physicians educated in other countries.

“These findings are concerning,” says principal investigator Edward Mills, professor in the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair in Global Health. “Wealthy countries are trying to strengthen the health systems of Africa and are providing essential medicines, but they are benefitting from Africa’s financial loss in training health workers that emigrate to the wealthier settings.”

The authors are now calling for destination countries to invest in training and health systems in the source countries.

“No one is saying that people should not be permitted to make decisions about where they live or want to succeed in their careers,” says Dr. Nathan Ford, a study author from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. “But how can we make progress in building health systems when local university budgets and school places are depleted by physicians who then go and work in a wealthy nation?”

The migration of health workers from poor countries contributes to weak health systems in low-income countries and is considered a primary threat to achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals, says the study.

“While wealthy countries are benefitting from the doctors who choose to move, there is a responsibility to ensure we are not damaging local health systems in Africa,” adds study author Ivy Bourgeault, professor in the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa and CIHR Health Canada Research Chair in Human Resources for Health Policy. “Some countries, such as the USA, have recognized this and pledged to train 130,000 new health staff in Africa; other countries, such as Canada, are providing much less.”

There is a critical shortage of doctors in sub-Saharan Africa, which has a high prevalence of diseases like HIV/AIDS. Mills and colleagues estimated the monetary cost of educating a doctor through primary, secondary and medical school in nine sub-Saharan countries with significant HIV-prevalence. The research team added the figures together to estimate how much the origin countries paid to train doctors and how much the destination countries saved in employing them.

The results show that governments spend between $21,000 (Uganda) to $59,000 (South Africa) to train doctors. The countries included in the study paid around $2 billion US dollars (USD) to train their doctors only to see them migrate to richer countries, say the authors. They add that the benefit to the UK was around $2.7 billion USD and about $846 million USD for the United States.

Source http://www.healthcanal.com/public-health-safety/23845-Physician-migration-developed-nations-costs-Africa-billions-dollars.html

Recruitment Services | International Recruitment | Migration Services | 457 Visa | ENS Visa

Blueprint released for Melbourne's growth

New housing, town centres, rail stations and jobs have been unveiled in a draft plan for Melbourne's growth suburbs over the next 30 years.

The plan, released by the Victorian government on Wednesday, guides growth in urban areas as Melbourne copes with an anticipated increase of two million people over the next 30 to 40 years.

Planning Minister Matthew Guy says the growth corridors and the development within them represent the largest current construction project in Australia.

Advertisement: Story continues below

"Melbourne's population is still growing strongly," he said.

"If we remove all the components of overseas migration services our city would still be growing faster than it was in the 1990s.

"This means we need to manage the growth of the city well.

"The government needs to plan in advance for our growth corridors."

The plan, begun under the previous Labor government, focuses on growth corridors in Melbourne's west, north, southeast and Sunbury.

Under the blueprint, 50,000 new housing lots will be released by March 2012.

The government says jobs and activity centres will also be created in outer urban areas to ensure residents don't need to commute to the CBD.

New rail lines to Avalon airport and Melbourne airport are also being investigated.

Mr Guy said the plan would take pressure off inappropriate development in existing suburbs and keep house prices in check.

It also allowed for higher density living in urban and outer urban Melbourne.

He has also pledged that all new areas will have public transport nearby, with most to have a rail line within three kilometres and a bus stop within 400 metres.

"We are already doing the work now about getting some of that infrastructure earlier in place so that our outer urban areas can grow and grow sustainably," he said.

But opposition planning spokesman Brian Tee slammed the blueprint, saying it pushed for housing developments without committing funding for infrastructure and services to support them.

"Where are these people going to go?" he told reporters.

"We've got a million people and no funding for schools, no funding for roads. Not even one new bus service has been funded.

"This is not a plan for growth, this is a plan for gridlock."

Mr Tee said Mr Guy was disingenuous to claim law changes allowed the developers' growth areas tax to be used to fund infrastructure.

He said it was designed for developers to contribute only up to 20 per cent of infrastructure costs and they could redirect their obligations to pay for things like landscaping to market their developments.

The draft Growth Corridor Plans will be released for comment until December 20.

Source http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/blueprint-released-for-melbournes-growth-20111109-1n71n.html

Indian worker has always come cheap

India has for long been associated with cheap labour. So in case the BPO and backoffice-ops rush fools you into believing the country has been a destination for companies looking for low wage-high work only in the last 20 years, think again.

Almost two centuries before liberalization, India was the main source of cheap labour for the West. Indians, who travelled thousands of miles from home, played a key role in shaping the modern world. However, the contract system and racist policies favouring European immigrants forced many to return and their role is generally downplayed.

In the period known as the first global century (1820-1914) - when international mobility of capital, goods and labour force witnessed a major spurt - India was the largest recruitment services market for migrant labour. "Between 1834 and 1937, outbound migration of the labour force from India was over 30 million, far higher than the British Islands' 18, Italy's 10.1 and China's 8.2 million emigrants," says Prabhu Mohapatra, associate professor in Delhi University who specializes in the history of labour. "In 1833, the British parliament abolished slavery from the empire, creating a significant gap between demand and supply of labour. The empire then turned towards its largest colony and people were recruited through indentured and Kangany contract systems to work in plantations outside India. This migration services was far larger than the slave labour flow from Africa to the Americas in the 16th to 18th centuries."

According to a UN report on international migration, huge wage gaps were the main catalyst. In those days, the monthly wage of a farm worker in Madras Presidency was about $1.50, while the same person could earn the equivalent of $8 on a Caribbean plantation. But, unlike the Europeans who travelled as free labourers, the Indians were forced into contract because they were too poor to afford the cost of travel. They would have had to save every penny of their earnings here for four to 12 years to undertake the trip. The Indians needed sponsors which was only possible through contracts.

By the late 19th century, the plantation business became less profitable. Racist policies restricted migration of Indians to new lands like Australia and Canada. Indentured labourers were not encouraged to acquire property and were required to pay extra taxes if they wanted to stay on after their contracts got over. Also, 72% of them were male, which meant most couldn't start a family. That is why nearly 24 million returned home. Only six million stayed on.

Source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Indian-worker-has-always-come-cheap/articleshow/10626301.cms

---

International Recruitment | Migration Services | Recruitment Services | Sponsored 457 Visa | ENS Visa

Employers urged to consider “alternative” talent pools

Employers are being urged to think outside the square with regard to future employees, with a new report outlining the severity of Australia’s skills shortages and the action that must be taken.

According to a Deloitte report titled Where is your next worker?, the world is “begging” Australia to grow faster, particularly in light of the resources boom.

“At the same time, Australia has adopted policies that have seen migration rates fall noticeably. We did so just ahead of the biggest surge in retiree numbers this nation has ever seen,” it said.

According to Deloitte, these factors will combine to create “a perfect storm” as the demand for labour exceeds supply, so businesses must find innovative ways to access skills and labour.

“Those businesses that respond early to the coming skills crunch will be best placed to flourish,” the report said.

Deloitte outlines future talent pools for businesses to consider:

Your next worker is still being educated

The number of students exiting education is projected to stay stagnant through to the early 2020s, according to the report.

As businesses scours the country for talent, that suggests a good place to look will be universities, TAFEs and even senior high school classes.

Your next worker is in the crowd

Companies can access workers outside their organisation and outside their national borders.

In this way, they are using people who are not employees of any description – they are simply the right people for the task, sourced from “the crowd”.

Using crowdsourcing and other innovative approaches, Australia can fill many skill gaps by going online, without having to search the world for skilled migrants.

Your next worker is overseas

The report encourages businesses to “urgently assess” what work they can offshore to maintain and enhance their global competitiveness.

Australia cannot compete with wage costs in developing countries.

Offshoring offers particularly significant opportunities for rapidly expanding or emerging industries, such as the Australian energy sector.

Your next worker is waiting for a visa

Many skilled tasks can’t be done offshore; they need to be done by workers here in Australia.

However, Australia’s training and education system won’t be able to produce the number of skilled workers we need over the next few years in time to support our projected growth.

We need skilled migrants to help fill the gap or Australia’s economy risks increasing inflationary pressure over the next two years.

Your next worker is retired or about to retire

Mature-age workers are typically the most experienced and reliable employees. They have the lowest turnover, the fewest sick days and the best safety record.

When a mature-age worker leaves a business, their deep industry knowledge, market experience and sometimes irreplaceable technical expertise leaves with them.

Older workers also have great potential to provide valuable mentoring to other workers. In addition, their departure often means longstanding clients take their business elsewhere.

Your next worker is juggling work and family

According to the report, most companies see flexible hours, part-time work and non-paid leave during school holidays as inconsistent with managerial and executive demands.

Retaining women under flexible work arrangements might include greater use of technologies, and outsourcing work to lower-cost cities or towns where workers want to raise their children.

Your next worker is interstate

Finding the right person for the job often depends as much on where they live as their abilities.

Physical and electronic mobility is vital to allow people to move to where employment is available or to work without having to move at all.

Your next worker has the ability

Many overlooked potential workers, including indigenous Australians and those with disabilities, could make a major contribution to solving the looming skill shortages.

Your next worker is not needed

According to Deloitte, national productivity has been declining since the late 1990s. Combined with skills shortages, this is spurring companies to find new and better ways to get work done.

Companies that boost productivity, by embracing technology and more efficient processes, can beat the skills crisis without having to join the struggle for workers.

Your next worker is in the mail room

Many businesses overlook the enormous potential of their own staff.

They can overlook the value of ongoing training and retraining to tap into workers in regions, occupations and industries where the growth outlook is more modest.

Your next worker is knocking on your door

Making better use of older workers is an important potential solution to the skills crisis.

However, organisations need to strike a careful balance between retaining older workers and providing opportunities for the next generation of leaders to ascend.

It will take leadership, succession plans and career strategies to keep younger employees from leaving their employers in frustration and disappointment.

Your next worker may currently be on cruise control

The performance of any organisation depends on having an engaged workforce.

Engaged employees are prepared to put discretionary effort into achieving organisational goals, become strong advocates for the company’s values and stick with a company for a long time.

Source  http://www.startupsmart.com.au/recruitment/employers-urged-to-consider-alternative-talent-pools/201111034430.html