84% of professionals here eye foreign postings: poll

FOUR out of five professional workers in Singapore look forward to a foreign posting during their career - more than in many other countries, according to an international poll.

Commissioned by London-based recruitment firm Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS), the poll found that professionals here are 'strongly motivated by opportunities for mobility, with 84 per cent interested in either a regional or international move'.

Overall, the poll of 1,400 professional and senior workers in the UK, Asia-Pacific, Australia and the US found that 78 per cent are keen to move abroad.

It also found that Singapore professionals are the most willing - 49 per cent - to move overseas in a similar position to their current job. The global average is 42 per cent.

But most of the professional workers polled do not get the chance to relocate. Only two out of five professionals in Singapore got a foreign posting in the past three years. The global figure was slightly higher at 45 per cent.

'It is evident that employees want fresh challenges and opportunities for mobility in their careers, and 84 per cent of those surveyed in Singapore have reflected this desire,' says AMS Asia-Pacific client director Allison Baird. 'International jobs are given much more value, with global experience being recognised.'

Foreign postings are not always available, she says. And this gap between supply and demand means organisations risk losing talent to competitors who can provide global experience.

According to the poll, the main drive to move overseas - cited by 74 per cent of respondents - is 'quality of job opportunity'.

Less that two-thirds - 62 per cent - are moved by the potential to earn more, while 59 per cent want to experience a new culture or travel.

'Recognising (the) appetite for change is becoming crucial for organisations as they seek to nurture their top performers,' says the Managing Mobility report that contains the poll results. 'Employers in Singapore placed the highest encouragement on mobility compared with other regions, but still remained low at only 27 per cent,' the report says.

An overseas posting is generally seen as a good career move.

Among Hongkongers, it is also highly prized for its exposure to Western working environments and practices.

And in Australia, it is viewed as a key to career development, especially work in the UK and Ireland.

Professional workers in the UK, while among those who place the highest value on an overseas posting, are also the least exposed to openings abroad.

Just 7 per cent of British professionals polled have secured an international placement and 48 per cent have no experience of 'departmental, regional or international mobility'.

Except in certain industries, international openings are least important to professionals in the US.

In another survey, by US-based human resources firm Kelly Services, half of the workers polled in Singapore said that they are willing to forgo pay and position for more meaningful work - roughly in line with the global number.

In particular, older workers here rank job satisfaction higher than money. Three in five baby boomers (aged 48-65) indicated this, compared with 47 per cent of Generation Y (aged 18-29) workers.

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