Strong demand from overseas for British workers

Nick Elvin

Demand for skilled British workers is continuing to rise as some countries face skills shortages, according to expatriate careers firm XPATJobs.

The company says it has experienced a surge in the number of new jobs being posted to its site over the last 12 months by overseas based companies proactively seeking British workers to help plug the skills gap they are facing.

The countries with the highest demand are: 1st USA; 2nd Germany; 3rd France; 4th India; 5th South Africa; 6th Canada; 7th Australia; 8th Poland; 9th Austria; 10th Brazil.

Of particular note, Germany and France, Europe’s two largest economies, both saw unemployment levels rise sharply during the first half of 2014 – reaching record levels in the case of France. Although unemployment has levelled off in recent months, demand for overseas workers continues to be higher here than for any other country in Europe.

Acute shortages remain in Brazil and India, despite unemployment in both regions continuing to fall throughout the last 12 months. The demand for both highly skilled and low-to-medium skilled workers in areas such as Mumbai and Sao Paulo to deliver key infrastructure projects continues to rise.

Rhys Maddocks, managing director of XPATJobs said: “The emerging markets face some of the greatest talent shortages, particularly in the fields of civil engineering, surveying, project management, technicians, construction workers and machine operators.

“In the developed world, however, skilled trade workers, managers, professionals, engineers, IT and finance staff are among the most difficult roles for employers to fill from within their own local talent pools.

“Canada, for instance, which is one of the top ten most in-demand countries, has need of a further 250,000 construction workers in the next six years to meet expected demand. Their US neighbours face a continued shortfall of IT, healthcare and construction workers – a situation that is expected to continue in the wake of the Bureau of Labor Statistics warning that the country faces a five million shortfall by 2020.

“The global labour market remains uneven and as we move into 2015, it remains to be seen if the relatively robust growth the world economy has enjoyed in recent months will be enough to address the shortages that continue to be felt in certain regions.”

Maddocks added: “There are clearly a number of jobs out there and for those who are keen to travel, live and work abroad, the opportunities available are plenty.”