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New Measures Needed to Stop Brain Drain

DUBAI — Governments in Arab countries need to introduce attractive incentives to bring its young population back home as these countries are losing $1.57 billion annually from brain drain, a new study has found.

The international mobility of talent is one of the pillars of globalisation, thus talent-exporting countries must always be prepared to provide attractive incentives to retain local talent and attract non-resident nationals who have strong potential to contribute in building the national economy, TalentRepublic.net, an online recruitment service provider, said in its report.

Failing to do so can result in mass human capital exodus, which can have a huge negative impact on efforts to build a robust and self-sustaining national economy, it added.

TalentRepublic pointed out that around 70,000 Arab university graduates emigrate annually to search for jobs overseas, while about 54 per cent of Arab students studying abroad do not return to their home countries to seek job opportunities. These talent-exporting Arab countries can save around $1.57 billion annually by stopping the widespread emigratin of human capital, a study by the Arab League’s Department of Population and Migration Policies said.

Countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan should formulate proactive measures to create gainful work and investment opportunities at home, attracting both young home-grown talent and experienced immigrants, whose expertise and knowledge will promote social and economic development, TalentRepublic suggested.

According to the statistics obtained from the Arab League, International Labour Organisation, UNESCO and other Arab and international organisations, about 100,000 scientists, doctors and engineers leave Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Tunis, Morocco and Algeria annually. Around 70 per cent of the scientists do not return home, while about 50 per cent of doctors, 23 per cent of engineers and 15 per cent of scientists move to Europe, United States and Canada.

The key to bringing back home-grown talent, according to TalentRepublic.net, is to secure social and economic stability. Some of the incentives that governments can introduce to prevent and reverse the pervasive brain drain include streamlining and simplifying the process of establishing businesses and investment portfolios, sponsoring manufacturing ventures, offering relaxed regulations, improving living standards and public services, instituting healthier pension and compensation plans, improving national security measures, and investing in new infrastructure and development projects.

The Arab region is expected to experience labour force growth of 3.5 to four per cent over the next 10 to 15 years. The World Bank sestimates that to keep up with that growth, the region will have to create 55-70 million new jobs.

The online recruitment agency’s report noted that Arab countries have been making substantial investments for educating and training youth. When graduates migrate, this translates into a loss to their home countries and benefit to the recipient countries, which exploit the refined talent without having to spend on education.

abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com