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Indonesian diaspora interested in returning on ‘lower costs’
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Illustration of job market. (Shutterstock/-)
R
ecent research by recruitment firm Robert Walters found that 85 percent of overseas Indonesians were interested in returning to Indonesia because of several factors, one of them being lower living costs back home.
The research is based on a survey and interviews with 650 jobseekers and hiring managers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. From the interviewed Indonesian professionals overseas, 85 percent were interested in going home. The percentage is highest among five other surveyed countries: Singapore (82 percent), Thailand (81 percent), Vietnam (70 percent), and Malaysia (60 percent).
In general, the top three reasons why Asians overseas wanted to return home was to care for aging parents, awareness that local talents having experience abroad could command higher salaries at home, and affinity with the culture at home. For Indonesia, another pull factor in the interest is lower living costs, the survey said.
"Our global salary survey in 2016 reflected the strong demand for skilled IT professionals, particularly those with specialist skills in cyber security and e-commerce. With returning Asians also seeking employment opportunities in this sector, we expect IT to be the one of the most areas of recruitment in 2016," Southeast Asia managing director Toby Fowlston said on Wednesday.
However, 80 percent of the overseas workers will not return until they secure a job in their home country. Companies also run a risk to lose the returning workers if they fail to give them career progression and work-life balance.
The latest government data shows that in 2014, around 429,872 Indonesians were working abroad. The number does not distinguish between professionals and domestic workers. (evi)
