What a start to the New Year! Australians overseas.
I am referring to the article titled “‘A spoilt brat country’: the Australians overseas who decided not to come home” in the Guardian UK. It appeared on 1st January and had me thinking.
Written by Karen Guest, an Australian based in the UK it offered views from a number of overseas based Australians.
The opinions expressed seemed odd. The article did not resonate with me and thought another opinion might help.
Considering overseas travel and working outside Australia seems par for the course for many Australians.
I place them into 2 loose groups – young school leaving Australians and those that have prior adult working experience.
Gap Year Travellers
I remember my own kids in school talking enthusiastically about gap year plans. The opportunity to take a break from schooling and explore places afar. To some it has become a rite of passage.
My kids shared many a plan that their classmates had gone into. I was quite amazed despite their youth, their planning seemed matured. From building up their savings to taking courses to secure employment overseas.Very commendable.
I sense they do learn from one another about who to contact for placement overseas and how to pull together a CV. It was obvious that some of these tips and contacts were passed down by their parents and older siblings.
For young school leavers jobs considered for the gap year include bartenders, baristas, fitness trainers and au pairs.
Some secured jobs as coaches in schools and junior clubs mainly in the UK. There are even agencies in Continental Europe that place young Australians as au pairs. There is demand from continental parents to have their kids pick up native English as a second language at a young age.
Not just us
The zest to travel and discover the World clearly starts young. Gap year travel and work are also in the psyche of Europeans and the Japanese as well. We are not alone.
We see them as they head to the Riverland and Mildura to pick seasonal produce and learn about Australia and Australians while building character. You also come across the occasional socio media postings from young foreigners working as Jackeroos and Jillaroos in the outback about their experience.
Australians who traveled and worked during the gap year must have come to realise the opportunities out there. Therefore it does not take much for them to consider the World as their oyster.
Adult Australians going over
The second lot of Australians I have met overseas are those in sectors and industries in countries that have critical mass. This lot had a head start working in Australia and looked outside the country for career growth and an overseas experience. It does help the CV.
Australia has a population of 25 million while the UK has 66 million, Germany has 83 million while the United States has 328 million. Hence the larger economies and the increased opportunities.
The same dynamics play out locally. Young graduates from smaller cities like Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin and Brisbane head to the 2 big smokes – Sydney and Melbourne for career prospects.
The bigger World outside
London, a city and one of the financial centres of the World has 9 million people. It draws people from around the World and not just Australia.
On an individual basis, think Elon Mask leaving South Africa for the United States and what he has achieved since.
I also see Australian expatriates in Singapore and Hong Kong in sizeable numbers as both cities are major business and financial hubs in Asia Pacific.
For similar reasons I see Kiwis in Australia taking up opportunities.
There is also the flip side to this equation to consider. No employer in popular destination countries would employ Australians unless they are qualified and capable. It is a testimony to our education system and the country’s ability to mould it’s young.
Reasons aplenty
I have also met Australians in Africa, Asia and in the Middle East working as paramedics, graphic designers, project managers and engineers. Talking to them tells me that it ranges from wanderlust, learning about cultures to saving up for their dream home in Australia post retirement.
The lower tax threshold in these countries does help for the last reason. So not just career progression and work opportunities.
To date I have not heard an Australian tell me that he or she left Australia to work overseas because of politics, policies or the way that Australia operates.
Or a negative push factor back home. Hence my surprise to read on the first day of the New Year about overseas Australians and their reasons for leaving Australia. Then again I might be the odd one out or in the wrong circles.
Lastly let us not forget our leading actors who have done well in Hollywood. And not just actors. 57 Australians in the film industry have garnered an Oscar. They range from directors, actors, visual effects artists and others. It would not have happened if they stayed home and watched the World go by.
And do they return?
In the long run, some will remain overseas having found new partners, formed a family, or built a business. Others have done so having found a better working environment or just fitted well in their new surrounds. It becomes their new permanent home. Good on them.
I do however suspect most do return home in time.
A blessed country with great climate, vast scenic landscape, unique and adoring flora and fauna. Why would you not when the time comes. Now where is my flat white as I hear “I still call Australia Home” in the background from no one else than Qantas.