Indians prefer Canada, UK over the US. (Representational Image)The Indian workforce is no more opting for the United States of America which has remained the top choice for years. According to the latest report by job searching portal – Indeed, the US share of job searches from India fell from 60 per cent to 50 per cent, between the periods of August 2016 – July 2018. On the other hand, Indian job seekers are exploring opportunities in Canada nearly twice as much as they did two years ago with a massive shift in cross-border searches from the US to Canada. There is a rise in searches for Canada from 6 per cent to 13 per cent.
Most Indians are applying in Canada for the post of business analyst, mechanical engineer and software developer. However, the UK has retained its position as the tech magnet. It has also emerged as the top choice for researchers. Most Indians are looking to go to the UK are preferring to join the country as research fellowship followed by SAP consultancy.
Demand for STEM sector grows abroad
There is greater demand for jobs in the STEM sector outside India, especially for niche roles. Given the rate at which Canada is booming in terms of technology, the number of foreign applications the country is receiving has been massive, not just due to the immigration policy, but also the growth potential offered by the technology industry.
When it comes to the UK, data indicates that jobs which involve technology, finance and language skills are popular with foreign job seekers.
What are Indian jobseekers applying for?
|
Rank |
Job Title – Canada |
|
1 |
Business Analyst |
|
2 |
Mechanical Engineer |
|
3 |
Software Developer |
|
4 |
Project Manager |
|
5 |
Web Developer |
|
6 |
Data Scientist |
|
7 |
Java Developer |
|
8 |
Civil Engineer |
|
9 |
Software Engineer |
|
10 |
Data Analyst |
|
Rank |
Job Title – UK |
|
1 |
Research fellow |
|
2 |
SAP Consultant |
|
3 |
iOS Developer |
|
4 |
Android Developer |
|
5 |
Investment Banking Analyst |
|
6 |
Research Associate |
|
7 |
Java Developer |
|
8 |
Physician |
|
9 |
Architect |
Why UK, Canada?
The more welcoming immigration policies in Canada and the recent developments in UK immigration policies following Brexit have made them popular choices among international job seekers. In fact, the open immigration policy at Canada has become the alternative for Indians, as well as job seekers from other Latin countries too.
Through visa programmes such as the Express Entry and Global Skills, the country has been opening avenues to skilled foreign workers. Global trends affecting political developments pose challenges to the workforce but also lead to more opportunities for employment.
The expansions of such policies seek to deliver growth and meet the aspirations and expectations of Indian labour by providing work opportunities in other countries.
Alternatively, UK has the potential to keep its position as a global tech and banking magnet in a post-Brexit world, provided that its migration policy is sufficiently flexible to accommodate an internationally mobile workforce. Since 2015, job seekers based in other countries have typically accounted for between 8 per cent and 10 per cent of the overall job applications for tech jobs in the UK.
It was recorded that the maximum number of people looking for jobs in the UK were from India, the US and France, followed by Poland and Ireland. As a group, Indian job seekers are highly focused on tech in their job searches – almost one-fifth of all clicks on UK-based jobs from India are related to tech roles.
