It’s not only rich South Africans who are leaving the country – young educated ones are too
A new report suggests that young educated South Africans plan to leave the country to work abroad, rather than plough their knowledge back into the local economy.
The report comes from PPS, an insurance, investment, healthcare and financial planning specialist for graduate professionals.
The company’s latest Student Confidence Index (SCI), conducted among over 1,500 South African students, revealed that 54% of the respondents plan to move abroad for work purposes in the next five years following their graduation.
It follows a report published by New World Wealth, which showed that white millionaire numbers have decreased dramatically in SA – from 36,600 in 2007, to 21,200 in 2015.
Year-on-year, there were 10,900 fewer white millionaires in the country – a drop of 34%, the report said.
According to NWW, the reason for the sharp drop in white millionaires is primarily due to emigration. Major reasons for this include: turmoil in home country, security concerns and optimizing education of children.
The 2016 PPS SCI was conducted among students in their fourth year or above, studying at a university or university of technology towards a profession-specific degree, such as engineering, medicine, law or accounting.
Students answered questionnaires online, face-to-face on campus and via focus groups.
According to Motshabi Nomvethe, product specialist at PPS, a possible reason why students are inclined to move abroad following their graduation could be the current economic environment and the gloomy outlook for employment in South Africa.
“The latest figures from the Stats SA Labour Force Survey indicate that an estimated 26.7% of South Africa’s population are unemployed. These figures could motivate students to seek employment opportunities abroad.”
The PPS SCI also revealed that 69% of the respondents stated that they keep updated about economic and political issues that affect the country.
Nomvethe said that students read the news and access information via social media so – they are aware of what is going on in the country, which might cause them to consider whether they will be better off finding work in a foreign country.
The Expat Insider’s InterNations Survey conducted in 2015 also revealed that the top three reasons why South Africans consider a move abroad are personal safety, the cost of living and the economic or labour market.
More on emigration
Here’s what an expert says is causing white South Africans to leave the country
South Africa’s young white population is shrinking
Rich white millionaires are fleeing South Africa
This one graph shows that South Africans are leaving the country
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