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.<\/p>\n
The report comes from PPS, an insurance, investment, healthcare and financial planning specialist for\u00a0graduate professionals.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Year-on-year, there were 10,900 fewer white millionaires in the country – a drop of 34%, the report said.<\/p>\n
According to NWW, the reason for the sharp drop in white millionaires\u00a0is primarily due to emigration.\u00a0Major reasons for this include: turmoil in home country, security concerns and optimizing education of children.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Students answered questionnaires online, face-to-face on campus and via focus groups.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe latest figures from the Stats SA Labour Force Survey indicate that an estimated 26.7% of South Africa\u2019s population are unemployed. These figures could motivate students to seek employment opportunities abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n
The PPS SCI also revealed that 69% of the respondents stated that they keep updated about economic and political issues that affect the country.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Expat Insider\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what an expert says is causing white South Africans to leave the country<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s young white population is shrinking<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Rich white millionaires are fleeing South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n