UK revealed as third most popular country in the world for international careers
- UK behind only USA (1st) and China (2nd)
- 1 in 10 work secondments and placements globally are to the UK
- Number of workers sent to the UK on business increases by 1% in last twelve months
- However, employees sent abroad from the UK falls by 4% since 2016
The UK has been revealed as the third most popular location in the world for international work, behind only USA (first) and China (second), according to new research by Santa Fe Relocation.
The findings from Santa Fe Relocation’s 2017 Global Mobility Survey, which surveyed nearly 1,000 global mobility teams and business leaders in 56 countries, showed that despite concerns around Brexit, the UK was the third most common place to be sent on international business – with almost 1 in 10 international business assignments (8%) arranged for the UK.
This figure is behind the USA, which sees nearly a fifth (18%) of international secondments and continues to be a vastly popular business destination despite concerns over immigration there. China is the second most common location (11%), a reflection of its increasingly open rhetoric towards international business and foreign investment.
However, Brexit appears to have already had an impact on the number of workers being sent from the UK on assignment or secondment to locations around the world, with the report showing a decline in the number of workers being sent abroad from the UK. In 2016, 13% of all international assignments were for employees based in the UK, falling to 9% this year.
Indeed, the new report acknowledges that relocations and assignments are becoming increasingly complicated more generally. Despite business leaders still believing employee mobility is needed for commercial growth, it’s also acknowledged that immigration complications and the changed political climate are threatening international mobility. To manage business leaders’ and employees’ expectations on the potentially slower pace of enabling relocations, global mobility teams need to be proactively engaging business leaders to ensure they are involved at the earliest intentions of an international assignment and ensure mechanisms are in place to facilitate mobility.
Neil Bothams, Regional CEO of Santa Fe Relocation, Europe said:
“Whilst the UK remains second place as the largest sending country, the drop from a 13% share to 9% is significant. As far as we can determine from the data and speaking to our clients, some UK based companies are utilising other shorter term approaches and are more hesitant about committing to long term assignment Programmes, despite an increasing trend globally for long term assignments. The pressure is on Global Mobility professionals to support their businesses with appropriate solutions to facilitate mobility whilst much of the uncertainty persists.”
The report found that over half a million (500,000) employees from the companies surveyed are already internationally mobile.
For a full version of the report, please see the link here:blue.santaferelo.com/globalmobilitysurvey/
Notes to Editors:
About The Survey
The Santa Fe Global Mobility Survey is an independent study commissioned by Santa Fe Relocation Services and it is one of the world’s largest and most robust studies of global mobility worldwide
The research was conducted by Circle Research among 929 global mobility professionals taking part from across 56 countries, as well as 55 business leaders at organisations with a global mobility function from Australia, New Zealand, UK, Belgium, Poland, the USA and Canada.
About Santa Fe Relocation:
Santa Fe Relocation is a global mobility company specializing in managing and delivering high-quality relocation services worldwide. Our core competence is relocation services that support corporations and their employees relocate and settle in a new country, assisting them with visas, immigration, home and school, language and cultural training, managing property rentals, delivering domestic and international moving of household goods. We can provide these services to a consistent high standard, locally and globally. A key strength is our ability to manage these services through our own operations around the world. Santa Fe Relocation is wholly owned by the Santa Fe Group, which is listed on NASDAQ in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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