Cover STORY
Cover STORY
Spring 2017 / Issue 53
Company Engagement in Education Prevents Brain Drain
We are witnessing the choice of more and more young people to pursue careers in more developed countries , because of the lack of good jobs that fit their profile here . Moving abroad is often the easiest way to make faster career progress , greater motivation , better opportunities , higher compensation or stability . This has been a trend for the past 10 years and HR professionals agree that slow career development , low wages , hiring along political party lines and family-owned businesses are the main reasons behind this trend .
What can companies do to prevent brain drain and motivate their highly-skilled personnel to stay ? The answer isn ’ t necessarily higher compensation , at least not for young professionals . Instead , companies should begin interacting with young students earlier on , inspiring and encouraging them to make a career for themselves in their own country . By doing this , companies would position themselves as a stable employer and attract quality future staff . Currently , very few companies are serious about providing internships for students or supporting their projects ; this further narrows young people ’ s perspective and results in brain drain .
Lidija Burevska , HR Manager , MLEKARA AD Bitola
In reality , the current labor market situation is not so bad for young professionals . With the entry of foreign companies in Macedonia and increased work standards , a trend of slightly increasing salaries has been observed for certain profiles .
As a corporation active in several European countries , Bimilk has certified all internal processes according to various standards , which significantly raises our employees ’ future market value . We regularly facilitate knowledge and experience exchange with other business units , enabling our staff to learn from very experienced professionals . Both of these practices help us retain good staff in the company and increase employee morale .
When it comes to hiring new staff , employers find a significant lack of qualified employees , especially outside of Skopje . To meet the company ’ s HR standards , we often “ head hunt ” but rarely succeed . Top Bimilk employees are the ones that came up through our organization in line with our expectations and standards . Most “ head hunted ” employees begin with very strong results , but later encounter situations where they struggle to adapt to the company ’ s culture and fit in with colleagues . In our experience , these employees are the ones that are most prone to “ brain drain ”, because they have more experience than others and are therefore more attractive to another employer , usually abroad .
Brain drain cannot be ignored . Companies should seek a balance between employee wishes and needs and realistic company performance expectations . Polls show that every second high school student is considering working abroad ; to prevent this , a change in company strategy is needed , with the HR department in the forefront .
Young people need to have a vision for their career before they start building it ; that ’ s why company interactions with educational institutions are so critical . It ensures both the acquisition of new knowledge and increased social cohesion . The involvement of companies in education increases students ’ chances of building a successful career and contributes to the development of communication and teamwork skills , both of which are critical , no matter where the person eventually works .
10 AMCHAM MAGAZINE