Brain Drain Migration from Romanian Academia. The End of a Mirage

Panzaru, Ciprian; Reisz, Robert D.

doi:10.1515/eras-2017-0003

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The impact of migration flows on national economies and productivity has gained considerable attention in the literature (Campanella, 2015;Campo et al, 2018;Nica, 2015;Beine et al, 2001). Debates on "brain drain" have been among the most prominent, emphasising that the emigration of high-skilled workers depletes human capital in the country of origin, which not only loses workforce but also the investment made in their education and training (Panzaru & Reisz, 2017). However, how the emigration of skilled labour affects Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems in sending countries remains a largely under-theorised and under-researched field.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exit, Voice or Loyalty? VET Stakeholders’ Response to Large Scale Skilled Emigration From Poland

Reegård

Dębowski

2020

IJRVET

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Context: The topic of this paper is how mass emigration of skilled workers affects national policies, and employers’ willingness to invest in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Poland. In the wake of EU enlargement in 2004, Poland became one of the biggest sending countries for skilled labour to Western European countries. These massive outflows of skilled labour, not compensated by adequate inflows of equally skilled workers, have led to serious skills shortages, especially in the construction sector. The paper investigates whether emigration and immigration constitute a driving force for institutional change of the Polish VET system, by analysing policy development and the attitudes of VET stakeholders towards contributing to VET.Approach: The paper focuses on the emigration of skilled construction workers in Poland. Drawing on Hirschman’s (1970) framework, when faced with massive skills deficits construction companies are confronted with different options: i) withdraw from the VET system and find other training and recruitment options (exit), ii) attempt to improve conditions by turning to policy makers (voice), and/or iii) remain loyal to the VET system. The analysis is based on an interview study of decision makers responsible for VET policies, employers, chamber of Craft and trade unions, principals of vocational schools, teachers and representatives of regional examination boards.Findings: After years of inattention, VET has been regaining a strong position in national policies. We find that construction companies are mostly more willing now, compared to 5 years ago, to take on learners for practical training and to contribute to improving school equipment. The study showed that one of the most significant obstacles to employers investing in the training of VET learners is the fear of losing a young skilled employee through emigration. Yet, dependent on skilled labour, employers of big construction companies saw no other option than to continue investing in training young learners. However, smaller companies seeking the short-term benefits of employing low-cost labour are less interested in investing in VET.Conclusion: Despite a range of recent policy actions and legislative efforts, several major challenges in the Polish VET system remain unresolved. Continued effort to institutionalise and enhance dialogue between the education system and the labour market appears as the most pressing need. It is currently too early to determine the degree of "institutional stickiness" of the activities observed on the policy level and among employers regarding their increased interest in VET as a response to mass skilled emigration.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exit, Voice or Loyalty? VET Stakeholders’ Response to Large Scale Skilled Emigration From Poland

Reegård

Dębowski

2020

IJRVET

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“…The increase in labour migration upon the entry of the Czech Republic to the EU is also referred to by, e.g., Vavrečková et al (2002); however, Czech labour migration is significantly lower than the migration of Romanians, who most often head to Germany, Hungary, the USA, and Canada (Petroff 2016). In recent years, a number of studies dealing with brain drain were carried out in Romania (Dobrota & Aceleanu 2006;Meeus 2013;Boncea 2015;Ailenei et al 2015;Petroff 2016;Bălan & Olteanu 2017;Panzaru & Reisz 2017;Haller 2017).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving Across Borders: Brain or brain gain? A comparative in Czechia and Germany

2021

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The continuous drain of young university graduates leaving the country poses the threat of considerable loss, both economic and social. On the other hand, temporary labour migration can bring positive effects (experience, foreign know how). The objective of the article was to identify the attitude of German and Czech university undergraduates to labour migration and to explore the motivation factors that play a role in their decision-making. The research sample consisted of students of economics who study at regional universities in North Bohemia and neighbouring German Saxony. It was established that German students declare a greater interest in working abroad, but they tend to prefer temporary labour migration, while Czech students think more about permanently moving abroad, provided they are considering leaving for another country. Logistic forward stepwise regression was selected to establish significant explaining variables. Surprisingly, “higher salary” did not figure in the created models as an explaining variable in a single case. The amount of salary is an important motivation factor (both for Czech and German students), however, it is not the main factor which influences their decision to go abroad. The explaining variables “I want to live in a different country” and “the opportunity to gain international work experience” were shown in both cases. Governments as well as regional authorities should pay attention to the reasons why qualified workers decide on labour migration and they should pay due care to establishing why qualified workers want to live in a different country. Temporary labour migration should be encouraged and, at the same time, such conditions should be created to motivate highly qualified workers to return home. Highlights for public administration, management and planning: • The departure of young people with a university degree abroad represents considerable not only economic but also social losses. • Temporary labour migration, however, can bring positive effects (experience, foreign know-how). German students declare interest in temporary labour migration, while Czech students prefer permanent migration. • The salary is an important motivational factor (for both Czech and German students), but it is not the main factor that influences the decision to move abroad. • Governments, as well as regional authorities, should pay attention to the reasons that lead qualified workers to decide for labour migration and to look closely at answers to why young people want to live in another country. • Temporary labour migration should be supported by both government and regional authorities. In contrast, conditions should be created to eliminate permanent labour migration.

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“…Some data (HotNews.ro, 2020) show that there is a deficit between 15,000 and 30,000 IT specialists in Romania. This crisis is amplified by the Brain Drain migration (Panzaru and Reisz, 2017), about 43,000 IT specialists emigrated by now, according to Romanian Government.…”

Section: Autonomous and Intelligent Vehiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Five Possible impacts of Digitalisation in Romania

Noja

Panzaru

2021

European Review of Applied Sociology

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The rapid swift towards digital transformations in a globalized modern economy is transforming the skills needed by Europe’s workers to maintain their jobs and remain actively integrated on the labour market. As the environment diversifies through the emergence of modern technologies, the working population advances the education for upskilling in a digital era. In this context, understanding the impact of digitalization and finding the appropriate responses is critical. Our paper explores several effects of digitalisation, connected to the Romanian socio-economic specificities.

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Brain Drain Migration from Romanian Academia. The End of a Mirage

Cited by 4 publications

References 17 publications

Exit, Voice or Loyalty? VET Stakeholders’ Response to Large Scale Skilled Emigration From Poland

Exit, Voice or Loyalty? VET Stakeholders’ Response to Large Scale Skilled Emigration From Poland

Moving Across Borders: Brain or brain gain? A comparative in Czechia and Germany

Five Possible impacts of Digitalisation in Romania

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