The survey conducted jointly by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), The Network, The Stepstone Group, and local partner The African Talent Company (TATC) gathered data from more than 150,000 workforce respondents from 188 countries, including Nigeria and Ghana.
The latest global study on International Mobility Trends has revealed that nearly two-thirds of Nigerian and three-quarters of Ghanaian professionals are willing to work abroad.
The survey conducted jointly by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), The Network, The Stepstone Group, and local partner The African Talent Company (TATC) gathered data from more than 150,000 workforce respondents from 188 countries, including Nigeria and Ghana.
According to the study, one in four professionals globally and nearly two thirds of Nigerian and three quarters of Ghanaian professionals actively seek jobs abroad.
Meanwhile, the survey revealed that Nigerians desire to travel to the five most desirable countries, namely Australia, US, Canada, UK, and Germany.
London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and New York rank numbers one through five among cities. However, within the country, Abuja ranks 63rd and Lagos 103rd among the top cities.
Furthermore, the study noted that nearly 70% of Nigerian and 73% of Ghanaian respondents cite general career considerations as one of the main reasons to move abroad, while 90% and 82% of Nigerian and 95% and 86% of Ghanaian respondents respectively expect to get visa and work permit as well as housing assistance from their employers.
Despite global challenges such as geopolitical tensions, widespread economic concerns, and emerging virtual mobility trends from the past several years, moving abroad for work remains a dream for many workers around the world, with 23% of global and 64% of Nigerian and 74% of Ghanaian professionals actively seeking jobs in other countries.
Younger people and people from countries with fast-growing populations are the most mobile. English-speaking geographies with strong economies lead the list of top destinations.
The survey explained that People from Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa would like to come to Nigeria to work, while people from Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya would like to work in Ghana.
It is titled ‘Decoding Global Talent 2024,’ and is the fourth installment in a series. The previous editions were published in 2014, 2018, and 2021.
According to Stepstone Group CEO Sebastian Dettmers, “The world’s most important economies are facing a major challenge: the great people shortage. This looming gap in the global labour market is primarily due to declining birth rates and mismatches between job supply and demand.
“Labour migration represents a prime opportunity to bridge this gap. We must adapt our job markets to be more versatile, enabling workers to move to where they are most needed and where they can find the best positions for their skills and aspirations.”
Adwoa Banful, Principal at BCG, stated that West Africa continues to offer attractive job opportunities for local professionals and for others from the rest of the continent and overseas, who are seeking to advance their careers.
“There are some clear reasons why people are choosing to relocate to Nigeria and Ghana, most notably the quality of job opportunities, and the region’s welcoming culture and family-centric environment.
The top 10 countries Nigerians prefer to work abroad for are Canada, UK, USA, Australia, Germany, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and France.
The survey noted that a slight change from the survey done in 2020 that found that people from Nigeria were looking for work in the Netherlands (8th position in 2020), New Zealand (9th position in 2020), and Ireland (10th position in 2020). Ghanaians’ top 10 countries for work opportunities are Canada, USA, UK, Australia, Germany, UAE, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium.