Apr 19 2010
By Candy Lashkari
A survey conducted on 1,500 young Brits in the age group of 18 to 30 years felt that they could improve their job prospects by emigrating on a temporary basis. The most popular destinations were Australia, US and Canada. Also popular were destinations New Zealand and Spain.
They felt that it would be better to leave the UK for a few years and then return when the job prospects improved in the country. The average thought was to work aboard for the next one to three years and then return when conditions improved economically.
Many of them also felt that they could earn higher salaries abroad. Half of those who took the survey also felt that they could enjoy lower costs of living by moving abroad. It was also found that half the respondents had a friend or a family member who had already moved abroad for work in the last three years. They saw it as “semi-grating” or a “boomerang break” to get away from the recession.
However their prime concern was about health care and flexible benefits. The study was conducted by Aviva UK Health. Andrew Turner, international strategic development manager, Aviva UK Health, said "International health insurance such as Aviva's International Solutions policy helps provide individuals with the peace of mind that they have the medical support they need when they need it most."
It was found that 50% were considering working overseas, 35% thought they would get a pay hike and 53% thought they would reduce their cost of living. Also 6 out of 10 workers felt that they would be offered better growth opportunities abroad than those available in the UK at present.
Television travel expert Amanda Lamb said: "Boomerang breaks may seem for young workers less radical than emigrating but it is crucial they consider practicalities. Healthcare, for example, varies hugely from one country to the next."
Almost 34% of the respondents said that they would not consider it important to have extra medical insurance. 25% were actually thing of emigrating for good. While 43% thought that a yearlong break would be enough to see them through the economic crisis in the UK right now.