- Further determinants include professional growth, educational opportunities, and a desire to experience life in a foreign country
- Political influence & corruption, lower salaries, and poor working conditions in Sri Lanka also influential factors
Factors motivating young Sri Lankan engineers to migrate to Australia include Australia’s Subclass 476 Skilled – Recognised Graduate Visa, professional growth, education opportunities, and a desire to experience life in a foreign country, along with negative political influence and corruption, lower salaries, and poor working conditions in Sri Lanka.
These findings were made in a research article on “The determinants of migration of Sri Lankan young engineers to Australia – A case study” which was authored by D.P.S. Wijesinghe (attached to the Ruhuna University’s Interdisciplinary Studies Department) and V.P.T. Jayawardane (attached to the Moratuwa University’s Industrial Management Department) and published in the Kotelawala Defence University Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies’ first volume’s second issue in November 2021.
With their knowledge and expertise, engineers play a major role in the value creation and economic development of any country. Most of the products, from tiny pins to skyscrapers, are intellectual works of engineers. Therefore, they are an essential group of human capital for a developing country like Sri Lanka.
As a country that also entertains free education at the undergraduate level, the Sri Lankan Government spends a huge amount of money to create knowledge workers, including engineers required for the country’s benefit. According to statistics of the University Grants Commission, the expenditure only on academic services for engineering degree programmes of State universities was approximately Rs. 2,956,692,000 for 2018. State universities currently admit more than 1,500 students for engineering degree programmes to cater to competent engineering professionals in the industrial sector.
Brain drain
At present, a considerable number of engineering graduates of State universities migrate to other countries for employment or higher studies. A trend of migration of graduate engineers to Australia, just within their first two years after graduation, can be observed during recent years. An engineering brain drain is taking place.
E.S. Lee’s “A theory of migration” refers to “migration” as a move that is either permanent or temporary. There are no restrictions on how far one can move or whether the act was voluntary or not, and there is no distinction between internal and external migration. The migration process may be short or lengthy and convenient or complex. An origin and a destination are the main start and endpoints involved with any migration associated with many intervening obstacles.
With the globalisation of the world, many people are migrating to other countries due to different reasons. G. Hugo and L. Dissanayake’s “The process of Sri Lankan migration to Australia focusing on irregular migrants seeking asylum” mentions that migrants move to other countries as temporary workers (skilled, semi-skilled, unskilled), skilled settlers, students, and tourists.
E. Ravenstein determined that a “push-pull” process directed migration; that is, unfavourable conditions in one place (oppressive laws, heavy taxation, etc.) “push” people out, and favourable conditions in an outside place “pull” them out. People migrate because of better job opportunities elsewhere.
“Brain drain” is a new term coined to describe the mass migration of highly educated professionals and knowledge-based workers. In a Malaysian study, “brain drain” refers to the exodus of highly educated people and knowledge workers from their homelands to places with better job prospects, living conditions, and standards of living.
Human capital is disappearing at an alarming rate across countries (skilled workers and tertiary graduates). Because of globalisation-induced brain drain, developing countries are, per S. Dodani and R.E. LaPorte’s “Brain drain from developing countries: How can brain drain be converted into wisdom gain?”, now experiencing difficulties. The significant reasons for the migration of talented health professionals from developing to developed countries were expectations of economic improvements and higher education opportunities.
Engineers’ exodus
Out of the primary category of knowledge workers, attention is paid to the migration of engineers, per a Turkish study, as it affects the home country in both positive and negative ways, with the main reason for such “brain overflow” migration to other countries from Turkey being the discrepancy between education and employment policies in engineering.
Sri Lanka also experiences the migration of qualified young engineers to other countries, as observed in B.M.A. Balasooriya’s “The brain drain: With special reference to engineers” and N.U.L. Gunawardhana and J.H.T.K. Jayalath’s “Factors affecting the brain drain of Sri Lankan engineers” (2017).
The brain drain of Sri Lankans to wealthy countries netted the country Rs. 110 million in annual aid while costing the country an additional Rs. 128 million in lost revenue, per values calculated around 1975, considering engineers and migration statistics of all Sri Lankan knowledge workers. Pull factors were higher salaries, savings, and educational opportunities for their children abroad while push factors were difficulties in dealing with the international society, low living standards, discriminatory practices in Sri Lankan society, and a spirit of adventure to explore the world.
The migration of Sri Lankan engineers to foreign countries is rising at an alarming rate (per the Ministry of Foreign Employment, up to 2015). In 2015, nearly 2,500 engineers migrated to other countries for different reasons. However, that value is greater than the annual enrolment of engineering students to state universities.
Gunawardhana et al. identified factors such as the income, higher education for career development, and the use of full potential as major causes for migration, while factors such as political influence, corruption, or living conditions were not major causes for their migratory decisions. The same study found that non-migrant engineers decided to stay not because they were satisfied with the income or job role in the industry but because of their family-related commitments and other reasons such as patriotic considerations.
More migrations to Australia
Nowadays, there is a trend of young engineers migrating more to Australia than to other countries. Australia is a country that offers valuable opportunities for knowledge workers who migrate there legally. Currently, Australia has become one of the important destination countries for Sri Lankan professionals like engineers and doctors, with an estimated population of 106,280 Sri Lankan-born residents in 2013.
Most Australian employers from small to large scale are willing to recruit skilful and expert knowledge workers like engineers who migrate from other countries since the Australian labour market is scarce of such human capital, per “Temporary skilled migration to Australia: Employers’ perspectives” by S.E. Khoo, C. Voigt-Graf, P. McDonald, and G. Hugo.
Most of Sri Lanka’s engineering degree programmes are now accredited following the “Washington Accord” criteria. The Washington Accord is an international accreditation agreement for undergraduate professional engineering academic degrees between the bodies responsible for accreditation in its signatory countries and regions. Therefore, degree holders of such accredited degree programmes in Sri Lanka can work as professional engineers in countries like Australia (a signatory country of the Washington Accord) without additional academic qualifications (the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka).
With the introduction of new visa categories for professionals and skilled workers in 1996 by the Australian Government, many Sri Lankans and skilled migrants from other countries temporarily got the opportunity to work in Australia. The Subclass 476 – Skilled Recognised Graduate Visa is a visa category introduced by the Australian Government to allow fresh engineering degree holders to live, work, or study in Australia for 18 months. Degree holders must have completed an engineering degree from an accredited institution within the past two years and be under 31 years of age. Most young engineers migrate to Australia using an accredited engineering degree from Sri Lankan universities and a Subclass 476 Visa.
The study
Wijesinghe et al.’s study collected data in 2019 from a convenient sample panel of 63 young Sri Lankan engineers who had recently migrated to Australia, using an online questionnaire.
The majority of respondents had their undergraduate education at the Moratuwa University (71.4%) while 17.5% had studied at the Ruhuna University and 6.3% at the Peradeniya University. The majority were civil engineering graduates (31.7%) while the others belonged to the engineering disciplines of electrical and electronics (25.4%), chemical and materials (19%), mechanical and manufacturing (12.7%), computer and software (7.9%), and other (3.2%).
The majority were young engineering graduates, where 89% had graduated in 2015 or had done so within the previous year (2014) while only 11.1% had received their diplomas before 2015. Since most were young engineers, their experience in Australia was limited to a few years. The majority were in Australia for less than two years (85.7%) while only 9.5% were in Australia for two to four years, and 4.8% were in Australia for more than five years. A total of 38.1% had applied for permanent residency (PR) in Australia while 61.9% had not yet applied for PR.
Push factors
Push factors stand for the reasons that push the persons from the mother nation. The majority had identified existing political influence and corrupt practices in Sri Lanka as the major push factor for their migration to Australia. Only 11.1% disagreed or strongly disagreed with that, while 17.5% had a neutral view. Most of the young generation of engineers in Sri Lanka had critical disagreements on the prevailing political system.
The respondents agreed that engineering jobs in Sri Lanka paid less than other jobs in the country. A total of 70.1% had agreed that lesser salaries in Sri Lanka had motivated them to migrate to Australia while only 14.3% had shown their disagreement, with 15.9% having a neutral view.
A total of 49.2% agreed that poor work conditions in Sri Lanka were a push factor for their migration to Australia. Job satisfaction is one of the significant factors that many professionals expect. If anyone has less satisfaction with their job, most of the time, such people leave that job or perform with lesser efficiency. A total of 47.6% identified that the lack of job satisfaction had caused their migration to Australia while 19% showed their disagreement on that push factor, with 33.3% having a neutral view.
In Sri Lanka, professional engineers have a considerable reputation. However, sometimes, there is lesser recognition from society for the good work done by engineers. Only 41.3% said that a lack of work recognition was a driving factor in their decision to leave their current jobs. So, the lack of work recognition is the least significant push factor that causes the migration of engineers in Sri Lanka.
In terms of the impact of the push factor of friends and/or family influence on migration, only 27% made their decision considering that factor, while 49.2% demonstrated their disagreement on this factor. Hence, it cannot be considered a significant push factor of migration. Several major push factors should be addressed first – from the individual level up to the policy level – to minimise the migration of qualified engineers. Engineers also have a greater responsibility to direct the general public and other professionals to change the current corrupt practices in Sri Lanka.
Pull factors
Pull factors stand for the reactions of the persons to excellent conditions of another country, which cause them to migrate. A total of 76.2% had migrated to Australia within the first two years after their graduation through Subclass Visa 476, while only 23.8% had utilised other forms of visas since they migrated to Australia after two years of graduation. Hence, the Subclass Visa 476 has motivated the majority of young engineers to migrate.
A total of 74.6% identified that Australia’s professional development and education opportunities have motivated them to migrate, while only 3.2% showed their disagreement on the said factor, with 22.2% having a neutral view. In Australia, many reputed universities offer world-class postgraduate degrees for engineers with scholarships. So, many young engineers who have engineering degrees with an excellent overall grade point average from Sri Lankan state universities tend to join Australian universities quickly.
In terms of the perception of Australia’s high quality of life as a pull factor for migration, 74.6% agreed with that statement while only 11.1% had shown their disagreement, with 14.3% expressing a neutral view.
When comparing the two pull factors of considering professional development and education opportunities in Australia and the high quality of life in Australia, both have similar agreement percentages. However, the factor of professional development opportunities in Australia has a higher response. The percentage for the “strongly agree” option (41.3%) is higher than that for the identical option for the quality of life in Australia (36.5%). As a result, migration to Australia is driven primarily by professional development and educational opportunities, with the quality of life ranking as the country’s second-most-crucial draw.
Most have migrated to Australia to gain foreign exposure as professional engineers (68.3%) while only a tiny percentage (9.6%) have demonstrated their disagreement for the above pull factor, with 22.2% holding a neutral perception. As a result, the desire to broaden one’s horizons by living abroad can be considered a significant pull factor for moving to Australia.
A total of 47.7% migrated to Australia with an expectation to use their full potential as engineers (47.7%) while 19% have shown their disagreement with that pull factor, with 33.3% being neutral on the same. Many engineering graduates are not involved in purely engineering or technical jobs, and most of their job roles comprise management and people handling-related aspects. However, some engineers do not like that situation. They expect to, as pointed out in C.M.M. Fahim’s “Critical factors contributing to the job satisfaction of engineers in the Sri Lankan telecommunication industry”, use their full potential as engineers in research and development or technical fields. Maybe due to that reason, the expectation of using the full potential as an engineer has become the fourth major pull factor for migration to Australia.
Sri Lanka needs to consider many aspects to retain qualified engineers. More professional development opportunities should be provided for graduate-level engineers while enhancing the quality and recognition of postgraduate degrees in engineering offered by local state universities.
Graduate engineers should be encouraged to pursue their postgraduate education in local universities while incorporating some form of international-level exposure for them through such local postgraduate programmes. However, all engineering stakeholders should work together to find a solution to the salary-related issue. Otherwise, the migration problem of qualified engineers from Sri Lanka will become a more severe problem for the country’s economic development.
Discussion
The findings demonstrate mixed results on perception. Two sets of 36.5% of respondents have shown their agreement and disagreement on the convenience of settling down in Australia after migration. To settle down in Australia is not easy for every migrant engineer. Getting an engineering-related job in Australia is also tricky for Sri Lankan engineers.
Even though most engineering degrees awarded by Sri Lankan state universities are internationally recognised, obtaining an engineering-related job in Australia necessitates obtaining PR there. Getting PR in Australia is somewhat tricky, although graduate engineers migrated to Australia temporarily for 18 months under the Subclass 476 Visa. So, most migrant engineers have to do odd jobs not relevant to their educational qualifications until they get PR in Australia.
The majority prefer the life that they spend in Australia (79.4%) while only 4.8% did not like Australian life, with 15.9% staying neutral. Nearly half need to settle permanently in Australia (49.2%), while 15.9% do not need to settle down in Australia, with the neutral respondents deciding with time to settle down there or to come back to Sri Lanka.
However, only a few migrant engineers will return to Sri Lanka permanently from Australia. There should be a way of getting the support of migrant engineers for the economic development process of Sri Lanka. To help the local engineering community develop, they should be willing to share the knowledge and experience that they have gained while living in Australia.
Most are willing to share their experience with Sri Lankan engineers in the future (84.1%). Responsible engineering bodies like the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, and local engineering universities can develop platforms to share such expertise with local engineers and engineering undergraduates. Permanently migrated engineers can also be satisfied with such efforts, by feeling that they have done something for the mother country without being debtors for having free education in Sri Lanka.
Due to the ease of migration to Australia temporarily through the Subclass 476 Visa, a considerable number of just-passed-out Sri Lankan engineering graduates will try to migrate to Australia more and more in the future. Only 25.4% have recommended that fresh engineering graduates migrate to Australia, while 12.5% have not recommended with the majority staying neutral on this recommendation (61.9%). Therefore, fresh engineering graduates should search for more information on existing engineering opportunities in Australia and the PR process before migrating to Australia temporarily through the Subclass Visa 476.
The majority of migrant engineers prefer the life that they live in Australia. As a whole, Sri Lankans should take action to gain the benefits of brain drain by converting it into a “brain gain”.