Last Thursday, 6th November 2014, jobs.lu presented the results of the Global Talent Survey to some 40 people working in recruitment, mobility and HR at Luxembourgish companies. The survey, conducted in cooperation with The Network and The Boston Consulting Group, delivers valuable insights about candidate mobility and expectations towards employers based on more than 203,000 completed questionnaires from people out of 189 countries worldwide.

“Recruiters need to know where to find the right candidates, about their willingness to move and work abroad, what they expect from their future employers and what motivates them at work. Especially in Luxembourg, where companies very often seek talents which are locally not available, this knowledge is essential”, said Rik Hülser, General Manager of jobs.lu.

“There’s very little information about the global labor market available”, explained Pierre Antebi, Managing Director of The Network, “that’s why the 4th edition of the Global Talent Survey is of so much interest.”

“On a worldwide level, 64% of candidates are willing to work abroad”, presented Sanae Aouni, Consultant at The Boston Consulting Group, the overall results of the survey, “young people show increased international mobility compared to the previous generation.”

However, the survey shows that there are quite big differences between countries. Whereas more than 90% of the respondents in France or the Netherlands confirm their willingness to work abroad, less than 50% of the British, Germans and Russians show international mobility. With 74% willingness to work abroad, Luxembourg positions itself above the global average. “Luxembourg is not a local, but a regional labor market”, explained Sanae Aouni. This aspect is as well confirmed with the most favorite countries following to respondents in Luxembourg: 1. France, 2. Switzerland, 3. United Kingdom, 4. Belgium, 5. USA and 6. Germany.

But the motivation to work abroad for Luxembourgish people differs from the global average. Whereas the main drivers are broaden personal and professional experience on a worldwide level, the main motivation for people in Luxembourg are an attractive job offer and better salary expectations. “People are feeling good in Luxembourg”, said Sanae Aouni, “They intend to leave the country temporarily and only for career and salary reasons.”

In the last part of the event, Rik Hülser presented some more specific data about Luxembourg. Not less than 30% of all respondents in Luxembourg are not of Luxembourgish nationality and more than 80% of them are willing to work in a third country. “Expats seem to consider Luxembourg as a career opportunity. Most of them are seeking to move back to their home country or into another country after a certain time”, explained Rik Hülser.

In terms of attractiveness of Luxembourg, 13% of all respondents worldwide answered that Luxembourg is a country they could imagine moving to. This places Luxembourg on rank 23 in a ranking which is dominated by English-speaking countries: 1. USA, 2. United Kingdom, 3. Canada, 4. Germany, 5. Switzerland. The popularity of Luxembourg as country to work in is the highest in France with 44% of all respondents confirming their willingness to move to Luxembourg, in Portugal with 43%, the Netherlands with 33%, followed by Poland with 32% and Belgium with 31%.

More information about the survey can be found on www.globaltalentsurvey.com, where interested professionals working in HR departments can also register to a free online tool which allows individual researches and reports.