Expats Getting Younger

31 August 2010 - Whilst it is notoriously hard to get reliable data on such a disparate group as expats, there has been a definite trend over the last five years for the average age of expats to decrease. Working abroad was once exclusively for the experienced worker or manager sent for a specific project or purpose.

However numerous surveys over the last few years have revealed a younger generation of expats across the world. The new wave of younger migrants has sometimes been attributed to the global economic downturn, but given that the crunch likely affected the destination country as much as the country of origin, the causes are a little more complex.

The Global Relocation Trends Survey Report by Brookfield Global Relocation Services showed that in 2008, 41 percent of expats worldwide were between the ages of 20 and 39, but just a year later that proportion had increased to 54 percent - a 13 percent increase in just one year. Individual census bureaus are reporting similar findings, such as the Spanish Census Office, which compared the age of expats 20 years ago with that of today, finding that the average used to be around 60 and is now down to the mid 30's.

Over the last five years, the trend has been for companies to relocate younger and younger employees, preferring to utilize the freedom from family obligations and agility of younger employees over the experience of more senior staff. The 2010 Global Relocation Trends Survey Report by Brookfield Global Relocation Services showed that this year only 47 percent of expats had families with children, which is the lowest rate since the survey began in 1994.

Siobhan Cummins, VP at ORC Worldwide said in an interview: "Working in a different country looks good on a young person's CV, but it's also beneficial for the company. Younger people have less ties to home such as family or property, and can be much more flexible, as well as providing a cheap labor option. And in a time when people tend to be less loyal to a company, offering opportunities abroad can increase the likelihood of staff wanting to stay with a company."

The trend towards younger and younger expats was partially arrested this year according to the survey, which showed that companies have started returning to older, more experienced employees again. The proportion of expats in the 40 to 49 age bracket increased from 37 percent to 40 percent, and those 50 to 59 years old increased from 14 percent to 16 percent. When considered alongside the results that only a tiny 8 percent of expats were new hires (the lowest in the survey's 15 year history), this shows that companies are beginning to hedge their bets by preferring employees who no longer have dependent families, but also have long standing experience with their respective organizations.

Whilst the latest survey shows that companies are reducing the number of employees that they are prepared to send overseas, the number of young people going abroad under their own steam and establishing themselves as ‘independent' expats continues to grown and get younger. Jonathan Black, Director of Career Services at Oxford University, said that he has seen a notable increase in students seeking work abroad. "International development as a career is growing very popular, and we see a lot of students doing internships abroad during their study, which may fuel their interest. Two years ago, we set up an international internship program with some of our alumni abroad, and sent four people. This year, 85 people went, and we had 300 or 400 students applying for it."